Part 257

II.—In 150 parts of alcohol dissolve 20 parts of rosin, and add to this, drop by drop, stirring continuously, a solution of 35 parts of borax in 250 parts of water. This being accomplished, dissolve in the solution sufficient methylene blue to give it the desired tint.

«Ink for Writing on Glazed Cardboard.»—The following are especially recommended for use on celluloid:

I.—Dissolve 4 drachms of brown shellac in 4 ounces of alcohol. Dissolve 7 drachms of borax in 6 ounces of distilled water. Pour the first solution slowly into the second and carefully mix them, after which add 12 grains of aniline dye of the desired color. Violet, blue, green, red, yellow, orange, or black aniline dyes can be used.

Such inks may be used for writing on bottles, and the glass may be cleaned with water without the inscription being impaired.

II.—Ferric chloride 10 parts Tannin 15 parts Acetone 100 parts

Dissolve the ferric chloride in a portion of the acetone and the tannin in the residue, and mix the solutions.

III.—Dissolve a tar dyestuff of the desired color in anhydrous acetic acid.

«Indelible Inks for Glass or Metal.»—Schobel recommends the following inks for marking articles of glass, glass slips for microscopy, reagent flasks, etc., in black:

I.—Sodium silicate 1 to 2 parts Liquid India ink 1 part

For white:

II.—Sodium water glass 3 to 4 parts Chinese white 1 part

Instead of Chinese white, a sufficient amount of the so-called permanent white (barium sulphate) may be used. The containers for these inks should be kept air-tight. The writing in either case is not attacked by any reagent used in microscopical technique but may be readily scraped away with a knife. The slips or other articles should be as near chemically clean as possible, before attempting to write on them.

According to Schuh, a mixture of a shellac solution and whiting or precipitated chalk answers very well for marking glass. Any color may be mixed with the chalk. If the glass is thoroughly cleaned with alcohol or ether, either a quill pen or a camel’s-hair pencil (or a fresh, clean steel pen) may be used.

«Ink on Marble.»—Ink marks on marble may be removed with a paste made by dissolving an ounce of oxalic acid and half an ounce of butter of antimony in a pint of rain water, and adding sufficient flour to form a thin paste. Apply this to the stains with a brush; allow it to remain on 3 or 4 days and then wash it off. Make a second application, if necessary.

«Perpetual Ink.»—I.—Pitch, 3 pounds; melt over the fire, and add of lampblack, 3⁠/⁠4 pound; mix well.

II.—Trinidad asphaltum and oil of turpentine, equal parts. Used in a melted state to fill in the letters on tombstones, marbles, etc. Without actual violence, it will endure as long as the stone itself.

«Ink for Steel Tools.»—Have a rubber stamp made with white letters on a black ground. Make up an ink to use with this stamp, as follows:

Ordinary rosin, 1⁠/⁠2 pound; lard oil, 1 tablespoonful; lampblack, 2 tablespoonfuls; turpentine, 2 tablespoonfuls. Melt the rosin, and stir in the other ingredients in the order given. When the ink is cold it should look like ordinary printers’ ink. Spread a little of this ink over the pad and ink the rubber stamp as usual, and press it on the clean steel—saw blade, for instance. Have a rope of soft putty, and make a border of putty around the stamped design as close up to the lettering as possible, so that no portion of the steel inside the ring of putty is exposed but the lettering. Then pour into the putty ring the etching mixture, composed of 1 ounce of nitric acid, 1 ounce of {405} muriatic acid, and 12 ounces of water. Allow it to rest for only a minute, draw off the acid with a glass or rubber syringe, and soak up the last trace of acid with a moist sponge. Take off the putty, and wipe off the design with potash solution first, and then with turpentine, and the job is done.

«Writing on Ivory, Glass, etc.»—Nitrate of silver, 3 parts; gum arabic, 20 parts; distilled water, 30 parts. Dissolve the gum arabic in two-thirds of the water, and the nitrate of silver in the other third. Mix and add the desired color.

«Writing on Zinc» (see also Horticultural Inks).—Take 1 part sulphate of copper (copper vitriol), 1 part chloride of potassium, both dissolved in 35 parts water. With this blue liquid, writing or drawing may be done with a common steel pen upon zinc which has been polished bright with emery paper. After the writing is done the plates are put in water and left in it for some time, then taken out and dried. The writing will remain intact as long as the zinc. If the writing or drawing should be brown, 1 part sulphate of iron (green vitriol) is added to the above solution. The chemicals are dissolved in warm water and the latter must be cold before it can be used.

«GOLD INK.»

I.—The best gold ink is made by rubbing up gold leaf as thoroughly as possible with a little honey. The honey is then washed away with water, and the finely powdered gold leaf left is mixed to the consistency of a writing ink with weak gum water. Everything depends upon the fineness of the gold powder, i. e., upon the diligence with which it has been worked with the honey. Precipitated gold is finer than can be got by any rubbing, but its color is wrong, being dark brown. The above gold ink should be used with a quill pen.

II.—An imitation gold or bronze ink is composed by grinding 1,000 parts of powdered bronze of handsome color with a varnish prepared by boiling together 500 parts of nut oil, 200 parts of garlic, 500 parts of cocoanut oil, 100 parts of Naples yellow, and as much of sienna.

«HORTICULTURAL INK.»

I.—Chlorate of platinum, 1⁠/⁠4 ounce; soft water, 1 pint. Dissolve and preserve it in glass. Used with a clean quill to write on zinc labels. It almost immediately turns black, and cannot be removed by washing. The addition of gum and lampblack, as recommended in certain books, is unnecessary, and even prejudicial to the quality of the ink.

II.—Verdigris and sal ammoniac, of each 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; levigated lampblack, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; common vinegar, 1⁠/⁠4 pint; mix thoroughly. Used as the last, for either zinc, iron, or steel.

III.—Blue vitriol, 1 ounce; sal ammoniac, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce (both in powder); vinegar, 1⁠/⁠4 pint; dissolve. A little lampblack or vermilion may be added, but it is not necessary. Use No. I, for iron, tin, or steel plate.

«INDELIBLE INKS.»