A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921.
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ORDER XVIII.—PAINTERS AND DECORATORS (NOT POTTERY)

599.—Other Workers



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brush hand
(in London and S. England) see painter's labourer; for N. of England usage, in sense of painter, cf. brush hand (592).
ceiling washer
as for painter's labourer.
chipper, chipper and scraper, chipper and scaler ; sealer, scraper
chips and scrapes old paint, rust, or "scale" off any kind of ironwork (ships' plates, gasometers, etc.) in preparation for painting or repainting, using a pneumatic tool, a small chipping hammer, or other hand tool.
coach painter's labourer
fills in blemishes or crevices of vehicle bodies with stopping of putty or special preparation; applies primary or first coat of paint, and, when dry, rubs down with pumice stone and water to make even surface for final coats of paint.
doper
applies dope (special waterproofing composition) lay hand, with, a brush, to fabric of aircraft to tighten it, to render it airtight and watertight, and to reduce friction.
engine barrel paperer
applies filling (first rough coat of paint) by hand, with a brush, to castings, which have not been machined, and rubs surface down with glass paper to produce smooth surface for finishing coat.
filler, filler-in, filler-up ; wood filler, wood filler-up
fills in grain of wood by rubbing in special composition, in preparation for polishing or painting, to ensure smooth surface; or, lays on first series of "primers " (groundwork paints).
filler-up (coaches)
see rubber.
frame cleaner
cleans frames of self-propelled road vehicles; sand-papers or otherwise scrubs off rust and roughness prior to painting, polishing, or enamelling.
golf ball spotter
paints red spot or other coloured mark on painted golf ball with brush and paint.
lead labourer
a painter's labourer (q.v.) who applies coat of lead paint to woodwork, and fills in cracks, etc.
lime washer
as for painter's labourer.
painter, bitumastic
applies anticorrosive bitumen or bitumastic solution to any kind of ironwork, with a long-handled tar brush.
painter, golf ball
(i) paints finished golf ball by dipping it in white paint and rolling it between palms of hands until it is evenly coated;
(ii) places golf ball in special paint spraying machine; switches on or off driving power of machine; fills troughs with paint; removes painted balls when dry.
painter, pattern maker's ; pattern varnisher
paints or varnishes patterns i.e., patterns, usually wooden, of sections of machines used by engineers) by hand, with a brush.
painter, pitch, tar painter ; tarrer
applies tar, with brush, to wooden buildings, fences, etc., or to sides, top, and bottom of coal bunkers on ship; cf. tarrer (581).
painter, tin (tin boxes) ; sprayer
sprays paint, with spraying apparatus, on finished tin boxes, canisters, etc.
painter, tube
paints finished iron and steel tubes with brush or spray.
painter's labourer, painter's assistant ; brush hand
cleans brushes, stirs paint, carries and sets up ladders, etc., and lays scaffold boards on trestles; scrapes off rust, old paint, etc., and assists painter (592) (q.v.) generally; sometimes does low grade painting work under supervision of painter; washes walls, ceilings, etc., with lime, and puts on first wash ready for white-washing; strips off old wallpaper from walls, using water and stripping knife or scraping tool.
painter's rubber
see rubber-down.
pattern varnisher
see painter, pattern maker's.
pontoon scaler
a chipper q.v. who stands on a pontoon moored alongside a vessel and scrapes lower parts of hull therefrom; cf. ship scaler.
red leader
a painter's assistant (q.v. ) who scales, scrapes, and applies first coat of paint (red lead) to surface be painted (e.g., to interior and exterior of ship's hull); sometimes also applies anti-fouling composition to ship's bottom.
rubber, rubber-down ; filler-up (coaches), painter's rubber
removes roughnesses from surface on woodwork of railway coach, tramcar, etc., with glasspaper, pumice stone or powder, etc., and applies priming and primary coats of paint, rubbing down when each coat is dry, in readiness for painters; may also apply coat of flatting paint; cf. frame cleaner, flatter (593).
scaler
see chipper ; cf. scaler (952).
scraper (for painter)
(i) see chipper;
(ii) softens old paint with blow lamp, and scrapes it off with a tool; often done by painter (592) (q.v.).
ship scaler, ship scraper
a chipper (q.v.) who cleans plates of a ship, inside and outside, in preparation for re-painting; or who scrapes ship's bottom, in a dry dock or in a slip way, to detach barnacles, seaweed, etc., using hammer and chisels, files and sometimes a shave hook, a small hand scraping tool.
ship painter's assistant, ship painter's labourer
as for painter's labourer.
sizer
applies a coat of size or similar substance to wood work, plaster walls, paper, etc., to render surface less absorbant [sic] for painting or varnishing.
sprayer (tin boxes, etc.)
see painter, tin.
stopper (safes)
applies a coating of stopping paste with putty knife to provide a smooth foundation on safes for paint.
tarrer
see painter, pitch.
varnisher
applies varnish (a solution of resins in oil or spirit) with brush or spray to painted, stained, or enamelled surface of wooden or metal articles, e.g., furniture, in order to give a polish and a hard protective covering, sometimes specifically designated, e.g., handle varnisher, reed varnisher (textile), stock varnisher (gun), wire mattress varnisher; often also done by painter (592) (q.v. ); cf. varnisher (vehicles) (593), varnisher (paper) (549).
varnishing machine feeder
feeds rollers of varnishing machine with tinplates; removes varnished plates in racks to ovens.
whitener
washes ceilings, strips paper, and otherwise prepares surfaces for painters and paperhangers.
whitener, whitener-up, moulding whitener (furniture)
coats lengths of wood moulding with a mixture of whitening and size by hand or by machine.
whitewasher
whitewashes walls, ceilings, etc.
wood filler, wood filler-up
see filler.

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.