D. (daub - dye)
 

Daub - Application of earth based plaster to a backing of lath or wattle used in internal or external walls. Composite mixture which may include clay soil, dung, straw, lime putty, sand or horsehair. 
English Heritage (2000)

Decorative plaster - Ornate or patterned decoration, carved into or moulded from plaster English Heritage (2000)

Deionised water - Water which has had all charged particles removed. Deionised water baths will readily dissolve or leach any salts or ions from articles.
Synonyms: demineralised water
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Dental plaster - A fine, highly purified plaster of Paris available from dental supply companies. The plaster sets completely within one hour, but may be removed with water. Dental plaster has been used for repairing ceramics, mending gesso-based frames and casting replacement pieces.
Synonyms: gypsum cement; Permastone; Hydrocal
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Diatomaceous earth - An absorbent powder composed of the siliceous skeletons of microscopic water plants called diatoms. Diatomaceous earth is composed of 88% silica. The soft, whitish material is used as an inert pigment or filler in paint, brick, tile, ceramics,  and a large number of other products. It produces a reduced gloss, acts as a suspending agent and increases viscosity. It absorbs dyes well and has been used as a base for lake colours. Diatomaceous earth is also used as an absorbent, and poultice since it can absorb up to 4 times its weight of water. 
Synonyms: diatomite; Celite® [Celite]; fuller's earth; infusorial earth; kieselguhr; fossil flour; tripoli; Sil-O-Cel; diatomaceous silica; siliceous earth; Super-Cel; Kenite®; Diactiv®; Primisil®
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Diluent - An inert material used to decrease the concentration of an active component. A diluent may be a solvent used to decrease the concentration or viscosity of a coating or paint. Also a diluent may be an inert filler added to an adhesive or pigment as a bulking agent to increase workability or just to decrease cost. For example, sand is added to cement as a diluent. See also extender, filler, and thinner.
Synonyms: thinner; thinning agent; filler; extender; adulterant
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Dispersing agent - An additive that increases the workability or fluidity of a paste, mortar, or concrete. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Distemper - A general term for paint with a water-miscible binder such as gum, size, casein or egg yolk. Most commonly, however, it refers to chalk-based paint bound with size, usually made from rabbitskin glue. For centuries ësoft distempersí were used as cheap house paint, but since the 1950s they have been largely replaced by modern emulsions. The paint is made up as a slurry with the consistency of cream, and by adding tinting pigments a range of pastel shades can be achieved. The finish is opaque and powdery, and as it is not as hard-wearing as oil paint or emulsions, distemper has to be replaced more frequently. Oil-bound distempers contain a little oil suspended in glue as an emulsion, and this makes them more durable. They lack, however, the soft, chalky finish for which distempers have always been prized.
Trench (2000)

Distilled water - Water that has been heated to its boiling point of 100 degrees centigrade, vaporised, then condensed on a cool surface and collected. Distilled water is purer than tap water because any dissolved solids, such as salts, will not vaporise. However, some dissolved organic materials may co-distil with the water.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Dolomite - A mineral containing calcium and magnesium carbonate, used primarily as an aggregate in making concrete. It is soft, often white, but may be transparent. Dolomite can be found on its own, but may also occur as a replacement mineral found in some rocks, particularly limestone, formed after action by magnesium-rich fluids. See also dolomitic limestone. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)
English Heritage (2000)

Dolomitic lime - A name commonly used for high-magnesium lime. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Dolomitic limestone -  A form of cut limestone that contains dolomite and is used in building construction and for architectural ornament. Its softness and texture permit the carving of fine detail. It is a pale fine-grained limestone, also called magnesium limestone.
Trench (2000);  RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Dope -  An additive in mortar or plaster to accelerate or retard the set. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Dryer - A substance that accelerates the drying of oil-based paints and varnishes. Dryers are sold as liquids and contain metallic salts of organic acids (i.e. metal soaps) which accelerate the oxidation of oil. Examples are cobalt linoleate, cobalt oleate and cobalt naphthenate. Salts of other heavy metals, such as manganese, cerium, lead, chromium, iron and zinc, can also be effective dryers. A prepared liquid dryer, or siccative, generally acts as a catalyst to speed the polymerisation and oxidation processes involved in the drying of oils and alkyds. Some pigments also act as dryers, such as lead oxide and manganese oxide. In recent years non-metallic dryers, such as orthophenathroline, are being  used as replacement for the toxic heavy metal dryers.
Synonyms: siccative; cobalt drier; drying agent
Trench (2000); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Drying oil - Any vegetable oil that will form a solid, non-tacky film when spread into a thin layer and exposed to air for a few days. Drying oils solidify by polymerisation and oxidation reactions that occur at the unsaturated carbon double bond (C=C) sites of some of their fatty acids. The greater the number of double bond sites available for reactions, the faster the oil will dry. All drying oils have at least 65% polyunsaturated fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, etc.). This high degree of unsaturation is indicated by a high iodine number (usually 120 - 200). Drying oils are obtained from the seeds, skins, and fruits of several plants, such as flax (linseed oil), poppy, walnut, safflower and sunflower. Drying oils are mixed with pigments and used in artists paints or mixed with resins and used as varnishes and coatings. They have been used as a primary artist medium since the 15th century and may have been used as early as the 12th century. Dryers, or siccatives, can be added to the oil-based paint to speed its drying time.
Synonyms: drying oils; linseed oil; tung oil; perilla oil; sunflower oil; hempseed oil; safflower oil; lumbang oil; oiticica oil; stillingia oil; walnut oil
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Drywall - A prefabricated plasterboard used to finish wall and ceilings of homes constructed in the late 20th century. The gypsum boards were popularly called 'drywall', when their use replaced wet plastering as the technique for covering wall studs.
Synonyms: gypsum board; plasterboard; Sheetrock® [U.S.Gypsum]
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Dye - A natural or synthetic colorant. True dyes should not be confused with pigments or pigment dyes. Until around 1900 yellow, red and blue were the three colours basic to dying. The two great dyes ? madder for red and indigo for blue ? achieved their positions of dominance not only by virtue of their superior fastness, but also because they provided strong colours. These dyes, together with other colorants introduced from the New World during the 16th century, remained important until the end of the 19th century. Although few in number until c. 1900, of far greater relative importance were the insoluble dyes, which were dissolved chemically before dyeing could begin. The emergence of entirely new dyes began with the isolation from c. 1800 of various chemicals, including aniline from indigo (1826). Lakes are  organic pigments prepared when a dye has been precipitated on a powdered, inorganic substrate. See also : lake
Trench (2000)
 
 
 
 
 

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