F. (face mix  - fuller's earth)
 

Face mix - A concrete mix bonded to the exposed surface of a cast stone building unit. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Fat lime - A quicklime or hydrated lime used in plastering and masonry obtained by burning a pure or nearly pure limestone source. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Fibre plaster/Fibrous plaster  - Plaster units cast from moulds and reinforced with hair or wood chips used from 1856. The plaster was normally plaster of Paris. Fibre plaster was generally used as thick base coat on wooden laths.
Synonyms: coarse stuff; scratch coat
Ashurst (1983)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Filler -  1. An inert powder added to a base material such as a paint, pigment, adhesive or concrete. Fillers may serve multiple purposes such as: extend a matrix, dilute a colour, decrease cost, provide bulk, increase strength, improve working properties or generally enhance performance. Examples of materials that are used as fillers are: acrylics, calcium carbonate, barium sulphate, clays, diatomaceous earth, glass fibres, glass spheres, gypsum, sand, silicates, starches, talc, titanium dioxide. Finely divided inert material, such as pulverized limestone, silica, or colloidal substances are sometimes added to Portland cement, paint or other  materials to reduce shrinkage, improve workability, or act as an extender. 2. A preparation made for filling gaps, cracks, pores or holes. Examples are Dental plaster, Polyfilla, mastic, Plasticwood, Metalux, gesso, steel stick, brummer stopper, spackling and wax.
Synonyms: fillers; diluent; extender; reinforcing agent; gap filling adhesive; cement; lute; filling compound; fill; mastic.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000); RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Fine stuff - A lime paste finish coat for plaster. Fine stuff was a lime putty often mixed with gypsum plaster. It had little to no aggregate or fibre. Fine stuff was applied over a dry plaster base coats and dried to form a smooth white surface finish. 
Synonyms: plaster putty; setting stuff; plaster finish coat
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Fish glue - A proteinaceous, water soluble adhesive made from fish heads, bones and skin and other parts containing collagen, keratin or elastin. The agglutinating agents are removed by extraction with hot water, then cooled and dried to produce gelatin or glue. Varied production techniques can produce poor-quality fish glues. The highest quality is made from the swim bladders of sturgeons. It is clear, bluish white and very flexible. Isinglass is a fine glue made from a specific type of sturgeon. it is generally sold in narrow soft translucent strips. In general, fish glues are lighter in colour than hide glue and form a weaker adhesive bond. They dry to a hard, sandable surface and adhere well to glass, ceramics, metal, wood, and leather (Norland 1977). Fish glue is sold in liquid form and is used in painting and gilding. It is mentioned as one of the organic additives used for stucco marble preparation according to literature. See also : adhesive; glue
Synonyms: isinglass; sturgeon glue
Wittenburg (1999); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000); Norland (1977).

Float finish - A decorative plaster finish material. A float finish contained lime plaster with a fine white sand aggregate. It dried to form a textured surface often prepared in a swirl pattern. Float finishes were popular for plaster ceilings in the early 20th century.
Synonyms: plaster finish coat
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Flour - A fine powder obtained from grinding grain products such as wheat, corn, rye and rice. Flour contains starch and gluten. It will form a thick, viscous paste with boiling water that, once dried, is strong and water-insoluble. Flour paste has been used historically mixed with oil or glue to form an inexpensive paint binder. Flour pastes may only be removed with the aid of enzymes and are susceptible to attack by micro-organisms, thus they are not in current use in conservation.
Synonyms: flour paste
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Fly ash -  The finely divided residue resulting from the combustion of coal which is transported from the fire box through the boiler by flue gases. Fly ash is a common additive to concrete to improve strength, workability, and waterproof qualities. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Free lime - Calcium oxide (CaO) as in clinker and cement that has not combined with SiO2, Al2O3 or Fe2O3 during the burning process, because of underburning, insufficient grinding of the raw mix, or the presence of traces of inhibitors. 
RS Means Building Glossary (undated)

Fresco pigments - A group of pigments that remain stable and chemically resistant to the lime plaster used as a base in fresco paintings. The highly alkaline lime base in fresco paintings may react with and alter the colour of some pigments. For example, Prussian blue and chrome yellow both discolour within a few hours. Lead white may turn black slowly. Other pigments, such as some ultramarines and ivory black, may contain dissolved salts that will slowly leach to the surface and leave a white efflorescence. Examples of fresco pigments are: carbon black, iron oxide, chromium oxide, and cobalt blue.
Synonyms: limeproof pigments
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)

Fuller's earth - A naturally absorbent colloidal clay composed of a mixture of aluminium magnesium silicates, such as montmorillonite, kaolinite, attapulgite and palygorskite. Deposits of fuller's earth are located in England, Japan and the USA. Fuller's earth obtained its name because it originally was used for fulling wool; a process where oil and dirt were removed by kneading the wool in a mixture of water and fine earth. Fuller's earth is used as a filler in paint and epoxy resin.
Synonyms: floridin; attapulgite; bentonite; diatomite; montmorillonite; Fuller's earth (sp.); fullers earth
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2000)
 
 

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