# Cyclopedia of Painting/When Not to Paint

WHEN NOT TO PAINT.
There are certain times of the year when outside painting should not be done if satisfactory results are to be expected. If painting is done too early in the spring, the surface is very apt to be full of frost and moisture and the pores closed through contraction, thus producing uneven absorption. The side of the building exposed to the heat of the sun will expand and the pores open to a greater extent than the protected side of the building. All paints and oils are much heavier in cold than in warm weather, and if applied under a low temperature there is apt to be too heavy a coat over a contracted surface, which will crack through expansion under the summer heat.
Do not paint after a frost or in early spring when frost is leaving the ground, filling every part of the building with dampness. Remember that heat ascends and brings the dampness with it.
Paint should never be applied to extremely hot surfaces. Paint applied under extreme heat sets and dries very rapidly, and under the direct heat of the sun's rays is very apt to blister, especially on old work. Remember that tints absorb while white reflects heat, and when it is too hot to paint with white, remember it is also too hot to paint with tints. This should not be taken as an argument against summer painting, but only as a caution against working on extremely hot surfaces.
In spring painting follow the sun with your work. In summer painting let the sun follow you. Switch your work according to the time of the day.
Do not paint while the plaster is drying out; allow time for it to harden through. Remember there are 80 to 90 gallons of water used in every 100 yards of plastering, most ​of which must escape some place. If the building is tightly closed or is being dried by heat, the moisture will be largely driven out through the siding, causing the paint to break away, blister or peel.
Do not paint buildings having damp basements without first removing the cellar windows and ventilators so as to have a free circulation of air, thus drying out the under part of the building, otherwise the dampness will go up through the house between the siding and plastered wall and be attracted to the surface through the siding.
Do not paint near fresh mortar beds. The heat, moisture and fumes from the lime will be absorbed by the oil in drying, causing it to flatten out and destroying its life.
Do not paint in sultry weather or in a heavy, wet atmosphere, as the moisture from such conditions penetrates the surface to an extent that it takes several days of good drying weather for the building to again be in condition to receive paint.
Do not paint during or immediately after a heavy fog or dew. In a few hours lumber absorbs more dampness in this kind of weather than from heavy rains. Moisture from heavy fogs and dews penetrates lumber to a greater depth than from any other source. It is especially important to guard against these conditions.
In most sections of the country the season of exterior painting is comparatively short and it is a great temptation for painters who have been obliged to lie idle all winter to start early spring painting. The season of painting can be easily extended and more satisfactory results obtained by using judgment as to the best time of the year to paint a building according to its surroundings. There are very few property owners who would not be willing to extend the time of painting if shown that better and more satisfactory results can be obtained by so doing.
A building exposed to the sun and weather on all sides will dry out much quicker and be in condition to paint much ​earlier in the spring than one in a confined space where the sides of the building are not exposed to the sun or have no opportunity to dry out before the summer weather arrives.
A building surrounded by vines or dense foliage is in no condition to paint until the heat of the summer has drawn the moisture, not alone from the building but the ground surrounding it. The building may be so densely shaded that it will be paintable only at a time of the year when it would be impossible to apply paint to an exposed surface without danger of its blistering under the extreme heat of the sun.
Under certain conditions, better results will be obtained on a surface which is checked, cracked or shows indications of peeling, by allowing the building to stand through the summer and deteriorate to the full extent, repainting in the fall when the old, loose surface can more easily be removed.