The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-08-17
soME HINTS FOR PAINTERS.

~@~-%~A@98 ~
tifY and renew. The old dingy house
30 uninvitiDg, almost repulslVe
can by the application Of q new
surface OF paint, be changed into an at
traction and delight. Paint is not very
expensive when you get the best, but
the labor of applying it is costly
What, then, is the best paint for wearq
What viii best preserve from decay
and remain unaffected by exposureG
Faint is, or should be, composed Of
pure linseed oil mixed with certain dry
powders or mineral substances called
pigments, which, experience has
shown, are best adapted to this pur-
pose. Paints applied in a liquid state,
and after exposure to the air becomes
hard, or, in common parlance, is said
to dry. II the dry powder or pigment
was applied alone it would soon rub off.
liz it was mixed with water the water
would dry out and the powder would
come of, to the disgust of every one.
What is wanted is a binder which
viii not only harden and dry, but
which will embrace the powder or pig
ment so it cannot be removed. This
binding material must be insoluble
and practically unaffected by water,
else the paint would be washed off the
building with the first rain. Pure lin
seed oil is the best material known. It
fulflls the requisite conditions Of a
binder, or vehicle for paint, though
poppy seed oil is sometimes used with
advantage on inside work. Linseed
oil is made by expression from the ma
seeds Of the fax plant, which also
furnishes our finest linens. When it
dries it does not dissipate into the air
like water, alcohol, or even coal oil.
It does not evaPorate at all, but alb
serbs oxygen from the air, thereby
forming a tough, leathery substance
which envelopes the pigment and holds
it 60 the surface, and if dried under
proper conditions it forms an elastic
waterproof coating, adapting itself to
the changes Of temperature.
Pure liz seed oil alone should be used;
no coal oil should be mixed with it, as
is often done to cheaper, for coal oil
has no binding propertiesS end even
tually evaporates, leaving the pigment
with nothiag to hold it to the surface.
No animal or other vegetable oils
should be used, fOr they do not dry,
and s5ao sutIace will not become hard
and durable. No rosin oil, a frequent
a~dulterant, should be used, for this
makes the point dry and brittle, thus
easily chipping or cracking off.
What shall be combined with pure
linseed OIL to made the Best Paint2 The
experience Of many centuries points
to pure white lead. This substance has
the faculty of mixing most readily
with linseed oil. It assists the oil to
dry by combining with it, the oil is
rendered waterproof, and the resulting
dry film for a long time remains elias
tic, so that it adspgs itself readily to ex.
pansion and contraction of the surface,
without 6 tendency to scale off. IN
less there is moisture present, either
on the surface Of absorbed In the wood,
when the paint is applied, pure white
lead paint well rubbed in will stay
where it is put. If the surface is wet
the oil is repealed from it, and a good
job cannot be expected. If there is
water or soap in the lumber the heat
Of the sun, or Of the building, will
draw or drive it TO the surface, and
b~listering will follow. When these
blisters are pierced the water will often
u out. See, then, that the surface is
all right before you paint. II very old
and dry the oil may be absorbed before
it a set or dry, and the pigment left
es q dry powder, so that in the first
coat plenty of oil should be used, not
only to act as a binder, but to allow for
possible absorption.
These are additional reasons why
pure white lead is the best pigment.
Among others, it has greater opacity
than any other substance, therefore
hiding the surface better; consequently
fewer coats are required. We have
said that the cost of paint is not very
great, but it is the labor of applying
that is expensive. Therefore, when you
can cover as we'll with two coats of
white lead paint as with three or four
coats of other paint, it follows that the
lead paint is the cheapest by far. Any
substance that is added to white lead,
except for the purpose of coloring, di.
minlshes in some way the value of the
paint. Zinc ia sometimes used. Now
Einc Is very inferior in covering to
white lead, and besides. in driving IT,