The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-07-12
ECONOMY AND DURABILITY.

erty owners are looking for. With
most articles mere cheapness lie another
l6ame for worthlessness. "a cheap
coat on q cheap man" has passed into
a proverb, but in paint materials the
best and purest are actually the cheap
est il first cost, cheapest in the amount
Of surface they will cover, and cheap
est when the question Of durability is
considered. The reason for this is not
hard to find. Pure white lead and pure
linseed oil are articles Of such fierce
competition, beginning with the manu-
facturer and extending to the jobbing
trade and retail dealers through whom
they reach the consumer and property
owner, that the final cost to the last
purchaser is but a trihs above the first
cost to the manufacturer. It is a fact
known to all the paint trade and o
stantly stated and bewailed in the
trade journals, that there is no profs
in selling pure white lead and pure
linseed oil, and dealers are constantly
importuned to push the sales Of combi
nation paints, zines and ready mixed
paints, on which they can realize a
large profit. The mixtures are gen.
orally largely composed of whiting
(ground caalk), silica ground quartz,
terra alba powdered gypsum), or
barytes "a ~pulveriz9d rocky. China
clay ia sometimes used. These mate
rails have no value as paint material,
as they do not cover or e~ffectually hide
the under surface, being semi trans
parent in their nature. They cost from
+. to e., per pound and are used to
give weight and volume to paint; not
because they add anything to its value,
but because they are cheap and in
crease the profits of the manufacturer
at the expense of the consumer, who
in nearly every case pays nearly the
value of pure paint. Enc is often used.
While it has q legitimate place in GER
tain branches of painting, it is greatly
inferior in covering properties to white
lead, while pound for pound it will
spread Over more surface than white
lead, yet twice the number of coats
will be required to cover or hide the
surface as well; besides, when exposed
70 the weather the paint will not last,
but will crack and chip off In such q
way that repsinting cannot be done TO
advantage without removing the old
paint by burning or scraping, which is
q most expensive operation.
The average cost Of the best ready.
mixed paint to the consumer is 81 25 to
81 so per gallon, which will cover 200
to $50 square feet, two coats. The cost
of a gallon Of pure white lead and pure
iinseed oil paint, tinted with pure
colors and mixed by the purchaser, is
about 81 90 per gallon, and it will
cover 400 to 425 sq1are feet, two coats.
In this comparison we have only con-
sidered the best grades of ready mixed
paint which contain pure oil. There
are many cheaper in first cost, which
not only contain more worthless paint
materials, but in which the linseed oil
is adulterated and extended by the
use Of coal oil, rosin-oil, cottonseed-
oil, benzine, aikalIes and water. In
fact, not many years ego legal pro
ceedings were instituted to entorca the
right Co use alkalies and water in the
compromising Of paint. It is not diff
cult, therefore, to accoun for the ais.
appointment in results which~so many
experience who are attracted by hashy
labels and advertisements making x
travagant claims.
The only sure way for the property
owner who wishes economy and dura-
bility in his painting is to buy pure
linseed oil and pure white lead under
brands which are known to be pure
and reliable, or order them through an
honest planter. Particularly avoid so.
called combination leads, which gen.
orally contaia a large proportion of
cheap and worthless material.
Pure ~linseed-oil is the foundation for
all good painting, because when it dries
it does not evaporate like water, tur-
pentine, benzine or coal oil, leaving
nothing behind, but it absorbs oxygen
from the air, forming q tough, elastic,
insoluble coating, adhering ia the sur
face and holding in it's embrace the
color OF pigment. II any substance
that e~vaporates, such as those men
toned above, is added, the coating is
weakened thereby and the durability
Of the paint impaired. If fish oil, cot
tonseed, or other oils are added, the
paint will not dry properly and dura
bility will be lessened. Linseed oil ap
piled alone to wood will not last nor
preserve the wood. This ia hecausa h