The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1906-06-13


suicide by suffocation in the coat of
fresh paint. The atmospheric condi-
tions are also favorable at that season
for proper drying and increased life OF
the paint.
1t should be habit with every prop
erty owner every spring to look over
his buildings, ETC., and see il they need
repalnting, not merely TO see il they
"will go another year." but whether the
time has not come for putting in the
proverbial "stitch in time" which shall
eventually "save nine" For one coat
of paint applied just little before 1t is
actually needed will often save most of
the paint on the building by preventing
it from letting go and causing endless
trouble and expense.
Paint let's 20 because linseed oil,
which is the cement that holds all
good paint together, gradually decays
or oxidiZes, just as iron exposed TO air
and dampness will slowly decay or oxi-
die. The water and oxygen in the air
are the cause Of the trouble in both
cases, and the only reason, outside of
its beautifying effect, that we apply
paint to wood or iron is because we
wv dut " hECD Nultl anu ulA away iloh
them. Live paint, that is, paint in
which the linseed oil is still oily, does
this very effectually, but dead paint,
that is, paint in which the oil is no
longer oily, is no more impervlous to
air and water than single thickness
OF cheesecloth would be. If then we
apply a fresh coat of oily paint before
the old paint is dead, the oil from the
new coat will penetrate the old coat,
and the whole coating will once more
become alive, and this method Of reno
vation may go on indefinitely.
This explains why It is better econo-
my to repaint little before 1t becomes
absolutely necessary than little after.
When the paint is once dead the fresh
coat will pull the whole coating off.
In the days when repainting meant a
general turning Of things upside down,
a two-weeks' "cluttering up of the
place with kegs, cans and pals, lot
of infammable and ill-smelling mater
falls standing around, ETC., the dread Of
painting time was natural. So was the
dread Of soap-making time. of shirt
making time, of candlemouldlng time
and the like. But we live in an age
when soap comes from the store bet
ter and cheaper than we can make it,
when shirts are sold ready made for
less than we can buy the materials,
when we can burn coal oil or gas
cheaper than we can make tallOw-can-
dies, and when all we have to do when
we want to repaint is to pick out our
colors from the card at the store and
pay the painter for putting on the
paint.
When It comes TO picking out the
paint it is not necessary that one
should be paint chemist any more
than one should be an oil chemist when
buying Kerosene, or department store
buyer when selecting shirts, or soap
chemist when buying soap. All that
is necessary to insure a fair show Is
some knowledge of the character of
our paint dealer and the reputation
and standing of the maker of the paint
offered. Nor must one expect to buy
a pure linseed oil paint for the price
OF linseed oil alone. 1t can be taken
for granted when any one offers to
sell dollar bills at discount. he is bait
ing a hook for suckers" So X can
be ;aken for granted when any one
whether mail order house, paint man.
ufacturer or dealer-Offers paint too
cheap, he is bidding for the trade of
suckers" no matter what his prom
ises.
But paints sold In responsible stores
under the brands of reputable manu-
facturers are all good products, differ
ing from one another in the less i'm
portant matter of the solid pigments con-
talned, but practically alike in having
their liquid portions composed essen
tally of pure linseed OIL. The COM
petition of the better class of paints
has driven inferior goods practically
out Of the market, and no manufac-
turer of standing now puts out poor
paint, under his own name at least.
AS to guarantees ON paint, they can
be taken for what they are worth.
Any reputable manufacturer will make
good any defect actually traceable to
the paint itself and not 10 improper
use or treatment Of it, The really i'm
portant guarantee which the paint
buyer should exact from his dealer is
that the paint is made by n manu-.
facturer that knows his business and
thai the paint itself has a record. II
he secures this guarantee he can af-
ford to chance the rest Of 1.-THE paint
will undoubtedly give good service IL
properly applied according to direc-