Free press., 1906-04-28
THE CHOICE OF PAINT.


Fifty years ago well-painted house
was rare sight; to-day an unpainted
house lis rarer. If people knew the
real value Of paint a house in need
OF paint would be ''scarcer than hens
teeth" There was some excuse for
our forefathers. Many of them lived
in houses hardly worth preserving;
they knew nothing about paint, ex-
cept that it was pretty; and to get a
house painted was a serious and cost.
ly job. The difference between their
case and ours is that when they want
ed paint it had to be made for them;
whereas when we need paint we can
go to the nearest good store and buy
it, in any color or quality ready for
use. We know, or ought to know by
this time, that to let a house stand
unpainted is most costly, while a good
coat of paint, applied in season, is the
best of investments. If we put off the
brief visit Of the painter we shall in
due time have the carpenter coming
to pay us a long visit at our expense.
Lumber is constantly getting scarcer.
dearer and poorer, while prepared
paints are getting plentier, better and
plan to let the valuable lumber of our
houses go to pieces for the want of
paint.
For the man that needs paint there
are two forms from which to choose:
one is the old form. still favored by
certain unprogressive painters who
have not yet caught up with the times
lead and oil; the other is the ready
for-use paint found in every up-to-date
store. The first must be mixed with
oil, driers, turpentine and colors be.
fore it is ready for use; the other
need only be stirred up in the can
and it is ready to go on. To buy
lead and oil, colors, etc, and mix
them into paint by hand is, in this
twentieth century, about the same
as refusing to ride in trolley car
because ones grandfather had to walk
or ride on horseback when he wanted
to go anywhere. Prepared paints have
been on the market less than fifty
years, but they have proved on the
whole so inexpensive, so convenient
and so good that the consumption to.
day is something over sixty million
gallons a year and still growing. I'm.
factory, it stands to reason there
growth in their use.
Mixed paints are necessarily cheap
er than paint of the hand-mixed kind,
because they are made in a large way
by machinery from materials bought
in large quantities by the manufac.
turer. They are necessarily better
than paints mixed by hand, because
they are more finely ground and more
thoroughly mixed, and because there
is less chance of the raw materials in
them being adulterated No painter.
however careful he may be, can ever
be sure that the materials he BUYS are
not adulterated, but the large paint
manufacturer does know in every
case, because everything he buys goes
through the chemists hands before
he accepts it.
OF course there are poor paints on
the market (Which are generally
cheap paints). So there is poor flour.
poor cloth, poor soap; but because of
that do we go back to the hand-miII.
the .hand-loom and the soap-kettle of
the backwoodS No, we use our com
mon sense in choosing goods. We find
out the reputation Of the different
brands Of -four, cloth and soap; we
take account Of the Ctanding Of the
dealer that handles them, we ask
our neighbors. So with paint: if the
manufacturer has a good reputation.
If the dealer is responsible. if our
neighbors have had satisfaction with
1t, that ought to be pretty good evi.
dence that the paint is all right.
Many men Of many kinds
Many paints of many kinds;
but while prepared paints may differ
considerably in composition, the bet
ter grades of them all agree pretty
closely in results. Cali roads lead to
Rome" and the paint manufacturers,
starting by different paths, have all |
the same object-to make the best |
paint possible to sell for the least |
money, and SO capture and keep the |
trade
There is scarcely any other article |
OF general use on the market today |
that can be bought with anything like
the assurance Of getting your moneys
worth as the established brands of pre-
pared paint. The paint you buy to-
day may not be like a, certain patent
medicine, ''the same as you have al
ways bought" but if not, it will be
because the manufacturer has found |
way of giving you better article
for your money, and so making more
sure Of your next order
When a woman has an ideal hus-