The Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1903-1909, 1906-10-23
HHH41H7H'H
TMNS
A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.
Burning Off Paint Makes Insurance
Void.

1t seems THAT considerable danger to
property exists in the practice Of
burning off old paint before re-paint-
ing. The question has long been a
subject OF debate in the technical
journals, ahd now househoders and
! the newspapers have begun to discuss
IL. Those of us who, with trembling,
nave watched the painters blow a
merry blast from their lamps against
our houses, and have looked sadly at
the size of our painting bill because
OF the time wasted on this prelimin-
airy work, are interested in the in
Vestlgation by the Greenfield (Mass.)
Gazette and Courier, which gives CON
siderable space to the reasons for the
practice, questions its necessity and
suggests ways to prevent the risk of
burning down ones house in order to
get the old paint off 1t says.
There is good deal of discussion
among householders as to the desir-
ability, in painting houses, of burning
on the old paint, practice that has
grown very common of late in Green
field and elsewhere Insurance men
are strongly opposed to this method.
IL makes void insurance policies for
nres caused in this manner Several
houses in Greenfield have gotten afire
as the result of this method and in
some places houses have burned as a
result
1T is undoubtedly true that when
a house has been painted over and
over again there comes to be an ac
emulation of paint in punches. If
new paint Is put on top of these ac-
foundations it is almost sure to bis
ter 10 burn it off is the quickest
and cheapest and perhaps the surest
method of getting rid of this old
paint"
The Gazette and Courier quotes Ger.
tain old patrons to the effect that ac-
foundations of paint are unnecessary
Ihese old-timers lay the blame partly
on the painter who fails to brush his
paint in well, partly on the custom of
painting IN damp weather or not allow
Ing sufficient time for drying between
coats, and partly to the use of adulter
ated paints instead of old-fashioned
lnseed oil and pure white lead. The
paper says:
Many of the old householders say
that II care is taken at all these points
1t Is absolutely unnecessary to have
paint burned off. They advise that
people who have houses painted should
buy their own materials, and to have
them put on by the day, so as to be
sure to get good lead and oil. Of
course the burning off of paint greatly
increases the cost of the job"
The trouble householders everywhere
nave with paint is pretty we'll summed
up by our contemporary, and the |
causes are about the same everywhere,
by far the most frequent cause of the |
necessity for the dangerous practice |
OF burning old paint is the use of Door
material. The oil should be pure lin,
seed and the white lead should be real |
white lead. The latter is more often |
tempered with than the oil. Earthv |
substances, and pulverized rock and
quartz, are frequently used as cheap. |
eners, to the great detriment of the |
paint.
Painters rarely adulterate white
lead themselves and they very seldom
use ready prepared paints-the most
frequent causes of paint trouble. But
they do often buy adulterated white
lead because the property owner in
sists on low price and the painter
has to economic somewhere. The
suggestion is therefore a good one
That the property owner investigate
the subject a little, find out the name
of some reliable brand of white lead
and see that the keg is marked with
that brand.
The linseed oil is more difficult to
be sure of, as it is usually sold in
bulk when the quantity is small; but
reliable makers of linseed oil can be I
learned on inquiry, and, if your dealer
is reliable you will get what you want
Pure white lead and linseed oil are
so necessary to good paint that the
little trouble necessary to get them
we'll repays the house owner in dollars