The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1906-06-09
THE CHOICE OF PAINT.

was rare sight; to-day an unpalntc(
house is rarer. II people knew thu
real value of paint house in neet
Of paint would be "scarcer than hem:
| teeth" There was some excuse FOL
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 q
house painted was a serious and cost
ly Job. The difference between theil
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
1t, In any color or quality ready for
use. We know, or ought to know by
this time, that to let a house stand
implanted is most costly, while a good
coat of paint, applied in season, is the
best of investments. If we put of the
brief visit of the painter we shall In
due time have the carpenter coming
to pay is long visit at our expense.
Lumber Is constantly getting scarcer,
dearer and poorer, while prepared
paints are getting plentier, better and
less expensive. 1t Is a short-sighted
plan to let the valuable lumber of our
houses 60 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 1t Is ready for use; the other
need only be stirred up in the can
and 1t is ready to go ON. To buy
lead and oil, colors, etc., and mix
them into a paint by hand is, in this
twentieth century, about the same
as refusing to ride in a 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 tho
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.
less they had been in the main salts
factory. 1t stands to reason there
would have been no such steady
growth In their use.
Mixed paints are necessarily cheap.
er than paint Of the hand-mixed kind.
because they are made in large way
by machinery from materials bought
In large quantities by the manufao.
furer. 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 ws go back to the hand-mill
the hand-lcom 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 flour, cloth and soap; We
take account of the standing of the
dealer that handles them, we ask
our neighbors. So with paint; IL the
has a good reputation,
Il the denler is responsible, If our
aeighbors have had satisfaction with
Z, that ought to be pretty good evi
lence that the paint is all right.
Many men of many kinds
Many paints of many kinds:
'ut while prepared paints may diffe
considerably in composition, the bet
er grades of them all egree pretty
loosely in results. "All roads lead to
tome," and the paint manufacturers.
tarting by different paths, have all
he same object-to make the hest
'aint possible to sell for the least
money. and so capture and keep the
rade.
Tnere is scarcely any other article
I general use on the market TODAY
hat can be bought with anything like
ne assurance Of getting your moneys
'orth as the established brands of pre.
ared paint. The paint you buy to-
ay may not be like a certain patent
1edicine, 'the same as you have al.
rays bought" hut If not, it will be
ecause the manufacturer has found
way Of giving you a better article
Dr. your money, and so making more
ure Of your next order. |;