The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1906-09-27
A PRACTICE.
Burning OF Paint Makes Insurance
Void.

1t seems that considerable danger
to property exists in the practice of
burning or old paint before re-paint-
ing. The question has long been a
subject of debate In the technical
journals, and now house-holdsrs and
the newspapers have begun to discusl
it. Those of us who, with trembling.
have watched the painters blow a
fiery blast from their lamps against
u houses, and have looked sadly at
the size Of our painting bill because
Of the time wasted on this prelimin-
airy. wotk. are interested in the In
vesttgatton by the Greenfield (Mass.)
Gasette~ and Courier. which gives
considerable 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 set the old paint OFF. It says:
There is a good deal Of discussion
ansong house-hslders as'to the desir-
ability in painting houses. of burning
OF the old paint, a practice that has
grown Very common Of late in
Greenfield and elsewhere. Insurance
men are strongly opposed to this
method. 1t makes void insurance
policies for fires caused in this man
ner. Several houses in Greenfield
have gotten afre as the result of this
method, and III some places houses
have burned as a result.
tfTf {n ,NJHt,hk1A1 %~T,1 thai uyh1y,
a house has been painted over and
over again there comes to be an ac-
cumulation of paint In bnnches. If
new paint is put on top Of these &C
cumulatiens 1t 10 almost sure to bis
ter. To burn 1t of is the quickest
and cheapest and perhaps the surest
method Of getting rid of this old
paint"
The Gazette and Courier quotes
certain old patrons to the effect that
aeeumulations Of paint are unneces-
sary. These old-timers lay. the blame
partly on the painter Who fails to
brush his psipt In well, partly on the
custom of painting In damp weather
or not allowing sufficient time for
drying between coats, and partly to
the use of a~dulterated paints instead
of old-fashioned Nnseed oil and pure
white lead. The paper says:
Many OF the older house-holders
say that If care is taken at all these
points, it Is absolutely unnecessary
to have paint burned off. They ad-
wise that people who have houses
painted should buy their own materi-
ais, 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 house-holders every
where have with paint is pretty well
summed up by u contemporary. and
the cause are about the anne every
where. By far the most frequent
cause of the necessity for the danger
Gus practice of burning old paint is
the use of poor material. The oil
should be pure linseed and the white
lead should be real white lead. The
latter is more often tempered with
than the oil. Earthly substances, and
pulverized rock and quartz, are fire.
~Quently used as cheapeners, 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 a 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 key is marked with
that brand.
The linseed oil is more difficult to
be sure Of, as it IL usually sold in
bulk when the quantity is small; but
reliable makers of linseed oil can be
learned on inquiry and, If your dealer
Is reliable, you will get what you
want.
Pure white lead and linseed oil are
30 necessary to good paint that the
little trouble necessary to get them
well repays the house owner in dol
ar- and cca+q c~-~S