The Oakley eagle. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1901-1908, 1906-12-06
A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.
Burning or Paint Makes Insurance
Void.

II seems that considerable danger to
property exists in the practice of
burning of old paint before re-paint.
ing. The question has long been a
subject of debate in the technical
journals, and now householders and
the newspapers have begun to discuss
1t. Those of us who. with trembling
have watched the painters blow "a
merry blast from their lamps against
our houses, and have looked sadly ar
the size IF our painting bill because
of the time wasted on this prelimin.
airy work, are interested in the in.
yestigation 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 IN
get the old paint off It'says:
mere is a good deal of discussion
among householders as to the desir-
ability, In painting houses, of burning
OH the old paint, practice that has
grown very common of late in Green
held and elsewhere. Insurance men
are strongly opposed to this method
IL makes void insurance policies for
hres caused in this manner. Several
houses In Greenfield have gotten afre
as the result of this method. and in
some places houses have burned as a
result
1T is undoubtedly true that when
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-
cumulations 1t is almost sure to bills
ter. To burn it off is the quickest
and cheapest and perhaps the surest
method Of getting rid of this old
paint"
Inc Gazette and Courier quotes GER
TAIN old patrons to the effect that ac-
cumulations of paint are unnecessary.
These 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
linseed oil and pure white lead. The
paper says:
Many OF the old householders saw
that II care is taken at all these points
It 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 well summed
up Dy our contemporary. and the
CAUSES are about the same everywhere.
ny lar ne most frequent cause of the
necessity for the dangerous practice
OF burning old paint is the use, of poor
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. Eartbv
substances, and prlverized rock and
quartz, are frequently used as cheap.
eners, to the great oetriment of the
paint.
PAINTERS rarely adulterate white
iead 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
slsts on low price and the painter
mas to economize somewhere. \Tbe
suggestion is therefore a good one
that the property owner investigate
the subject 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
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
well repays the house owner in dollars
and cents saved.