The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1906-07-07
BUYING PAINT.

BUYING PAINT.
Springtime-after the weather has
become well 'settled-is painting time.
There is no dust flying, no insects
are In the air at that time ready to
commit suicide by suffocation in the
coat of fresh paint. The atmospheric
conditions are also favorable at that
season for proper drying and increased
life of the paint.
It should be a habit with every prop
erty owner every spring: to look over
his buildings, etc., and see if they need
repainting; not merely to see If they
will 60 another year." but whether
the time has not come for putting in
the proverbial "stitch in time" which
shall eventually "save nine" For one
coat of paint applied just little be-
fore it is actually needed will often
save most of the paint on the building
by preventing it from letting go and
causing endless trouble and expense.
Paint lets go because linseed oil,
which is the cement" that holds all
good paint together, gradually decays
or oxidiZes, just as iron exposed to
air and dampness will slowly decay or
oxidize. The water and oxygen in the
air are the cause of the trouble in both
cases, and the only reason, outside OF
it's beautifying effect, that we apply
paint to wood or iron is because we
want to keep water and air away from
them. Live paint, that is paint in
which the linseed oil is still oily, does
this very effectually; but dead paint,
that is paint in which the oil is no
longer oily, is no more impervious to
air and water than single thickness.
of cheesecloth would be. If then we
apply fresh coat of oily paint before
the old paint is dead, the oil from the
new coat will penetrate the old coat,
and the whole coating will once more
become alive; and this method of rem
ovation may go on Indefinitely.
This explains why it is better econ
omy to repaint little before it be-
comes absolutely necessary than a
F7little> after. When~the paint is once
dead the fresh coat will pull the whole
coating Off,
In the days when repainting meant
a general turning of things upside
down, a two-weeks' "cluttering up" of
the place with kegs, cans and pals,
a lot of inflammable and ill-smelling
materials standing around, etc., the
dread Of painting time was natural.
So was the dread of soap-making time,
of shirt-making time, of candle-mould-
ing time and the like. But we live in
an age when soap comes from the
store better and cheaper than we can
make it, when shirts are sold ready
made for less than we can buy the
or gas cheaper than we can make tai
low candles, and when all we have to
do when we want to repaint is to pick
out our colors from the card at the
store and pay the painter for putting
on the paint.
When it comes to picking out the
paint it is not necessary that one
| should be a paint chemist, any more
than one should be an oil chemist
when buying kerosene, or depart
ment store buyer when selecting
shirts, or soap chemist when buying
soap. All that is necessary to insure
fair show is some knowledge of the
character of our paint dealer and the
reputation and, standing of the maker
of the paint offered Nor must one
expect to buy pure linseed oil paint
for the price Of linseed oil alone. It
can be taken for granted when any
one offers to sell dollar bills at dis
count, he is batting hook for "suck-
ers@'' So it can be taken for granted
wheIf>- anyone-whether mail order
house, paint manufacturer or dealer
offers paint too cheap, he is bidding
for the trade of suckers" no matter
what his promises.
But paints sold in responsible stores
under the brands of reputable manu-
facturers are all good products, differ
ing from one another in the less i'm
portant matter of the solid pigments
contained. but practically alike in hay
ing their liquid portions composed es-
sentially of pure linseed oil. The COM
petition Of the better class of paints
has driven inferior goods practically
out Of the market, and no manufac-
turer of standing now puts out poor
paint, under his own name at least:
AS to guarantees on paint, they can
be taken for what they are worth.
Any reputable manufacturer will make
good any defect actually traceable to
the paint itself and. not to improper
use OF: treatment Of It. The really i'm
portant guarantee which the paint
buyer should exact from his dealer is
that the paint is made by a.manufac.
turer that knows. his business; and
that the paint itself has a record: II
he secures this guarantee he can at-
ford to chance the rest Of 1.-THE paint
1 will undoubtedly give good service il
properly applied according tos. direc-
tions I'll = . ,. @ 4: 4 \. st< 4. =551. >.
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