Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-21
Some Useful Painting Suggestions

The following notes are CLEANED from
several exchanges and are here placed to-
gether under one head. Each topic Is
divided by a subhead and is complete in
itself.
Painting Galvanized Iron.
To get paint to adhere to galvanized
iron seems to be a difficult problem and
various experiments have been made in
order to find a way of getting around the
difficulty. The United States government
has adopted a mode Of procedure which
seems to give satisfactory results. Spec
ifications call for the use of vinegar in
washing the surface before painting. This
roughens or corrodes the surface and gives
the paint much better adhesion.
Recipe for COIOrinE Rough Walls.
To cover 100 square yards of surface,
take a thin wash of cement or hot lime,
and, for a blue-black color, add five
pounds OF lampblack; for buff color, five
pou0ds green copperas, to which add one
pound fresh COW manure, mixed and
strained. For a terra Gotta color. four
cen pounds red metallic oxide, five
pounds green copperas and five POUNDS
lampblack.
Add to either of above 10 per cent alum
in solution. which will give brilliant per-
manency.
Ochre and lumber are useful colors,
mixed with thin wash of cement.
Concrete Basement Floors.
Basement floors in buildings. as a rule
require only a moderate degree OF
strength, although in cases of very wet
Easements, where water pressure from
beneath has to be resisted. greater
strength is required than would otherwise
be necessary. The ~subfoundation should
be we'll drained. sometimes requiring tht
use of tile for carrying off the water
The rules given for constructing concrete
sidewalks apply equally well to basement
floors, The thickness of the concrete
foundation is usually from three to five
inches, according TO strength desired, anc
for average work a l-3-5 mixture Is
! sufficiently rich. Expansion joints are
frequently omitted, since the temperature
variation Is less than outside work, bu
since this omission not in~frequently give
rise to unsightly cracks, their use /
recommended in all cases. II will usual
be sufficient to divide a room Of moder
ate size into small sections, separated b
one-half inch sand joints. The floo
should be given a slight slope toward n
center or one corner. with provision at III
lowest point for carrying off any waite
that may accumulate.
Pure Paint Law.
The purpose OF the pure paint law is t
protect paint buyers and users from adul
terated and impure paints that have bee
sold in the state as pure and are so labele
on the packages. There has been vigorou
l objection TO the law, however, and attempt
have been made to head off its enforce
ment. Paint interests, which felt that the
J would suffer if held TO the close restriC
tions OF the law, have worked against III
measure and have threatened to test Il
constitutionality. On the other hand, III
a manufacturers and distributors OF pun
standard paints that fill the requirement
Of the law are not worrying.
The law prescribes that any paint col
5 tanning only pure linseed oil, pure carbon
ate OF lead. oxide OF zinc, turpentine. japa
. dryer and pure %colors, can be marked pur
2 II it contains ingredients other than thes
a the adulterants must be marked on II
package in clear and distinct open goth
Z letters upon a white background, with Il
percentage OF each contained In the mi
c tuTe. Failure TO do this Is punishable by
I fine OF from SIS TO 500 aud costs.
The manufacturers and distributors