Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1921-02-01


waiting once In three or four years.
Life OF paint ON the inside depends
largely on local conditions, such as
care Of property and the climate.
! III the outside OF house Is 10 he
done over. IL is n good idea TO look
around yur community, and espe-
cially your nelghborhood before se-
lcctipg colors. II You live In brick
row this probably does not concern
but. for the jewellers In wood. con.
crete and stone houses, finding the
right color scheme Is often difficult.
In garden cities the color and plan
Of every house must he approved by
II local committee on architecture.
hut in most communities no standard
Is required. and the desire 10 brighten
up the place often results In every
house on the block taking on differ
ent color The effect In these cases Is
more startling than restful.
A good color can make an ugly
residence attractive. or at least In.
conspicuous. while the wrong shade
or too many shades often ruin nm
otherwise well planned house. Brick
red Is, curiously enough, the most I'M
Obtrusive color for building. Green
and brown are usually good. brown
being warmer, and harmonizing bet
ter with grass and foliage
White Is attractive for CERTAIN
! types Of houses. notably the old farm
house and the colonial style. White
paint is less durable than light tint
according 10 chemists of the depart
ment Of agriculture. They advise
adding Il little cream or buff. OF n
tinge Of gray to add 10 the life Of
| the coat.
Some houses Of the bungalow tyre
look well In two colors. one for the
lower part, and another color or n
different shade of the same color. for
the upper half This often needs
careful planning. II Is often abused.
so that instead of harmonizing. the
two colorS contrast wildly and the
house seems divided against itself.
Materials for painting should he of
good quality, ms cheap grades do not
| last ~ long and are more difficult to
spread Whether the wall to be Gov
cred Is outside or within. the surface
should be- carefully prepared before
printing. II the old coat is In fairly
good condition. and not too thick II
may not he necessary to scrape IL off,
but rough places where the paint has
cracked or pealed must he Scraped
and sand papered.
The surface TO he coated should he
absolutely dry, free from dust. and
smooth Even for indoor work. dry
weather Is preferable
/ The first coat Of paint is more i'm
portant than the outer coat, "a il fills
the pores Of the wood or plaster and
prevents moisture from getting in.
This printing Is best applied thin and
smooth, with special notice taken to
leave no pores of the surface material
untitled. II takes Il week or more for
the printing To dry properly. To add
the surface coat IA damp printing Is
to make cracks and peeling certain, az
the under coat will continue 10 con
tract until IL is dry. and the resulting
tension will be overcome by the paint
cracking.
Inside painting follows practically
the same rules as outside work The
main thing 10 remember Is 10 put a
thin smooth coat on dry smooth sur
face. A thick coat Of paint does not, |
as might he supposed. have extra |
wearing properties. The reason Is /
that the tensile strength of thick /
layer Is 81 strong that II does not
contract and expand with the wood. ,
and when the wood expands beneath ,
II. It cracks under the strain. In ap-
parent contradiction 10 this Is the !
fact that three or four coats are
more lasting than two.
house as outside.e kra
Colors are ms important inside the
house ms out. A scientist who made |
experiments to test the effect of GER |
tain colors on school children. re-
ported that red caused temporary
stimulation. followed by reaction and |
n headache The effect of blue was
cnlmness and seriousness; green. in |
creased vitality and happiness: yell |
low, amiabllity; and black, melan-
choly.
As a rule pale tints are most APP
propriate for coloring plaster walls. |
Cream. blue green, soft yellow, and
pink are tints most used. Pink and
yellow, warm colors, are hest in the
darker rooms. and the cooler colors. |
the blues and the greens, for sunny
walls
In painting several rooms II is
usually best To complete one room at
II time. as this results In a minimum
Of diturbance. The order Of proceed
IRE, II walls and floor are both to be
treated. Is to do the walls first, then
the woodwork, and finally the floor.
The Institute for Technical Re
search gives the following directions
for refinishing old floors:
For old floors II Is often advisable |
TO apply a modren floor stain 10 hide
imperfection, and then to apply o.
varnish. or II desired, the so-called |
varnish stains may be applied In two
coat work. On rough splintery floors
that could not he made 10 present a !
good appearance by the use OF var
nish. II is customary to apply so
called floor paint which contains color
pigments Of various kinds and dries
TO very hard. durable, wear-resist-
ing surface.
Another method Of finishing floors
is To scrape them thoroughly 50 that
n smooth surface may he offered.
After lightly sandpaporing n coat OF |