Evening star., 1942-11-14
u. 5. Paint Industry
Is Comp|imented for
ResourcefuIness
Production Of Domestic
Materials Developed to
Fill Vital Role

DIVISION, Board OF Economic War
rare, in a survey of imported mate
rials in the paint industry, compH-
mented the industry on its re-
sourcefulness in continuing to pro-
duce high quality paint products
Tor protecting the vast equipment
OF the armed forces and other Gov
ernment agencies directly engaged
In the war effort. while at the same
time safeguarding the Nations
homes and other properties from
rot, rust and decay.
In citing replacement of domestic
materials in place Of imported ma
terials In paint manufacture, Col
Brady expressed the opinion that in
some instances the wartime replace
nents have fundamentally i'm
proved the quality Of the paint in
durability and working qualities. He
also foresaw further improvement,
due to the stimulation of manufac-
turing resourcefulness in wartime,
There are many items" Col.
Brady said, that have been manu-
1actured in the past months at the
expense of imported raw materials
that I personally would agree could
be eliminated during the period of
the war, but paint and other pro-
tective coatings are not among
them. I believe that you do not have
to sell the idea that finishes are not
merely ornamental.
For Armed and Civilian Fronts,
If you can double or treble the
life OF a product by protecting it
with a paint or lacquer then YOU
have really given us the equivalent
OF two or three such products. It
takes more than thousand gallons
OF paint to finish even a small boat,
and every ship captain knows that
his paint can is one Of his most
valuable tools in keeping his ship in
emcient trim. There are innumer-
able pieces of Army field equipment
that would have very short life in
the rain and mud If they were not
protected by good finishes.
"As for civilian goods, I believe
that 1t is now more necessary than
ever to put adequate protective
paint coatings on everything. What
ever Is worthy Of the expenditure
OF materials and labor to manufac-
ture during this emergency is cer-
tainly worthy Of the relatively small
additional expenditure of materials
and labor for finishing to protect
its life and usefulness
In homes, Offices, hospitals and
factories, paints have also become
a necessity for health protection,
as unpainted or poorly finished
rooms, furniture and equipment lead
to uncleanliness and unsanitary
conditions, not to mention the mo-
rale factor. This latter is so i'm
portant by itself that Gen. George
c. Marshall is quoted as justifying
an extra expenditure of IS million
dollars on paint for barracks by
saying that it would be bad for the
morale of the men to coop them up
In buildings that looked like lum-
Der yards.
Therefore, it would seem to me
that the gauge on the limit of sup
plies Of imported raw materials for
the paint industry should be meas
ured by the limits of the manufac-
ture Of goods that need paint coat
ings for their protection, with due
regard, Of course, to your ability to
develop and use substitute ma
terials."
Domestic Materials Developed.
In referring to the success of the
paint industry in utilizing the best
in pigments in wartime, Col. Brady
commented:
Il never could see why it was
necessary to ask that valuable ship
ping space be used in wartime to
bring red iron oxide 10000 miles
from OrmuE when with a little extra
effort We could use the oxides of
New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
"The development of production
Of domestic titanium oxide was a
case Of a well-planned job. The
company involved gave positive in
formation well in advance as to
what it could produce in a given
time, so that it was possible to have
months advance notice to
cut down the imports, which had
to be brought more than 10000
miles.
Another case which I will give as
typical OF good job in its line to fit
into the war effort, Is that of the
direct use of domestic zinc ore in
place of standard loaded zinc. This
ore was not being used for other
purposes and was brought into
emergency paint use to save our
strategic zinc even though it gave
in the paints. In fact, it
was found that because 1t contained
no soluble zinc it gave greater du-
rability in the paints, and that for
most purposes the off-color white
would not be Objectionable during
the emergency.
Mica Flake Used.
perhaps another example OF in
dividual jobs well done will illus
trate how this industry has and can
90 forward in maintaining the sup
ply Of raw materials. The example
I refer to is that Of aluminium and
bronze paint pigments. Aluminium
flake and bronze fake had to be al
located early because Of dependence
on imported bauxite and copper
ores.
Normally, when an extender Is
used to conserve the original pig
ment there is a considerable re-
duction in quality Of the paints.
But It was found that with a large
proportion Of sericite mica flake the
body and flow of the aluminium and
bronze paints were improved and
the change in color was not OBJ
jectionable for most uses and was
improved for some purposes. The
production Of mica flake was easily
doubled and trebled in the Carolinas
As it was plentiful and not stra-
teaic MATERIAL