The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
First Aid For The Ailing Houses
A long-lasting paint job is not a matter of the paint alone, but in the skill with which it is applied, in the condition and preparation of the surface, and in its later treatment. Methods cannot be slapdash; carelessness in application will nullify the advantages of the best paint made.
WHICH PAINT TO USE
In buying and using paints and other finishes, the home owner should have in mind the distinction between those intended for outdoor exposure and those for use indoors. House paints, or outside paints, while decorative, have as their first purpose the protection of the surfaces against the entrance of moisture. Wood, and in many cases, masonry, will disintegrate should moisture work in; the fibers and structure will be broken by the freezing of absorbed moisture and by expansion and contraction from repeated soakings and dryings. With exposure to moisture, wood will rot and metal corrode. These possibilities for damage can be prevented by an unbroken film of paint.
Paint for use outdoors must have qualities suited to the exposure: elasticity, to expand and contract with extremes of temperature; tightness, to be proof against hot sun and harddriven rains; toughness, to stand the beating of sleet storms. In order that the intervals between paintings may be long, its inevitable disintegration should be slow.
Paint for indoor use is chiefly for decoration, with tone and texture as the main considerations. Indoor paints, while not proof against weather, should be washable. Paints for floors and stairs must be resistant to wear. Paints for walls should not rub off, but beyond that, the wear is negligible.
READY-MIXED PAINT
For convenience, and to get the uniform color and shade, a home owner usually buys paint ready-mixed. This is the best method of getting a good paint. To mix paints himself will be taking chances with un-uniform results, and some materials are difficult to obtain in small-enough quantities for the average home project.
The exception to this rule is that of the "color-addition" paints which are being widely marketed today. These paints are supplied with a basic white formulation, and special tubes of color are added to obtain the desired tone in the final job. Even here, the basic paint vehicle and solids are ready-mixed. All the home owner or the paint-store operator need do is to empty in the special color according to a precalculated chart. This method makes it possible for a wide variety of colors to be handled by the small dealer.
Paint companies invest hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in paint research to determine the best possible paint for each application. The reputable manufacturer has positive controls to ensure the batch of paint being the same quality and color as another batch of the same type made last month.
