The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Painting And Decorating
Scaling. Scaling is the ultimate result of cracking. Cracking is the separation of the paint film extending down to the wood. (See Fig. 1.18 (c).) Moisture enters behind the paint film and loosens it. This defect is due to a hard or inelastic paint, which cannot expand with the wood under tempera- ture changes. Poor paint or improper mixtures are its causes. The only remedy is to scrape or burn off all loose paint, and repaint according to formula for new exterior wood.
Blistering and Peeling. Blistering is accompanied by peeling. The paint first detaches itself from the surface, appearing as blisters. Blisters do not always crack, but when cracking occurs the paint folds over, leaving the surface exposed. (See Fig. 1.18 (d).) The most common cause of this defect is moisture behind the paint. This may be avoided by not painting until the surface is thoroughly dry. The remedy is the same as for scaling paint. Porch columns that blister after each coating contain moisture inside the column. This may be overcome by boring small holes at the top and bottomto allow for ventilation.
Bleeding over Knots. Oil in the paint dissolves substances in knots, thereby causing bleeding. (See Fig. 1.18 (e).) This can be avoided by shellacking knots. In persistent cases, aluminum powder added to the shellac will remedy the trouble.
Discoloration. Discoloration is caused by substances in the wood being dissolved and carried to the surface. (See Fig. 1.18 (f).) Thorough drying of the wood before painting will prevent it.
Interior House Painting
Preparing Plaster for Painting or Calcimining . . . Calcimining . . . Painting Plaster Walls and Ceilings . . . Paint Formulas for New Plaster . . . Painting Interior Woodwork . . Mixing Formulas for Interior Paint
Before undertaking any major painting job inside the house, such as the ceiling or walls of a room or hallway, it is essential to have a means of work- ing at points that cannot be reached while standing on the floor. A practical arrangement of this kind is a simple scaffold, which is made by resting the ends of a plank on stepladder^ facing each other at opposite ends of the room. This scaffold should be placed so that the work will progress in a direction away from the source of light, so that any uneveness in the paint film or any unpainted patches may be easily detected.
The proper order to be followed in painting the various parts of any portion of the interior of a house is based on the same rule as was followed in exterior work in the previous chapter; that is, start at the highest point in the room and work down. Accordingly, ceilings and walls are painted before the other parts of the room.
