Document RXgopYd98OJ0VZaVdNnkDpq8

" n~nn* n^i i HOUSE OWNER'S PAINT BOOK NATIONAL LEAD COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CINCINNATI CLEVELAND 0OBX T. LRWIS * nos. CD., IBUHLrEU) BUFFALO ST. LOUIS CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO (MnOKAL l e a d a on. CD., rmncKZ) N12429 NL 1 001639 THE HOUSE-OWNER'S PAINT BOOK How often house-metiers fed perplexed and almost helpless when painting time conies around! If only there was one best way to ha ve the work done, and if they could Inme that way, the doubts and the risk would all disappear. This plain, short talk about house painting is intended to meet precisely that need. The statements arc ail trustworthy and the booklet may well be keptforfuture reading. With thesefoun dation principles well in mind, economy, pleasure and satisfaction in painting are within easy reach ofany one. Be sure ofyourpainter, sure ofyour materials, careful with color and shy ofexperiments. N THE CARE OF THE HOUSE, the question of painting the outside and decorating the inside I comes up every so often. Every one readily ac cepts the cost of this work as a necessary inci dental expense to having a home, just as clothing and the home itself are necessary to our comfort. It is even possible to think eagerly of the painting season as the time when the home is to be renewed, when different color harmonies and a new set of experiences are to impress us for a whDe. If we can feel sure that the results of our painting will be satisfying, and that the new color effects are going m L I 001640 to give new pleasure to ourselves and our friends, we shall think of painting time very much as we do the occasion of buying new clothing. Such satisfaction is uniformly possible. It depends almost entirely upon knowing what and how. For good painting and good decoration rest upon a few foundation principles, which do not change. All the principles here stated are the ones followed by the best painters and decorators the world over, and they make this little book of practical painting helps well worth preserving for reference. The object in exterior painting is to preserve the wood and to beautify it with color. The three con siderations for the owner are the painter, the color scheme, and the paint. A wise selection of the painter usually means good advice in choosing the paint materials and the color. Selecting a Painter A good way to choose a painter is to find out what class of work he is doing--who are his customers. If he works for the best people, can refer to ex cellent jobs he has done or is doing, and asks a reasonable price for nis work, he is probably a man who has taken the necessary years to leam the trade, and is therefore competent and reliable. But don't expect him to compete in price with the fellow who works by guess and who sprang up a full-fledged painter over night. The range of colors suitable for exterior painting is somewhat limited. Brilliant colors would be too m NLI 001641 ncuous i are al * the pt -ter. Tb| liability, use whl should 1 lor tb asting house i k color"* -rve the 9C8 Wit shouldl e than ! in red! e. Th dive s with 1 & conspicuous and many of the beautiful soft tints which are available for interiors would not stand either the glare of the sun or the rigors of rough weather. The problems to consider are permanence or durability, and harmony with surroundings. General Suggestions on Color A house which is set closely among trees or shrub bery should not be painted green or olive, though green for the trim may possibly be used. Colors contrasting with the surroundings are better for the body. If a house is low, with a tendency to " squattiness," a dark color should not be used. Paint it light and preserve the benefit of what height it possesses. Nothing is better than pure white for certain styles of country and suburban houses, especially if set snugly against a green background and amidst green surroundings. Naturally, however, white is a poor scheme for factory towns or other smoky localities, A light gray, like French or pearl gray, may be more durable than pure white, and yet give nearly white effects. Houses with shingled upper stories or gables as a rule should be painted on the lower story a lighter shade than the shingles. The shingles may then be Indian led, dark brown, dark green or some olive shade. Thb body should harmonize, as light or dark olive with Indian red, cream with browns, the grays with dark green or dull red. 53 NL 1001642 .H.' Not all colors and tints are equally durable. Colors like the grass greens, blues, and comparatively cool shades of Yellow, hasten the deterioration of the paint film. This is due to the fact that they do not reflect cr turn back the heat rays of the sun, but allow them to penetrate the film. The Most Durable Colors Tints based on the reds, brown and blacks are, as a rule, the most durable. Thus the grays, the slates, the browns, the richer yellows, etc., are excellent for wear and are at the same time the most pleasing on the house. We therefore recommend them most frequently in our designs. Perhaps a word should be added for the benefit of those who may have always thought of white-lead as good for white paint only. The fact is, white must be used as the base in making all paints of light tint, and many paints of dark shades, too. Black and certain intense shades of blue, red, brown, and yellow can be produced without using any white base, but by far the greater number of tints, especially those most suitable for house paint ing and the most dura ole for that purpose, are made by mixing a small portion of tinting color with a large portion of white-lead. A few ounces of color pigment are often enough to tint 100 pounds of white-lead to the desired shade. Choosing the Paint Of utmost importance is the choice of the paint, and here is where the house-owner should know C63 NLI 001643 the fu tides, vehick are wl chalk, seedo oils fri and ci Now i lead, a qualitii die otl that d oil, wl attract: the co They 1 which to imp Tounc of thes briefly 1. ; I 2. 1 i 3. 3 \ the fundamentals. All paint is made of solid partides, called the pigment and a liquid called the vehicle. Among white substances used as pigments are white-lead, zinc oxide, whiting, silica, barytes, chalk. Among the liquids used as vehicles are lin seed oil, turpentine, mineral oils, fish oil, and various oils from such materials as com, wood, soya bean, and cottonseed. Now it happens that one of these pigments, whitelead, and one of these vehicles, linseed oil, possess qualities which fit them for use in paint as none of the other vehicles and pigments do. It also happens that these two substances, white-lead and linseed oil, when both are pure, have so remarkable an attraction for each other that when mixed together the combination is unusually close and strong. They have for centuries made a complete paint which no science, ancient or modem, has been able to improve. To understand further the reason for the superiority of these two substances as paint materials, consider briefly what a paint coat should do. 1. As a decorative material it must hide the wood or other substance on which it is ap plied with the few'est possible number of coats. 2. It must dry soon to prevent dust and insects from sticking fast to it. 3. It must anchor into the pores of the wood with a grip that will hold it where it is put. m NLl 001644 4. As a preservative of the wood, it must abso lutely keep out all moisture. It must with stand the roughest weather conditions, from scorching sun to extreme cold, with driving storms. 5. It must wear down smooth from the top, otherwise the laying of coat upon coat would finally make a thick mass, certain to come off in patches when a new coat was applied. All these requirements the lead-and-oil film meets. It has great power of combining with oxygen, which insures thoro drying; it is impervious to moisture; it is remarkably opaque; and it has a certain tough ness which lets it stretch rather than break under climatic changes. Avoid Adulteration If these two substances make the ideal paint, why are they often adulterated ? For two reasons: first, to cheapen the paint to a point at which property owners who arc buying by price and not by value will buy it; second, to create a new market for cer tain materials which look to the uninformed as if they might make paint. The consumer's interest lies in avoiding all adulter ants, as the best master painters have done for gen erations. Experiments are sometimes interesting, they may be instructive, and occasionally they are profitable. But to experiment with the painting of your home is decidedly risky. You can't discard a m 001645 disappointing result in a day, and even a year is too soon to do a painting job over. If the result is bad it stays bad a good while. ! Dependable Paint ! Knowing what is certainly excellent, reliable, and thoroly tested, it is the part of good judgment to stick to that. The white-lead now sold under the Dutch Boy trademark has enjoyed a clean reputation for purity during more than one hundred years. The trademarked steel kegs and the sealed cans of Dutch Boy Unseed oil give the purchaser of them ample assurance that he is getting the best paint materials his money can buy. WUteleid for Distinctive Interior Decoration All that has been said of pure white-lead as an in gredient for outdoor paint appUes equally to paint to be used on woodwork inside, except that there are no great changes of temperature indoors and hence no particular danger of cracking and scaling. A more distinctive use of white-lead indoors is as paint for plastered or board walls. The points to consider in the treatment of walls are beauty, clean liness and economy; Beauty involves color and style of finish. Cleanliness depends upon washabiUty and consequent freedom from dust or other impurities. Economy has to do with cost and with years of wear. These three results are best reached by the use of paint. To consider color first, there are certain rules or principles that may be followed in the selection of 193 NL I 001646 One <>: ti'AM fimiLii.vr.t.:! jules jx-rtains-'o fitness.. A. color may ix I'c.miifal in nselt ami \et he on: of pLue on the walls : a room. 1 he home exists primarily tor use, and while co'or is employed for the sake of giving pleasure, there is a wide dif ference between its use for ixauty and its uv for show. Beauty and fitness must go hand in hand. Color for war* should always he chosen with refer ence to tire tilings, w hich w:a i'-e used in the home. If rtn interior h new , the who-e Sc iieTr.c of elre: nation nine'he worked out harmoniously to inednelt the painting, the nays or i.rrpets the furniture an 1 tin window curt,!in*. When an interior is to be redew orated, the wall colors Svketed must ham ;*nt/e with the- furniture , rugs and hanging;- ahead) in use. A prnctieal American artist anil decorator of the hight-t standing says: ** Have dei.ntti'y in mind what your ideal of the re>om would he it you could have everything neve' and have it at ones. . . . Start with the haekgrejund of tire room. jj S-5, or SlOtl he used, let that he expended to make the woodwork, the walls, the ceding and the floor a suit able-background. . . . The mistake made- by most people, including man; decorators, is in trying to make things appear moderately satisfactory against an impossible background." How Color Affects the Room Take into account the natural lighting of a room, or its outlook, when selecting colors for it. Since yel low is a sunny color, it is veil suited for use in a north or poorly lighted room. On the other hand, E103 NL I H>h green, bluish gray-or gray green may well lx selected fur nKx>irmns facing the sun trhat milgh; lx- tin; suggestive of warmth on brig;:: days, if the dominant color were yellow or re*d. Colorists tell ns that yellow ehcers and stimulates, red excites, blue restrains and calms. They tell us. Do not introduce a variety of color schemes on a floor or in a suite. If the li\ ing-rtxrm, library, diningTtiom and ha!!,.for example, communkate by wide openings the scheme max u ell lx the same thruout those rexams. If the openings are single doors, greater freedom is permissible. Where a hall sep arates two rooms a different scheme is allowable in the two rooms providing there is a key color run ning thru all the schemes that ties them together. Plan the combination so that when seen from a chief view-point, as the entrance to the house, or from the head or the foot of the stair.', the general effect is a Complete, harmonious unit. Be Sure Your Colors Harmonize This principle of harmony should be applied also to hold together the ceiling, sidexvalls and floor of a nun 001648 7`> ' j j| 'a. >i t-"s**. -Z-'.............. .. * `f . ................................ - . `Ji'4 room. A perfectly white ceiling with ray woodtrim and aoft yellow walls would be a violation of that principle. The white of the ceiling would be unrelated to the colors on trim and walls. A little yellow in the ceiling color, to make it cream, will key the scheme together and make it harmonious. Keep the colors subdued and avoid strong contrasts. Walls, floor and ceiling should always be less in tense than the objects which are to appear against diem. Using delicate, neutral tones, with ceiling lightest, sides next, floors darkest and trim either a deeper or a lighter shade than die sidewall color, gives the room or the suite an air of restful comfort. Idet are SakrttUlfUM Most of us like to exercise our personal taste in the selection of a color scheme, akho that is not always a safe guide. What pleases one person may offend another. The laws of harmony do not change, and therefore they cannot depend on individual like* or dislikes. Color rules air safer guides dan color preferences, and established rules should be fol lowed just as earnestly where die decoration is simple and inexpensive as where it is elaborate and cosdy. There is no reason at all why die color even in the most modest of homes should not be a delightful, rest-giving harmony. Nothing is too good for the things that closely affect our daily lives, and in the matter of interior decoration, k is fortunate that teal excellence and simple beauty are questions of choice mther than of coat When one considers that color C123 NLl 001649 -i ^ rt-YSj -- a*** f *V it the thing we tee and that the pleasure we derive from interior painting depends on the color and on die general style of finish, the utmost care should be used in selecting them. Bostifd EfitdtSiih Flatting OB* A marked increase in the popularity of painted walls followed the successful efforts to develop flatting oils which would combine well with pure white-lcacL The old white-leaded walls, built up with from four to ten coats of white-lead, linseed oil and turpentine hardened like part of the wall itself and were as durable as stone. There was nothing better and nothing more beautiful, and much of that class of work is still done. Nevertheless, the rich, velvety finish of the delicate soft-tone paint made with whitelead and a flatting oil has proved to be equally prac tical and beautiful, and is quite attractive from the atandpoint of economy. Instead of many coats, three give excellent results and even two with proper prep aration are often satisfactory. When the decorator makes up his own paint from white-lead and flatting oil, the color range is as wide as his client's taste. " Just a shade deeper, or a trifle lighter," or "a little more on the gray order," is al ways possible and easy. Moreover, a wide variety of the most beautiful effects is possible* To name some of them: the lustreless finish, soft and velvetKke; semi-gloss, like an egg-shell; full-gloss, some times preferred i because it soils less easily; stippled; tiffany, a blending or combination of various colors; CI3D J'if- j ! it- \ o. haded, from darker below to lighter above; glazed, a two-tone effect secured by the use of a lake or transparent doted film over the top color coat. The Meal for Walls When thinking of beauty and harmony, think also of the durable, the sanitary and the economical. A white-leaded wall dries very hard, which means that k lasts for years and stands frequent washing with tepid water, mild soap and a soft doth or sponge. Washing freshens and renews a white-leaded wall as really as repainting does. The well washed wall is actually dean, and nothing could be more sanitary. A justifiable claim for the painting of walls withwhitelead and a flatting oil is that it gives a maximum of wear, of deanliness, of artistic beauty and of satis faction, all at a minimum cost Hie color plates furnished for users of Dutch Boy white-lead have been prepared by decorators who are thoroly familiar with the prindples and the prac tice of the best decoration. Any one who follows the suggestions given for these color schemes may feel confident of the most pleasing results. This applies equally to exteriors and interiors. Our De partment of Decoration will gladly furnish additional Suggestions and will cheerfully answer any inquiries. Your needs, if you tell them to us, will be our care. CM3 NLI 001651 , :=J