VOL. LXVII
INDIANAPOLIS, APRIL 20, 1912.
NO. 16
Beautifying Farms With Paint
Adds Beauty and  Length
of Life to Buildings and
Tools.
HOW   TO MIX   AND APPLY   PAINT
FOK ALU PURPOSES.
By R. H. Moulton.
There Is probably no one point more
neglected by the average farmer than
the judicious use of paint, not only on
his house and outbuildings, but also
on machinery and various agricultural
implements. It is perhaps the rule
rather than the exception in some sections to see houses and agricultural instruments on the farm sadly in need of
paint. The idea seems to be prevalent that paint is used solely for ornamental purposes, and its use is regarded as a luxury rather than a necessity. While paint does, of course,
serve the purpose of improving the appearance of property, it is far more
useful for protection than for ornament. A small amount of money expended in keeping a valuable piece of
machinery properly painted will add
greatly to the length of its life. The
same may be said of buildings. Another useful object which is accomplished by painting is the improved
■**anitary conditions of buildings and
outhouses.
Differences ln Brushes.
Any man can do an average job of
Painting. The cost of painting houses,
machinery and other farm equipment
is small, the necessary tools are inexpensive, and with proper care will last
a long time. The only absolutely necessary Implements are brushes. Probably the most generally useful brush
'*" a round one with bristles about six
inches long. Oval brushes from 2 to
~% inches wide are also very good
f°r general use, and a great deal of
Painting is done with 4 or 5 inch fiat
'■rushes. Of these three types it is
difficult to say which is the best, different painters having their individual
Preferences.
The advantage of a flat brush Is that
a greater amount of surface Is cov-
""ed at a stroke, with the disadvantage that the paint cannot be as thoroughly rubbed in. On the whole,
therefore, it is best to use a round
•'rush. The 6-lnch bristles are too
lr)ng for proper working, and before
Mng used a piece of cloth should be
•'ed around the brush about 4 inches
fr"m the end of the bristles and 2 in-
°hes from the binding. As the bristles
are worn off this sleeve or bridle, as
n Is called, may be pushed back, thus
materially lengthening the life of the
'-rush.
Brushes For Special Work.
Por painting sashes and other small
•surfaces smaller brushes are necessary,
-"•a most satisfactory being the small
°val brushes with a chiseled end. For
Garnishing, oval or flat brushes with
*°mewhat shorter    bristles    are  used.
0>" the application of white wash and
calcimine a very much larger brush
may be used, since these are applied
lightly to the surface and are not rubbed in. A flat 8 or 9 inch white-wash
brush may be used with practically as
much ease as a smaller one.
In addition to the paint brushes,
dusting brushes mades of stiff bristles
are useful for cleaning the surface before painting. For cleaning rusted
metal surfaces, steel-wire brushes, 2 or
3 inches wide and 6 inches long, are
frequently  necessary.
If ready-mixed paints are bought
the cans may serve as buckets, but if
the paint is mixed from the paste a
strong tin  bucket large enough  to al
as well.  Paint should always be strained  before using it.
Caring For Brushes.
Brushes for applying oil paints must
be well cleaned after using, though for
keeping overnight it is generally sufficient to wrap them in several thicknesses of paper. Some painters keep
their brushes overnight by putting
them in water. If, however, the brush
is not to be used for several days, the
paint should be washed out of it.
Turpentine is one of the most satisfactory materials for washing a brush,
but it is expensive, and kerosene will
generally do as well. If kerosene is
used the brush should be rinsed with
gasoline or benzine, then thoroughly
shaken and well washed with soap
and warm water. As soon as this
washing is complete the brush  should
Homes are Kept New by  Frequent Use of Paint.
low for stirring the paint will be necessary. Scraping knives and putty
knives are necessary tools for the paint
er, and it is well to have one or two
of each, but a very good scraper can
be improvised from a piece of sheet
iron, and an old kitchen knife may be
ground to a square end and converted
into a very serviceable putty knife. A
paint strainer is useful, but two thicknesses of cheese cloth tied over the
top of    a bucket answers    practically
be shaken thoroughly so as to throw
as much water out of it as possible and
hung up with the bristles down to dry.
When dried the brush should be well
protected  from  the  dust.
Brushes used with whitewash or calcimine should simply be washed and
not put In the same liquids in which
the brushes used for oil are kept. If a
brush has been used for shellac varnish, it should be kept in alcohol or in
the  varnish   itself.    In  general  a  var-
Paint Improves Appearance of All Farm Buildings.
nish brush may be kept In the varnish
in which it is used.
Preparing Surfaces to be Painted.
In preparing surfaces for painting
they should be made as clean and dry
as possible before the application of
an oil paint. Much new wood is difficult to paint. The rosins in such
woods as yellow pine and spruce tend
to destroy any paint that is laid over
them. When possible, it is well to allow a new house to stand unpainted
for at least six months or even a year
after the woodwork has been finished.
This exposure to the weather tends to
bring the rosins to the surface, and
they are either washed away or hardened, the resulting wood surface being in much better condition for painting than is a new structure.
An unpainted house, however, is an
unsightly object, and it is often desired
to paint a house at once. Painters
adopt several methods of treating new
wood. Probably the one most universally used is to coat all knots and other places where rosin appears with
shellac varnish, a solution of gum
shellac in alcohol. After applying the
priming coat, all nail holes and cracks
should be well filled with putty pressed
in hard. Filling in with putty should
not be attempted before the priming
coat is applied, as it is not likely to
stick as well.
Painting should be done in warm,
dry weather. It is much better to select the summer time for painting than
tho winter. Not only does the paint
not flow so well in cold weather, but
the surfaces of the painted objects are
more likely to be moist, and a little
moisture underneath the paint film,
either on wood or iron, Is very apt to
cause   serious   trouble.
Kinds of Paint For Each Coat.
In order to do a good job of painting
it is practically always necessary to
apply several coats to new wood. The
first or priming coat is made thinner
than the others, the amount of thinning depending upon the porosity of
the wood. For ordinary pine, a paint
of proper spreading consistency, when
mixed with an equal volumn of raw
linseed oil, generally furnishes a good
material for painting. With very
porous wood, such as redwood, more
oil may be added. The priming coat
should be allowed to dry at least a
week before the second coat Is put on.
Three coats are generally necessary
to make a good piece of work. The
third, or finishing coat should be one
which will dry with a gloss, and for
this purpose there should be no turpentine or thinner added to the paint
at all.
For oil painting exposed to the
weather (exterior painting) it is very
important that a durable paint be sc-
l.ctc.l, because even the best painted
surfaces in time are destroyed by out-
dnor exposure. Inside of a house,
however, the conditions are radically
different. The painted surface i.s exposed to neither the extreme heat of
the summer nor to the action of tho
rain and frost to anything like the extent that outdoor painting is. Tho
main point in selecting a paint for this
woik is to choose one which contains
colors that are permanent. Very light
tints or very brilliant colors are likely