Lumber and its Relation to Paints: The proper choice and treatment of lumber is one of the most important problems which the builder as well as the painter has to face. When about to build a dwelling, barn, or other structure made principally of wood, the question is sure to arise in regard to what variety to select so as to get the maximum service and money value. The locality in which the structure is to be built must often have a bearing upon this question. While it is true that the painting of each type of wood demands the special consideration of the painter, it is also true that the study of paints for wood protection points toward the production of a paint that will give satisfactory results under all conditions and on all grades. It is the writers' opinion that a paint may be made that will be perfectly well suited for the preservation of every species of wood, provided the paint is properly treated in the hands of the skillful and intelligent painter, who can produce lasting results on almost every type by varying the proportion of thinners and oil in the various coats. The painter who uses the same paint on soft pine, and again on hard pine, without making a special study of how to reduce the priming coat for the hard pine, will be likely to get inferior results on the latter. In case of failure, the natural impulse is often to place the blame upon the paint, whereas the real responsibility may rest upon the painter's lack of knowledge.
Note.—For a more detailed account of the lumber question, see "Modern Lumber as a Problem for the Painter," read by John Dewar, at the Convention of Master House Painters' and Decorators' Association of Pennsylvania, January, 1911, Pittsburg, Pa.
Photographs Showing Different Forms of
Decay Exhibited by Improperly
Made Paints
Blistering
Chalking