GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1921 



used with /.iiic wliite tlic eombination is 

 more durable than either lead or zinc alone. 

 Zinc white used alone is apt to peal off. Eaw 

 linseed oil, as the vehicle of a paint mixture, 

 leaves a good surface for repainting. Pure 

 old process white lead to the extent of (>5 

 per cent and good zinc white 35 per cent, 

 mixed in pure raw linseed oil, plus a litlle 

 turpentine drier, make a paint that fulfills 

 all the above requisites of a good paint. 



A hive painted with such a paint should 

 not need repainting under five years if the 

 first painting was well done, and will re- 

 main in pretty good condition for seven to 

 ten years in most climates. 



I would never use for outside painting a 

 paint in which any present-known substi- 

 tute for raw linseed oil is used, except in 

 asphalt and tar paints. Asphalt makes a 

 good coating for bottom-boards of hives. It 

 can be applied by dipping in a kettle of hot 

 melted asphalt, or can be melted and mixed 

 with kerosene, or dissolved cold with gaso- 

 line, and brushed on. It also makes a good 

 coating for sheet iron where the black color 

 is not objectionable. Many corrugated-iron 

 buildings are coated with asphalt paint. 



Even a good paint may fail in durability 

 if applied to damp, green, pitchy, or very 

 cold lumber. Paint can not be ])roperly 

 spread in a cold atmosj>here without undue 

 thinning. Knots should be coated with shel- 

 lac dissolved in denatured alcohol before 

 applying paint. 



In applying the priming coat to a pitchy 

 lumber like hard pine, it is good practice 

 to add considerable turpentine. 



Poor Paint Dear at Any Price. 

 This will be a year in which beekeepers 

 will be tempted to buy extremely poor- 

 quality mixed paints, which maybe offered at 

 prices a little below the best. Many of these 

 poor paints are dear at any price. 



Some of the adulterants for linseed oil 

 are soy-bean oil, corn oil, rosin oil, fish oils, 

 coal oils, and benzol. None of them are good 

 drying oils like linseed oil. By the word 

 "drying," as applied to paint oils, we 

 mean oxidation and not evaporation. Eaw 

 linseed oil absorbs over one-third of its 

 weight of oxygen in drying. 



Some of the "fillers" and adulterants 

 used in white paints are calcium carbonate 

 in some form, barytes, calcium sulphate, 

 magnesium silicate, China clay, and pow- 

 dered sand. 



S.ead the Label on the Can. 

 Don't buy a mixed paint unless the label 

 on the can contains the name of the manu- 

 facturer and the formula. Some state laws 

 require this; so, if the manufacturer omits 

 either, it is good evidence that lie is not 

 proud of his product. 



Some people do not understand the mean- 

 ing of paint formulae as printed on paint 

 labels, so we give a few here with our crit- 

 icism of the same: 



Fojinula 1. Pigment: H.") pei- (-('iit old pio- 



cess white lead, .H5 per cent zinc oxide. Ve- 

 liicle; 93 per cent pure raw linseed oil, 7 per 

 cent turpentine drier. 



The above represents to my mind the best 

 white paint for outside work. 



Formula 2. Pigment: 66.6 per cent white 

 lead (lead carb.), 33.4 per cent zinc white 

 (zinc oxide). Vehicle: S4.8 per cent raw lin- 

 seed oil, 5.7 per cent Japan drier, 9.5 per 

 cent turpentine. 



No. 2 is manufactured by an old paint 

 company that takes pride in its reputation. 

 It is a very good paint. Covers well and 

 spreads well. Dries a little too fast for warm- 

 weather work, as it contains a rather large 

 amount of drier and turpentine. 



Formula 3. Pigment: 25 per cent white 

 lead (lead carb.), 20 per cent sublimed white 

 lead (lead sulphate), 30 per cent zinc oxide, 

 10 per cent calcium carbonate, 15 per cent 

 barium sulphate. Vehicle: 80 per cent raw 

 linseed oil, 5 per cent turnentine, 5 per cent 

 Japan drier, 7 per cent benzine, 3 per cent 

 water. 



No. 3 is probably somewhere near an aver- 

 age quality of mixed paint. It is neither 

 very good nor very bad. The pigment con- 

 tains some sublimed lead, which is not con- 

 sidered as good as lead carbonate. It also 

 has 25 per cent of inert filler, as calcium 

 carbonate and barium sulphate. The worst 

 feature is the 7 per cent benzine and the 3 

 per cent water in the vehicle, used to adul- 

 terate the linseed oil. 



Formula 4. Pigment: 36.6 per cent sub- 

 limed white lead, 12.2 per cent zinc oxide, 

 34.3 per cent calcium carbonate, 9.7 per 

 cent barium sulphate, 7.3 per cent magne- 

 sium silicate. Vehicle: 87 per cent linseed 

 oil, 6.8 per cent naphtha drier, 6.2 per cent 

 naphtha. 



No. 4 is made and sold by a general job- 

 bing house. It contains no lead carbonate, 

 only sublimed lead, and only a small amount 

 of zinc oxide. Over half of the pigment is 

 a cheap "filler," of which 34.2 per cent is 

 calcium carbonate, or whiting. The vehicle 

 contains too much naphtha. (Naphtha is 

 cheaper than Japan drier and turpentine. ~> 

 The paint lacks covering or hiding power — 

 is too transparent. It also requires more 

 erallons to cover a given surface, owing to 

 lack of spreading capacity. No. 4 is manu- 

 facturer's analvsis. 



Formula 5. Pigment: 10 per cent sub- 

 limed white lead, 10 per cent China clay, 60 

 per cent barium sulphate. 10 per cent cal- 

 cium carbonate, 10 per cent silica (sand). 

 The vehicle is a mixture of linseed oil, soy- 

 bean oil, naphtha drier, and water. 



No. 5 represents a very poor paint. A 

 large amount of barium sulphate was prob- 

 ably used to give it weight. It contains 

 but little linseed oil and dries very slowly. 

 All ready-mixed paints require some thin- 

 ning with raw linseed oil and turpentine 

 for first coat. 

 Charlotte, Mich. 



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