■90 
House & Garden 
W 
"better 
Window 
W 
E asily cleaned. The upper and 
lower sash and the pair of copper- 
cloth fly-screens may all be pushed up 
out of the way into a box-head which 
forms the upper part of the window 
frame. 
When the window panes are to be cleaned, 
simply pull down one sash; wash and clean 
both sides of the glass. Push the washed 
window up out of the way. Pull down the 
other sash, clean and push up out of the way. 
Then let down the fly-screens. 
No more sitting on the window sill when 
washing windows. No more exposure. Less 
cleaning. Easier cleaning. 
100% opening for ventilation, with full screen¬ 
ing from top to bottom in Summer. Or the 
upper and lower sash may be locked securely 
to give partial ventilation from top, bottom and 
center of window opening. During bad 
weather, the self-weatherstripping features of 
the Lunken Window make it proof against the 
severest storms. 
These are only a few of the advantages of 
the Lunken Window. We will be glad to 
tell you the whole story. Write us for full 
information. 
THE LUNKEN WINDOW COMPANY 
4016 Cherry St., Cincinnati, Ohio 
0 
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IP: 
SPRING IS PAINT-PLANNING TIME '' 
JAMES E. 
Y OU are planning to build a house. 
If it is to be a cheaply constructed 
affair which you expect to sell at 
a profit, you will not be particular as 
to the nicety of detail. But if it is to 
be a house that is to shelter yourself 
and yours—a house of your own that 
you have been looking forward to for 
some time—then you will want to make 
it a real home in every sense. 
You will insist on double flooring 
and double walls throughout; you will 
want sturdy and stanch uprights; stairs 
that will not creak; heavy doors that 
will not warp, and containing panels 
that will not sag when the furnace runs 
wild or the air carries excess moisture. 
You have decided on the size of the 
rooms, the texture of the inside finish 
and the drapery, the style of furniture. 
Perhaps you have even determined on 
the colors to be used for the outside 
painting. 
But did you decide simply to paint 
it a certain color and then pass on to 
some other detail without giving any 
further thought to the paint itself? If 
so, you are exposing yourself to much 
future trouble and expense. 
The Humanness of Paint 
You will doubtless be surprised, cer¬ 
tainly interested, to learn that paint is 
almost human. When applied to a sur¬ 
face it goes through a breathing process. 
The linseed oil absorbs oxygen from the 
air (forming a substance known as 
Linoxyn) as when we inhale; and it 
also gives off a small quantity of car¬ 
bon dioxide as when we exhale. This 
has been proved by a series of experi¬ 
ments—it was exploited nearly fifty 
years ago by a prominent Middle West¬ 
ern paint manufacturer—and shows to 
what an extent paint manufacturers 
have gone in formulating what is known 
as good paint. 
Today, any experienced paint man 
will tell you that the ready-mixed paint, 
which is ground and mixed by a repu¬ 
table manufacturer and put up in cans 
ready for use, is far superior to the 
lead-and-oil which a few old-time 
painters still persist in mixing by hand 
and shading themselves. 
The secret of the superiority of ready- 
mixed paint is found in the mixing it¬ 
self. The old-school painter means all 
right, but he can never approximate 
machine-mixed paint because he hasn’t 
the physical endurance to spend a suffi¬ 
cient time manipulating his stirring 
paddle. 
In a modern paint factory, the pig¬ 
ment is first mixed thoroughly with 
just enough linseed oil to form a paste¬ 
like mass of uniform consistency. And 
remember, it is really ‘‘mixed”. This 
means that a film of the oil is wrapped 
entirely around each particle of the 
pigment, a result that hand-mixing can¬ 
not accomplish. 
From the mixers the paint goes in a 
dough-like state to the grinding mills, 
where the element of time cannot be 
considered. The paint must be thor¬ 
oughly ground and reground untU it 
meets the test specifications—that is, if 
it is to be good paint. 
The various processes of thinning, 
shading and so on are all worked out 
by weight, so there is no possibility of 
making a mistake. That is why you 
can always match a certain shade in a 
ready-mixed paint, whereas the painter 
who mixes his own may require several 
hours to secure the same shade that 
he mixed before. 
Then, too, the reliable manufacturer 
employs expert testers, usually former 
painters, who give each batch of paint 
a rigid test as it is made up, comparing 
it for color, weight, hiding capacity, 
etc., with the smalt master sample can 
kept for that particular purpose. 
The secret of making quality paint, 
DURHAM 
. I 
then, is found in the mixing thereof. 
For instance, a manufacturer of cheap i 
paint can use the same formula as does i 
the manufacturer of good paint, yet if 
he does not spend a sufficient amount I 
of time in mixing the materials, he will 
not produce good paint. Naturally, the ! 
shorter time spent on the mixing opera- i 
tion reduces the overhead and increases i 
the quantity produced; therefore the i 
paint can be sold cheaper. And by the i 
same token it will produce poorer re- j 
suits and will cost the home owner | 
more in the long run. I 
When the paint is applied to the 
surface, if the oil is not thoroughly 
wrapped around each pigment particle, : 
nine times out of ten the pigment will i 
soon become dry, especially after a cer- : 
tain proportion of the oil has been ab- * 
sorbed by the wood. This causes early ! 
chalking, peeling and general dissatis- ; 
faction. i 
Perhaps you have often wondered at ! 
the varying prices of paints. It is true i 
that so-called paint can be bought to- ; 
day for as little as $2.50 per gallon. 1 
But it is only so-called. Paint sold at 
this price is mixed with water or 
“dope”, which looks good when the 
can is opened, but looks very badly I 
soon after it is used. 
There is a way to tell good paint I 
from poor paint before it is used. Buy 
a small can of the costliest white out- i 
side paint, also a can of cheap white 
paint. Open both cans and mix the 
contents of each thoroughly. If you 
knew nothing about paint you would j 
immediately pick the cheaper brand be- i 
cause it is pure white and thick. The j 
better paint is much thinner and has a i 
yellowish cast. | 
The difference is simple: the better i 
paint is made of pure linseed oil, which ; 
gives it the yellow tint, but when ap¬ 
plied to a house the action of the sun 
and air soon bleaches it to a pure white 
—and a permanent white. The cheaper 
paint looks better at first, but when 
the small quantity of oil it contains is 
bleached out, the pigment will begin 
to chalk and peel because the “dope” 
will not bind the particles together. 
You can make cheap paint out of 
the good paint yourself. Pour out a 
small quantity into a glass and add 
about 25% of water to it. You will 
immediately notice that it forms an 
emulsion—becomes thicker and turns 
whiter. Now you have the secret of 
cheap paint. More paint can be pro¬ 
duced in this manner, hence it can be 
sold cheaper. But results are the things 
that count. And time only will tell 
whether the manufacturer used pure 
ingredients and spent the necessary time 
in mixing them. 
Good paint will always spread easier, 
go further, have greater hiding power, 
hold its color and look well for six or 
seven years. It wears down smoothly 
and evenly, leaving an excellent surface 
for repainting. Cheap paint begins to 
chalk and lose its color in three or 
four years, peels and cracks, and neces¬ 
sitates burning or scraping off in order 
to obtain a good job of repainting. 
A Typical Experience 
The futility of attempting to save 
money by buying poor paint may be 
illustrated by the experience of a West¬ 
ern painter last summer. He obtained 
the contract to paint a business build¬ 
ing in his city which he had painted 
two or three times before. He had al¬ 
ways used the best paint he could buy, 
but this year for some reason or other 
when the dealer asked $5.00 per gallon 
for the paint he refused to pay it. 
Instead, he bought another brand 
from a competing dealer, paying him 
$4.00 per gallon. His records showed 
that it formerly required sixteen gallons 
{Continued on page 92) 
