02 
THIS SLOANE IMPROVED 
VACUUM CLEANER 
I4^as Lodged Up in a Cupboard For 
Hours by the U. S. Government 
T he motor was started. The cupboard 
was locked. Then the Sloane represen¬ 
tative was told to return in six hours, when 
the motor would be examined to see if it con¬ 
formed to Government requirements, which 
were that the temperature of the motor 
should not be more than 6o degrees higher 
than the temperature of the room. 
Six hours later, the motor was still running true 
to form, and only 20 degrees higher than the tem¬ 
perature of the room. 40 degrees to spare! 
And it met all the other Government tests in the 
same way. 
Larger models for every purpose, and all sizes 
ready for immediate delivery. Stationary Plants 
installed. 
Portable House Model, $48 
With extra attachments, $59 
Descriptive leaflets on request 
W. (®, J. SLOANE 
Fifth Ave. and 47th St. New York 
House & Garden 
Spring Is Paint-Planning Time 
{Continued front page 90) 
of paint for that particular building, 
so he purchased that quantity and 
started the work. But he soon found 
he needed more paint. In fact, before 
the job was finished he had used twen¬ 
ty-two gallons. 
Result, the cheaper paint did not go 
as far and cost him $8.00 more than 
he would have had to pay for the best 
paint. He not only took this loss, but 
he is dissatisfied with the job, as also 
is the owner; and indications are that 
the next time that building needs paint¬ 
ing some other painter will be given 
the contract. 
Paints, Primary Purpose 
Too many people have been buying 
paints from a color card, without giv¬ 
ing enough thought to the ideals of the 
man who makes the paint. This is 
probably due to the fact that too many 
people consider paint simply as a pretty 
covering for a house. Paint was not 
designed primarily as a beautifier. It 
was designed to protect the wood from 
weather’s wear and tear; to save re¬ 
pair expenses and make the building 
an asset instead of a liability. The 
colors came along as an afterthought. 
For proof of this, look toward the 
farmer. He paints his implements and 
his barn because he knows that paint 
protects. He is not particular as to 
color. If he is caught in a sudden 
shower while working in the field, he 
can run for shelter and leave his im¬ 
plements in the open, knowing that 
the paint will prevent their rusting. He 
doesn’t buy paints for color, but he 
gets good, permanent colors because 
he has been taught the economy of buy¬ 
ing the best brand of paint. 
The first thing to do, then, is to find 
out which is the best paint and why it 
is the best, then select the colors offered 
by that particular manufacturer. As 
his paint is better, so are his colors. 
They will always be found more perma¬ 
nent than the colors offered in the 
cheaper paint. 
The condition of the surface to be 
painted must be given vital considera¬ 
tion. If the wood has never before 
been painted, it will be necessary to 
give it a priming coat, which is simply 
paint of the same color the house is to 
be painted, thinned out with linseed 
oil. This coat is necessary so that the 
pores of the wood will become thor¬ 
oughly impregnated with the oil and a 
part of the pigment, furnishing a 
groundwork for the final coat or coats, 
which should be used from the can 
without any thinning. 
The priming coat is the foundation, 
so it must be right. Don’t let the 
painter use a cheaper paint for prim¬ 
ing than he is to use for finishing. The 
same color and make of paint should 
be used throughout. 
It is of the utmost importance that 
the wood itself be thoroughly dry be¬ 
fore the priming coat is applied, be¬ 
cause if any moisture remains in the 
wood it will be drawn to the surface 
by the heat of the sun and, being un¬ 
able to penetrate the film of paint, will 
raise a blister. This will happen with 
good paint as well as the cheap kind. 
The priming coat should be given 
from one to four weeks to dry. And 
it must be thoroughly dry before the 
second coat is applied. If any bare 
spots appear, give them a coat of pure 
oil, and allow that to dry. 
Remember, this film of paint that 
protects your house from the destroy¬ 
ing elements is less than l/lOO of an 
inch in thickness, so you cannot be too 
careful in seeing that it is spread on a 
surface that is in proper shape to be 
painted. 
When you have decided on the brand 
and color of paint you will use, don’t 
give the job over to a cheap painter. 
Get the best one you can find. He will 
be busy, but it will pay to wait until : 
he has time to do the work. : 
You must not forget that three- ! 
fourths of your painting cost is for ! 
labor—the cost of the paint itself rep- j 
resents only one-fourth—and a poor ; 
painter can make a botchy job even ' 
though he is given good materials to I 
work with and conditions are favor- | 
able. Like the quality of paint, the 
quality of workmanship must also be 
of the best if satisfactory results are ■ 
desired. 
Be sure that the painter you employ 
“brushes in’’ the paint. Simply laying 
it on is not enough. It must be worked 
into the pores of the wood so that it 
will take hold and become a part of 
the surface texture. Do not let him 
attempt to apply the first coat if the 
wood is not perfectly dry. Better to 
wait a day or two longer than have 
blisters form a short while afterward. ' 
Black, green and other dark colors, be- i 
ing better conductors of heat than : 
lighter shades, are prone to blister much I 
more quickly. That is one reason why I 
the prevailing colors selected for outside i 
painting are white, gray and yellow, i 
the former predominating. 
There is no need to dwell at length I 
on the atmospheric conditions under i 
which paint should be applied to a. 
house. Common sense will dictate that : 
the work should not be started when 
it is raining or the air is full of mois- i 
ture. Likewise, painting done in ex¬ 
tremely cold weather will not be as 
satisfactory as that done in a tempera¬ 
ture of 70 degrees. 
Some painters prefer working in the 
fall of the year. Then the weather 
is more settled, walls are dry and the 
paint seems to penetrate deeper into 
the pores of the wood. Spring, how¬ 
ever, still sees the greatest painting ac¬ 
tivities. 
Points on Painting 
There are four points to be consid¬ 
ered when considering painting: 
1. The composition of the paint. 
2. The condition of the surface to 
be painted. 
3. The manner in which the paint is 
applied—which means the kind 
of painter who does the work. 
4. The atmospheric conditions un¬ 
der which the work is done. 
Paint is science, art and craftsman¬ 
ship rolled into one. The science is 
employed by manufacturers in develop¬ 
ing formulae that are best for a given 
surface, keeping those formulae constant 
and improving them whenever possible. 
The selection of colors depicts the 
artistic sense of the home owner, who 
must take into consideration the size, 
shape and location of his house before 
determining on any color or colors, re¬ 
membering that lighter colors make the 
house seem larger, while darker ones 
make it appear smaller than it really is. 
A good painter can secure fair tem¬ 
porary results from cheap paint, just 
as a poor painter can ruin a house even 
by using good paint. But given a good 
workman, good materials and proper 
conditions, the home owner is assured 
of a satisfactory and lasting painting 
job. 
Paint manufacturers have long real¬ 
ized that the average property owner 
does not give proper consideration to 
painting problems, and many beautiful 
and instructiv'e booklets have been dis¬ 
tributed by them through dealers and 
painters in the effort to educate the 
paint-buying public to a realization of 
the seriousness of the subject. 
Only recently there was brought to 
my attention a handsome book pub¬ 
lished by one of the best-known manu¬ 
facturers, which brings out the possi¬ 
bilities of paint in a noYel_ and 
instructive manner. In fact, it is far 
(Continued on page 94) 
