When to Paint Houses.

The Manufacturer and Builder 6, 1878

Paint applied to the exterior of buildings in autumn or winter will endure twice as long as when applied in early summer or in hot weather. In the former it dries slowly, and becomes hard like a glazed surface, not easily affected afterwards by the weather, or worn off by the beating of storms. But in very hot weather the oil in the paint soaks into the wood at once, as if into a sponge, leaving the lead nearly dry, and ready to crumble off. This last difficulty, however, might in a measure be guarded against, through at an increased expense, by first going over the surface with raw oil. Furthermore, by painting in cold weather the annoyance of small flies, which invariably collect during the warm season on fresh paint, is avoided.

As an offset to this, there is a trouble with slowdrying paint - it is that the dust, which always will collect upon exposed surfaces, will keep collecting as long as the paint is not dry, and stick to it, so that to obtain a smooth surface free from adhering fust, it is necessary to secure quick drying. This is especially the case when varnishing: we have often been disappointed, and no doubt so have many others, that the vanish used dried so slowly that dust had time to settle on it before it became hard.