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0 0 o o o o o o * ~ ~ a o 6 6 6 0 6 t 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 6 o o o o By Margi Billesdonâ€"Kyle Special to the Beaver A reference primer on house paint Four things go into a can of paint 1. Pigment â€" which gives you the color, hiding, and the gloss. The most commonly used pigment is white. 2. To the pigment then, we need resins to 4. Then there are the various additives such as fungicides, bacteriacides, defoamers, wetâ€" ting agents, and so on. Okay â€" that‘s what is in the can, but it still doesn‘t help you decide what kind of paint you need. Let us look at latex versus oil or alkyd. I know what comes to my mind when I think of using an oil paint â€" the smell and the clean up. It seems like so much more work. Yes, it is harder to apply, but you do get better adheâ€" sion. It covers or has a better hiding. If you stop painting for (10) minutes to talk on the phone, you won‘t see where you stopped or started. With a latex â€" because it starts drying the minute you apply it â€" you tend to see where you left off. The down side of oil is it 3. Once your pigment and resins are mixed, your third ingredient is the solvent. Without the solvent, you couldn‘t spread the paint on the walls. They consist of water for latex or mineral spirits for oil. I want to stop you at this point. Don‘t even think what you are thinking. You get down to your last drop of paint and you only have a bit more to go. If you are using a latex paint, you add a little bit more water to finish the job. But â€" do you get the same product or coverage. No! If they want the paint thinner, they would have done it! Don‘t do it! Buy more. To create change through painting is one of the most inexpenâ€" sive tool we have. Don‘t skimp when you are buying paint. Always buy their better line. There is a good, better, and best. bind the pigment. Resins are either oil based or latex based. The oil based resins are called alkyd which are modified vegetable oils which have been dissolved in mineral spirits. The most common one being Soya. Others are linâ€" seed, sunflower, and tall oil. The latex resins are made up of acrylic emulsions and/or vinyl acetate emulsions. From there, you have lots of specialty resins for commercial usage. Look at your life style and how your home is lived in. If you have lots of kids, cats and dogs, go with a higher gloss such as an eggshell, pearl, or semiâ€"gloss. When you wash a spot on your wall, it has a better mar or burâ€" nished resistance. If you do a lot of cooking, then a semiâ€" gloss enamel might be a good solution. We also recommend it for bathrooms, trim, and doors. If you are using white for trim, which I almost always advise, go a touch whiter because it will yellow a bit with time. Be an educated shopper. Know what you are getting for your dollar. Don‘t skimp â€" spend money where it is going to work for you. Remember, your time and energy are worth a lot. Next week, I will write about color selecâ€" tion. Don‘t stop writing to me with questions. Just direct them to: Margi Billesdonâ€"Kyle, c/o Para Inc., 11 Kenview Blyvd., Brampton, Ontario L6T 5GS. Telephone (416) 792â€"0940. will yellow with age and it can get brittle and peel off. As far as the finish or gloss â€" the higher the gloss, the tougher the finish, The reason is because the higher the gloss, the more resin is used. The lower the gloss, the more pigment is used to give you the hiding qualities, texture, and a truer color. It reflects less light and doesn‘t show imperfections on the surface Latex is far easier to apply and has a very low odor. The disadvantage with latex is the preparation of the wall is far more important. Yes, you can paint a latex over an oil, but the wall preparation again is the key. The drying time for oil is (24) hours where latex could be an hour, Don‘t wash a latex paint for at least a month. An oil can be washed within a few days. 119 FOOT FRONTAGE ENNISCLARE PARK We