Page:Cyclopedia of Painting-Armstrong, George D (1908).djvu/330



This is the most important paint coat applied to any surface. It must fill and satisfy the surface and leave a foundation upon which future paint coats can be successfully built. It holds the same relative position in painting as does the foundation of a house in building. It must last and successfully hold the superstructure as long as it remains. It must carry sufficient linseed oil to not only satisfy the surface but bind or hold the pigment to the surface. It must carry sufficient turpentine to cause penetration and assist in forcing, by absorption, the oil and pigment into the surface. The formation of the pigment must be such as to allow of penetration into the surface, and above all, the primer must be well and evenly brushed out and into the surface.

The common idea that anyone can prime a building is a serious mistake. The priming coat offers the best opportunity for judging a painter's work. If he is a capable, careful man he will use as much or more care in applying this coat as he would in the application of the second or third coat. He will brush the paint into the wood, satisfying the soft grain, and carefully brush the hard grain where there is less absorption, leaving an even, uniform coating.

It is impossible to erect a frame building and have all of the timber of the same absorbing qualities. The sapwood absorbs paint more readily than the heartwood, which is of a harder grain. This fact does not necessitate a different reduction for each kind of grain in the same lumber, but it does necessitate the painter's properly applying and brushing out the paint.