This problem is part of an ongoing analysis and investigation we, as house painting contractors, are conducting, in order to provide our clients the best possible results for their paint job. When dead wood fiber is present on a surface, it cannot be successfully painted or stained. Before too long, especially in the areas most exposed to the sun, the coating will massively fail.

Peeling Paint on Cedar Siding

There are two issues raised in this last paragraph. First, what caused the dead wood fiber in the first place? There can be several potential reasons, but a common one is exposure to sunlight before the wood is coated for the first time (when the house is first built). The ultraviolet light degrades the lignin and causes cellulose fibers to dry out and causes the wood surface to lose structural integrity. The gray color of the resulting wood fiber is similar to the brown or red tones of sunburn on skin.

The other issue we are dealing with here is: why is “sunburned” wood more susceptible to paint failure, especially on the sunny sides of a house? A paint or stain cannot properly adhere to dead wood fiber. After such wood is coated, the stresses caused by sun on the wood surfaces is such that the coating actually detaches from the substrate, leaving it susceptible to cracking, blistering and complete failure.

How do you deal with the problem: coating removal, partial or complete. The problem with a partial approach is that the coating that does not come off now, will fail later. Depending on the severity of the delaminating, we sometime recommend the complete stripping of the coating. What about the dead wood fiber? It has to be sanded down. Sometimes, the surfaces are so degraded that sanding is not effective. In such cases, we coat the bare wood with a liquid epoxy consolidator, which acts as a replacement for the lignin and binds the wood fibers back together again.

As house painting contractors, we seek to understand the cause of paint failure, so as to prevent future ones from occurring. We call that part of our work as the “forensics of paint failure”.

We, at Painting in Partnership, are painting contractors in the Chicago area. Over the years, we have assembled an extensive collection of paint industry memorabilia, which includes a large collection of paint catalogs from old-time Chicago paint manufacturers of the first half of the twentieth century. All the color cards in the collection contain original paint samples.

Old Ripolin Paint Label

Earlier in the Summer, I wrote a blog post about my paint catalog collection. Shortly after, I received an email from a researcher who works for the Scottish government. A good part of his research and personal interests are focused on lead-based paints and the development of look-alike alternatives. I quickly arranged for a face-to-face meeting on Skype to discuss his interests and how my collection could be used as a reference point.

In the course of that conversation, he told me of a research project being conducted in France by the Art Institute of Chicago. The four-year-old project aims to document the formulation of the house paints (early oleo-resinous paints) that were used by artists, like Picasso, in that time period. Because the research is being conducted in France for the moment, particular attention is given to the use of the French Ripolin paints. The results of the research will be presented next year at a symposium in southern France entitled “ From Can to Canvas ”. The Art Institute’s partners for this symposium are the Picasso Museum in Antibes and a conservation organization in Marseille.

The scientist form the Art Institute already made contact with me. Perhaps, with the help of my collection of reference materials, a United States chapter can written on the use of house paints by American artists.

This story illustrates the power of the web in connecting people from all over the world who share common concerns and interests; in this case a painting contractor from Chicago who is interested in preserving paint industry memorabilia and historical paint preservation experts who live four thousand miles apart.

In January, Painting in Partnership received an email from a client, which was really heart-warming in its enthusiasm and excitement about their new décor and their painting and decorating experience. Here it is:

“I anticipated that by now we’d have moved all the furniture and paintings back to their original places against the walls. But that’s just not going to happen. The walls are far too beautiful. Anything that hopes for a place in front of our walls will have to prove its worth first.” By Richard Medina

Those words go to the heart of the emotions and warm feelings we work to produce in our clients on every house painting project.

First, what needs to be done to the room?
Do you want to only paint the walls? What about the ceiling, the trim, doors, windows? What about the dreaded closet? Answering these questions will help you decide what paints you need for your house painting project. For the ceiling, you might need a flat paint, for the walls, a matte enamel or eggshell, for the woodwork a satin finish. Once you settle on colors, you are ready to order paints.

Second, what is the condition of the surfaces?
An interior painting job (and exterior painting one just as well) is only as good as the preparation work. Are there cracks? If so, you will need fiberglass tape and patching material. Are taping joints failing? You will need drywall paper tape. Are there nail pops? You might need pliers (or hammer) and screws. You may also need two or three grades of sandpaper (100, 120 and 220 grit). Yes, do not forget caulk, painters’ best friend. Make a list of all the non-paint materials you might need for your project and what you need to order, in addition to the paints.

Third, what supplies will I need?
Protecting surfaces during the painting process is an important part of any house painting. You might need two or three types/sizes of tape. Two- inch painters tape should be used to tape the carpet along the baseboard. A two-inch “low tack” tape could be used on the top of the baseboard after painting it to avoid spatters when you paint the walls. The level of tack in the tape is important because too strong an adhesive will ruin a paint finish. You will also need tarps to cover the floor and plastic sheeting to cover the furniture. Depending on the paints you plan on using, you may need different brushes and rollers, perhaps some thinner as well. Oh yes, do not forget the rolling pan, bucket(s) and a roller handle.

Fourth, what equipment will I need?
Depending on the height of the room, or its location, like in a stairway, you will need a ladder of the appropriate height. In a stairway, you will need an expandable plank. Investing in safe and appropriate equipment is critical to your health and the success of your house painting project. An articulated ladder is the most versatile of ladder for use in houses. For speed, consider using an expandable pole (2’ to 4’ or 4’ to 8’).
You are now ready for a trip to the paint store!

Fifth, how do I sequence my steps?
Having a clear plan of attack is critical to the success of a house painting project. Here is the recommended sequence:
1-Protect all surfaces not to be painted. Use tarps, tape and plastic sheeting as needed.
2- Complete ALL surface preparation on all surfaces before touching a brush.
3- Caulk all surfaces as needed.
4- Paint ceiling.
5- Paint all trim elements. The doors and windows can be done last.
6- Paint walls.
7- Clean up the work area after completing the house painting project

Voila!