work and an elastic finishing coat can then be applied over the entire building.
When a building has been painted a number of times and the surface is peeling to the bare wood, the only satisfactory way to repaint this is to burn the surface to the wood, following special instructions given for burned surface.
Where the paint has peeled in spots from dampness, caused either by wet basements or plaster, the surface can be successfully repainted after the house has been allowed to dry out, by cleaning it and touching up the spots where the paint has peeled, then covering with one coat of paint. This will even up the surface and avoid repainting the entire building if only part of the house is peeling.
Repainting a Surface on Which the Paint Has Been Burned. Where paint is peeling or cracking badly, the only satisfactory way is to burn the paint to the bare wood. This leaves all of the surface practically new, and if the character of the work is understood good results can be accomplished, but it must be borne in mind that all paints when burned do not leave surfaces in the same condition and the resulting character of each must be understood before mixing the priming coat. Where an excess of boiled oil has been used in successive repainting and the work has commenced to crack or alligator, it will be found very hard to get the work in good condition, as the oil will set on the surface and form a glaze which is very hard to penetrate; likewise where fatty oil or paint with a percentage of gloss or rosin oil has been used. While the heat of the burning lamp softens the oil and paint, it is very hard to remove all of it from the surface.
To repaint this surface, care should be exercised in thoroughly sandpapering and scraping or breaking this glaze where it is possible and a liberal amount of turpentine should be mixed with the first coat to force penetration through this hard surface. Where dry ochre or similar
