Your Heritage Paint Project
Introduction
The materials used in constructing heritage buildings
are often considered well above the standards found in those built
today. This is just one of the reasons why heritage restoration
is considered a good investment. But exposure to the environment,
in some cases for over one hundred years, will eventually cause
some structural wear, especially where regular maintenance has not
been done.
Realizing that each heritage painting project will
be different, it is safe to say that unless houses have been properly
maintained, each will have encountered similar problems during its
lifetime. Unless proper remedies were applied, it is possible that
these problems still exist and should be corrected before a new
coat of paint is applied. About 85 percent of coating failures are
the result of poor preparation of surfaces.
The goal of this section is to promote proper preparation
by identifying the basic problems and providing solutions that will
ensure adequate protection of the structural material or substrate.
In many cases, the solutions will be more expensive initially but
will reduce the amount of future maintenance.
Once proper paint restoration has been completed,
ongoing maintenance is important. By keeping the same colour scheme,
it is necessary only to recoat the worn or failing areas. For example,
the south and southeast sides of homes in Victoria receive continual
wear from sun, wind and rain. New coats of paint should be applied
more frequently in such areas to ensure that the elements do not
reach the structural materials.
On the other hand, the northern and shaded areas
are more prone to mold and mildew growth and should be washed regularly
with a solution of TSP (trisodium phosphate), bleach and water.
Mildew feeds on the oils in solvent-based paints and on the thickeners
in water-based paints. Controlling its growth will promote coating
life.
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