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Decorating defects their cause and cure
"Bits "
This term is used to describe portions of skin or faultily ground pigment which
are picked up by the brush from the container and mar the appearance of the work. They are due, in nearly every case, to some fault of omission or commission on the part of the painter and can be avoided by careful straining before the paint is used. The manufacturer is rarely to blame, for under present-day conditions the utmost care is taken in the grinding of ready-mixed paints and in the removal of all foreign bodies before the material leaves the factory.
It frequently happens, when only part of the contents of a tin is used, that the lid or stopper is insecurely fastened, with the result that air enters and a skin forms.
When the remainder of the paint comes to be used, most painters are content merely to cut round the skin, in order to remove it, and then, after a little stirring, are apt to regard the paint as ready for use.
Unless it is first strained, however, " bittiness " is almost certain to occur, for it is practically impossible to remove every trace of the skin, and portions are inevitably left behind.
The use of kettles which have not been properly cleaned after use and which retain particles of old and hardened paint is another frequent source of the trouble.
The importance of careful and thorough straining of paint, immediately before application, cannot in consequence be over-emphasized.
The most obvious cause of bittiness is, however, the use of brushes which have not been properly cleaned after work and in which shreds of the old paint have been allowed to dry.
Needless to say, every painter worthy of the name should pay the greatest attention to keeping his brushes clean and in good condition, so that not only may the risk of such defects as " bits" be reduced to a minimum, but the life of the tools themselves be prolonged.