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Decorating Defects - their cause and cure

Skinning of Paint in the Container

Trouble caused by paint skinning over in partially filled containers can be substantially reduced or even prevented if the lid is secured evenly and firmly, and the can is then stored upside down.
The air from the previously unfilled part of the container is thus expelled so that the paint is kept in a vacuum in perfect condition. Another advantage of this treatment is that any settlement of pigment, which may have taken place, will be easily stirred into the paint again, as it can be the more readily broken up.
Some paints do not develop this trouble in the can because special anti­skinning agents are incorporated in the mixture in the process of manufacture. Such agents, however, are not intended for use by the decorator and if added by him to a factory-made product, may affect its durability.

Soapy Deposit on a Gloss-painted surface

In certain circumstances the appearance of a gloss paint or enamel may be marred by a kind of soapy deposit.
The cause of the latter is obscure, but it is probably due to the exudation of metallic soaps from the undercoats, resulting from an excess of liquid or patent driers, or the presence of soluble saline matter sometimes found in certain types of patent driers; alternatively, it may be the effect of the application of two or more coats of lead undercoats in too rapid a sequence.
The deposit can generally be removed with a clean cloth, but if it does not yield to this, a mixture of six parts of vinegar, four parts of boiled oil, and one part each of methylated spirit and turpentine may be applied sparingly with a soft cloth.