Thanks for that straightforward response.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Clark <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 8:11 PM
Subject: Re: Uncloaking: Follow-up on Schreuder Paint


>Dear List:
>
>I have been lurking for quite a while now, and it is with some mild
interest
>that I have been reading the worshipful comments about Schreuder Paint that
>have been posted of late.  (I will have to admit however, that the reading
>has been sporadic, so if I step on anyone's toes...get over it.)  I have
>decided to take this opportunity to introduce myself and make a comment on
>the aforementioned coating.
>
>By way of introduction, my name is Mark Clark, and I am employed by the
Dell
>Corporation, which as many of you know is owned Bryan Blundell.  (Bryan, I
>will do my best to put forth an acceptable level of humiliation, er...I
mean
>humility on the list.)  Anyway, I have worked with Bryan for about 6 years
>now, and have finally risen to the level of my incompetence in historic
>preservation ...i.e., I am the manager of Dell Corporation.
>
>As to my comments on Schreuder Paint:  I began life as a fine artist in
need
>of money and food...so I did the most logical thing I could think of and
went
>into business as a painting and decorating contractor.  I learned the trade
>from my father, who worked as a housepainter prior to W.W.II.  I have (many
>years ago) made putty and paint from white lead and linseed oil, I have
>painted everything from radio towers to rat-infested housing projects to
>summer homes for the rich and famous.  And believe it or not, painting is a
>bona-fide trade, it is not just something that drunks and college students
do
>during the summer.
>
>ANYWAY....folks Schreuder is just paint...it is not a magic formula for
>success.   There is virtually NOTHING in Schreuder paint that is not in any
>other good grade alkyd-based paint.  The primary difference is the linseed
>oil that is used.  Most American paint companies use "modified linseed
oils",
>that is to say a boiled linseed oil that has had petroleum distillates
added
>to aid in the oxidation process.  It is my understanding that Schreuder
uses
>a "pure" boiled linseed oil.  Big deal, since NO LINSEED OILS IN THE WORLD
>will oxidize in the manner that linseed oils did when they contain LEAD, it
>is a mute point.  I tried Schreuder paint once, that was enough for me.  I
>found it difficult to apply (or at least found the associated learning
curve
>unacceptable) and you must use "their" solvents, etc., or the company does
>not back the paint.  BTW, their solvent is nothing but mineral
>spirits...honest.  But the primary reason I would not use it again is
because
>it didn't do what "they" said it would do.  I am convinced that people are
>generally happy with the paint for two basic reasons:
>
>1.  IT'S FROM EUROPE SO IT MUST BE
>GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!
>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>2.  At $50.00 - $60.00 per gallon or whatever, the client, painter,
>architect, etc., makes damn sure that the surface is properly prepared
prior
>to painting because, egad, look at the price!!!, and its from Europe, it
>deserves to be installed on a pristine surface.
>
>I feel sure that this (2.) is the main reason the stuff works.  Virtually
any
>paint (he says reservedly) will work equally well if the problems that
caused
>the previous paint failure in the first place are properly addressed and if
>the surface is properly prepared.  In summation:
>
>If Schreuder Paint works for your particular application and you are
>genuinely happy with it, fine, use it.  However, don't buy it just because
>Janovic or some other trendy supplier carries the stuff.  (No insult to
>Janovic intended, but you have to admit they are trendy.)  Benjamin Moore,
>Pratt & Lambert, Sherwin Williams (ugh), Duron, etc., etc., all make high
>quality alkyd paints that will serve you quite well if they are applied
with
>the same care that is typically reserved for a product like Schreuder.  And
>finally (a cheer goes up from the List), quit using oil/alkyd based paints
on
>exterior surfaces already.  In reality it's all junk because all the good
>heavy metals and poisons have been taken out of them.  Once they dry, you
are
>basically left with thin coating of Titanium Oxide or some other similar
>material.  Prep the hell out of the surface, prime it with a good flat
alkyd
>primer and finish it with the best acrylic you can put your hands on.  And
>don't limit yourself to Schreuder.
>
>Okay, a show of hands, who wants me to go back to lurking?
>
>Mark