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