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EXTERNAL PAINTWORK 
This brief article first appeared as "External Paintwork" in
The Building Conservation Directory
1993: 89.IntroductionTraditionally the painting of exterior surfaces has been carried out for two main reasons: for decoration, in which case fashion will have led to several changes over the years; and for  protection from the elements, where successive layers of paint will have acted as a sacrificial firstline of defence, preventing rot and corrosion of the substrate.Types of PaintWith few exceptions, the paint used on exterior wood and ironwork was a suspension of finelydivided solids in an oil medium. These solids were usually a blend of white or red lead, or an ironoxide, often tinted with a coloured pigment, and mixed well with linseed oil before being applied by brush.In drying, an oil paint absorbs oxygen and is converted into a tough insoluble film, whose lifevaries, depending on its composition and usage. Until recently the high proportion of white leadin exterior paints led to a gradual "chalking" effect which enabled repainting to be carried outafter a simple washing down of the surface. Whilst oil paints are still in general use, the modern"alkyd" variety, however, crack and peel when aged, requiring greater preparation beforeredecoration.The painting of stucco facades was often originally carried out in a water-based wash, composedof lime water tinted a ginger colour with iron sulphate (copperas), which gave the surface theappearance of Bath stone. From the middle of the 19
th
century, however, this tended to bereplaced by an oil paint, which provided a coating that was more readily washed down, and less blackened by air-borne soot, but which required a frequent and more expensive maintenance programme.Choice of Colour As a result of passing trends, modifications to the building, and the inevitable ageing process, it ishighly unlikely that much paint on exterior wood or ironwork will have survived for more thantwenty years. Where does one turn, therefore, for information on the paint colours and typesused on historic surfaces? No one source will provide all the answers, but a study of early paintings and watercolours, and acomparison with the information supplied by contemporary technical works will give one an ideaof the colours and the techniques used in their application.The colour of window sashes, for example, has varied considerably during the last two hundredyears. In the early 18
th
century one learns that stony off-whites were quite common, being produced by the mixture of white lead and boiled linseed oil. Later on, wood-grained effects inimitation of oak or mahogany came to be seen, followed by such colours as purple brown,chocolate, and a number of different greens. The cycle has now been completed, and for manyyears white and the more recent "brilliant" version has been the standard.
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