USE OF DISTEMPER

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 278, 19 August 1932, Page 6

USE OF DISTEMPER

More Suggestions for the Amateur TO ENSURE SUCCESS Several inquiries followed an article on distempering, published a few weeks ago. The following description, which answers many of the questions raised, is also complete enough to servo as an outline for all beginners. It needs a certain amount of courage and a great deal of fortitude in adversity for the amateur who prides him or herself on doing the “odd jobs” in a house to make a start with paperhanging, but any handy man can make a success of distempering at the first attempt. The effect in a small room .is particularly satisfactory, as the fresh, unpatterned colourings help to give an air of spaciousness. The walls must be cleaned down and any loose paper fixed with decorator’s paste, procured in powder form at the paint shop and mixed according to the instructions on the packet. Mix also the distemper as directed in a clean bucket, adding’ the water gradually and stirring till the liquid is of a creamy consistency. Beware of making It too thin. Begin in the Shadows. Begin on a wall which is in shadow or will be partly hidden by furniture, so that experiments in method and shade will not be apparent to admiring friends, and apply the distemper in broad strokes with a good, piable brush about four inches wide. He sups on sorrow who tries to make do with' cheap decorating brushes. Do not dab it on with a painting technique. Distemper that strays out of bounds must be wiped off at once with a damp cloth, as it is difficult to remove it when dry. Do not be dismayed at the appall-

Ing blotchiness of the drying stage; when quite dry the colour will be perfectly even. Keep the liquid stirred while working, and add a mere eggcupful of water from time to time to maintain the consistency. Suspend the brush in water when the work has to be left, and clean both brush and bucket as soon as possible after the job is completed. If the wallpaper bears a very strong pattern, two or even three coats of distemper will be necessary. Usually a seven-pound tin is enough for a room twelve feet square. In after years, say at spring-cleaning time, a four-pound tin (of the same shade) will make the work as good as new. Treatment of Ceilings. A papered ceiling can be treated ia the same way, but if the ceiling has had the misfortune to be “whitened” every bit of the whitening must be washed and scrubbed off, as no decorating material will adhere to it. A thin coat of size, although against thecanons of the profession, will help to fill the pores in the plaster and make the distemper go further. , The corners of the frieze at the chim-ney-breast, where the plaster is supposed to make a neat Joint with the wooden beading, but never does, can be covered with pieces of wallpaper passed on face downwards, the sharp vertical edges being sandpapered off to render the “patches" unnoticeable.