HISTORIC PRESERVATION ISSUES: Exterior Painting--Spray-Guns Should Be Shot!

    There's a reason why I put off house maintenance:  it's gritty, it's grimy, it's dusty, it's smelly . . . it's exasperating.  It's everything I hate.  The only thing I despise more than the job itself (whatever it happens to be), is the contractor who performs the job:  He's late.  He doesn't show.  He's sloppy.  There are cigarette butts in my mulch.  There are Sierra Mist bottles in my flower pots.  My garden hose is suddenly missing.  The water spigot mysteriously stops working.

    In other words . . . I waited awhile to paint my house.  Too long by some people's standards; not nearly long enough by my own.  I had watched a couple of (what I thought) were successful exterior paint jobs in the neighborhood over the summer, and I selected a contractor based on my conversations with the (tortured) homeowners.  Somewere along the line, the question arose about the paint application method; that is, hand-painting vs. spray-gun applications.  Which is superior, I wondered?  As with almost anything, an internet search revealed six of one, a half-dozen of the other, but my gut told me to trust the tried-and-true paintbrush.  The problem is finding anyone to hand paint . . . many painters have converted to spray-guns!  They're being used all over the neighborhood, but after my recent experience, I'd like to see them banned.

    The nightmare unfolded, thus:  My painters arrived and began scraping the house.  So far, so good.  The next thing I knew, they were spray-gunning the eaves of my house, and the paint mist was flying into the air.  I made it clear that they were to protect the beautiful red brick on my front porch and chimney by covering it completely, but when I returned from lunch, 60% of the brick was uncovered, and the paint mist was clearly "oversprayed" onto the brick.  The wind was whipping around, and I said that it was too windy to paint.  The painters weren't happy.  The next day, still battling breezy conditions, I had to act as foreman on the job in order to ensure that the brick was protected; otherwise, I would have had a light coating of "Tawny Taupe" Sherwin Williams Duration paint all over my historic brick--and so would my neighbors, who live about 15 feet away.  Even with me there, much of the brick eventually had to be cleaned, and I can assure you that if I HADN'T been there, it would have been a catastrophe.

    I had overspray on my bicycle, utility equipment, storm windows, window screens, door handles . . . the list goes on.  The lesson is obvious.  Never trust anyone who tries to convince you that spray-gunning is a good thing.  It's a slap-dash, cut-the-corners method of painting a house that flies in the face of good Historic Preservation practices, because it not only puts the unpainted detailing of YOUR house at risk, but it also puts your neighbor's house in jeopardy.  Heed my advice and steer clear of spray-guns.  There's a reason why it's cheaper and faster:  you get what you pay for.  And in this case, the price may be higher than you bargained for in clean-up and damage to your historic property.  [Be sure to contact me with your questions regarding Historic Preservation!]