Paint finishes are renewable surface coatings which rarely remain unaltered during a building’s evolution. Owners and occupiers apply new paint finishes in accordance with changing fashions and to give a fresh, clean appearance to surfaces which have become soiled through use and natural aging. Significant paint schemes often do survive intact; however, they may be under layers of modern paint, or behind wallpaper, furniture and fixtures. The question of how to research and uncover authentic paint schemes, and how to conserve them, requires some basic understanding of the processes of painting and the usual ongoing processes of renewal.
Heritage maintenance: Paint finishes
Information sheet 7.2
Paint is a protective or decorative layer applied to most types of surfaces. Traditional methods of painting buildings include the application of oil paints to timber, metal and plaster, and the application of water-based washes and distempers to plasters and some masonry surfaces.
- Date
- 1 March 1998
- Publisher
- Heritage Office
- Type
- Publication, Technical note
- Status
- Final
- Cost
- Free
- Language
- English
- Tags
- ISBN 1-87641-5851
- File PDF 211KB
- Pages 9
- Name paint-finishes-information-sheet.pdf
