I did not know about a linseed oil treatment. But if the results in MA are that good, then I would say it is well worth our time and money to do just that this fall. As least Harry would be looking down with a smile.
Hello John,
Yes, Harry would be pleased and he absolutely loved the smell of fresh linseed oil.
Yesterday, I spent five hours scraping paint off the exterior of an old fire station. The wall has been painted with latex paint and you could plainly see what can only be described as total paint failure. The scraped clapboards
had not even a trace of color from the paint, meaning that the wood rejected the application completely. Unfortunately, as often happens with the use of latex paint, the wood is all rotted underneath. Now it will need to be replaced.
A couple of times a month, I talk on the phone with another W.W.& F. Ry. Museum life member. This fellow was a professional painter for much of his working career. We often talk about our own painting projects and agree with each other that we would both prime exterior wood with boiled linseed oil and letting it dry before using a high quality exterior paint. This as a result of not being able to find oil-based primers and top coat. Note that 30 years ago, we used Touraine oil-based paint on the then buildings at Sheepscot. This made Harry very happy and as Touraine became hard to find, our shopping trips grew to surrounding communities.
As particular as Harry was about paint and oil, another member (whose name rhymes with Vern) did not share the same passion for linseed oil. Though I asked multiple times "why" or "what would you use", I never got an answer that could be put to the group of Saturday volunteers.
Another old-timer and member of the Society for Preservation of Old Mills, advocated for not oiling or painting at all. So we had the full spectrum of opinions.
I used to love talking with Jeff Averill at Ames Hardware in Wiscasset and buying much of own painting supplies from him. Each year, I would get 4 gallons of "Woodsman" brand exterior oil (clear) stain for the cedar shingles on my house. Those shingles would suck that oil right up, breathe a little and be ready for another year of wind, sun, rain and snow.
To the crew that built the new platform, "Well Done"!
