Not to Whitewash This Issue, but Here’s a Key to What Paint Is Best
Question: We’re getting ready to paint three rooms in our house, and in shopping around for paint, I can’t help but wish there were some way to tell how good a paint is just by looking at the can. How can I judge paint?
W.M.
Brea
Answer: “Unfortunately, there is no industry guide to what is the best paint,” says Harold Brobst of Hal’s Paint and Decorating in Fullerton. “Several manufacturers list their ingredients on the can, and a good rule of thumb is to see how much titanium dioxide it contains. This is an important and expensive component of the paint. Those that have low amounts of titanium dioxide, 8% to 10%, will be weak and have poor washability. A good paint will have about 18% to 22% and will cost more. In general, you get what you pay for.”
Q: I recently built a pine bookcase and stained it myself. However, there are small patches around the corners that the stain hasn’t adhered to. I assume this is because some of the glue around the joints seeped out before drying and it’s keeping the stain from adhering. What’s the best way to correct this before I seal it?
T.Y.
Los Alamitos
A: “This isn’t an uncommon problem. However, it’s not easy to fix,” says Tony Leyba of Vista Paint Center in Buena Park. “You can first try a stain touch-up pencil to see if you can hide it. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to remove the stain using stain remover or wood bleach, then get the glue off with sandpaper and solvent and start over. I don’t recommend trying to patch it because when you re-stain it’s not going to adhere the same way in those areas where you’ve used stain remover or bleach.”
Q: The corner of the bottom concrete step in our back yard has crumbled away over time. How can you patch a corner like that?
P.V.
Santa Ana
A: “You can use a concrete patch that’s easy to mix,” says Rick Marquart of Quality Building Supply in Huntington Beach. “Or, you can mix your own patch with concrete and concrete glue. However, if you’re concerned about the color, you’re going to find that the patch is ‘grayer’ since your steps have already been faded by the sun. To form the patch into a corner, you can frame a mold around the step with bender board.”
Q: I want to replace my bathroom sink and I’ve been told by a few people that I should remove the metal drain pipes that I have now and replace them with PVC. The pipes that are in there now are about 25 years old, but I’ve never had any trouble with them and they don’t leak.
G.K.
Fullerton
A: “As long as the pipes are in good shape, I don’t see why you should change over,” says Ralph DiAntonio of Familian Pipe and Supply in Anaheim. “Take a good look at them when you remove the old sink. The problem with metal pipes is corrosion on the inside. The surface becomes rough and debris and hair adheres to it, which leads to clogs. When the time comes to put new pipes in, it probably would be a good choice to put in plastic. They last a long time, they’re resistant to clogs and they’re fairly inexpensive.”