I had the task of doing a small staining project over the weekend so I decided to try again some of this remarkable water-based stain that I have been selling for years. I was once again amazed at the quality of this product. Typically water-based stains have been associated with a poor quality job. Not any more. The only difference that I could see between using Saman and a conventional oil-based penetrating stain is that there is very little odor and a very fast turn around time. Both of these were welcomed by this veteran painter. I’ve smelled enough mineral spirits to last ten lifetimes, and the fact that this one (although not odorless) had such a slight smell was literally a breath of fresh air. I was able to recoat with a Saman water based polyurethane within one hour. This product, Saman Extreme, was so easy to use and virtually odor-free. Typically water-based polyurethanes have a tendency to run and sag when you’re not expecting it, not so with this product. It went on without a single drip anywhere! I was amazed at the ease of application. so I managed to get a stain and two finish coats on in one day. I’m going to sand lightly and put a third coat of clear on today just for good measure. I can’t imagine ever using another stain again. Thank you Saman for making such an easy to use, and eco-friendly (my lungs) product.

It is summer in San Francisco. The street cars are clanging, the tourists are freezing, and the fog horns are blowing. Another sure sign of summer in San Francisco is surfactant staining on exterior paint projects. The weather conditions in San Francisco represent a laboratory like setting for surfactant staining to occur. Surfactants are soap like ingredients intentionally formulated into latex (water-based) paints. These surfactants act as coalescing agents, and generally help keep what is essentially an emulsion, in suspension. We forget that acrylic resin is a petrochemical byproduct and as such does not mix with water easily.

The presence of surfactants in latex paints normally poses no problem at all. Gradually these surfactants are released by the coating and disappear into the air without anybody noticing. What happens under adverse weather conditions is that a large amount of the surfactants are drawn to the surface rapidly giving the appearance of a sticky Coca-Cola like substance. Surfactants are drawn to moisture (that is their job) and are as such “hydrophilic.” Since these surfactants would have left the coating eventually anyway, their rapid appearance here does not indicate a paint failure in any way, other than in appearance. The remedy when this happens is to simply leave it alone and let it weather off naturally from the rain, or give it a slight rinse with a garden hose, (you will see the surfactants bubble up like soap suds). The worst thing you can do in this situation is to apply more paint which only results in more surfactants being applied to the already surfactant laden surface. Patience is required. I have seen many of these situations through the years and with only a few exeptions they have all resolved themselves with time. In rare cases the staining left from the surfactants eventually had to be reprimed and repainted.

To prevent the problem in the first place it is best to paint early in the day, so as to give the paint film adequate time to form before it is re-introduced to heavy dew or moisture. The unpredictablitity of fog in San Francisco (other than that we know it will surely come sooner or later) makes a painter’s life hell. The only truly safe bet is to paint on days when the fog is non-existent and not expected back soon. This makes for a short painting season!

The same type of problem can be observed in bathrooms painted with latex paint. Here sometimes the only remedy is to paint with oil based paints which by definition have no surfactants in them.

All in all this is a sticky subject that leaves a lot of painters and homeowners puzzled. The one thing I hear over and over again is, “I’ve been painting in San Francisco for 25 years and I have never had this problem before.” To that I can only answer, you have been exceedingly lucky, have you bought a lottery ticket lately?

Pratt and Lambert paints have been known for over 150 years as some of the finest in the industry. The Williamsburg Color Collection represents a timeless palette of colors that have proven themselves over centuries. The combination of this brand with this color palette quarantees satisfaction when doing interior or exterior projects. As I have said many times before, we are too often inundated by paint manufacturers with thousands and thousands of color choices. It is far easier to pick from an edited palette of proven winners than making all those mistakes yourself. There is a reason why certain colors hold their appeal over centuries and others fall out of favor rather quickly. The Williamsburg Color Collection represents a classic period that is a perfect fit for our contemporary times. These colors can be found at G&R Paint and anywhere that Pratt & Lambert Paints are sold.