Replies

1. 
   CapnMac | Sep 29, 2004 11:34pm | #1

   Yep, tsp then Kilz.  Now, that's as much out of habit and local availbility as any thing else.

   And, since you're probably already reeling, try the cinnamon Altoids gum--it will keep your sinuses working (and not distracted by anything else).

   Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
1. 
   darcey | Oct 01, 2004 07:38pm | #14

   Thanks all, for the helpful replies.

   The good news is, we did not get the bid.  I really was not looking forward to painting in that stinky house!  The guy that got the bid is not going to TSP... so whatever...

   Also, this means I get to strap on the tool belt and get back to trimming!

   Yahoo!!!

   Thanks again,

   darcy

2. 
   Dez | Sep 29, 2004 11:42pm | #2

   Darcy,

    

   You already knew the answer...TSP...Primer of your choice. (Maybe Kilz) When I was an apprentice painter we used what the old boys referred to as 'Tight knots' a mixture of white pigmented shellac (which painters of that era made up themselves) for sealing stains and such. Happy painting!

    

   Peace
3. 
   WayneL5 | Sep 29, 2004 11:51pm | #3

   Yep.  Any white pigmented shellac based primer.

4. 
   JohnT8 | Sep 29, 2004 11:52pm | #4

   I'm with CapnMac.  TSP and Kilz.

   jt8
1. 
   OregonBob | Sep 29, 2004 11:58pm | #5

   I agree, but open the windows.  That Kilz stuff, in quantity, will knock you out.  I know.  I once had to repaint an apartment where some guy had rebuilt his Harley engine.  It exploded when he fired it up, and every surface in that place had motor oil on it.  I never used so much Kilz and, being an Ohio winter, I tried to do it with the windows closed.  After only a few hours, I had a headache for about two weeks and I'm sure there are whole sections of my brain that no longer store information...

1. 
   HeavyDuty | Sep 30, 2004 05:27am | #11

   Wonder what happened to the biker.

2. 
   OregonBob | Sep 29, 2004 11:59pm | #6

   Actually, I was using BIN, but I think it's the same stuff.

1. 
   DANL | Sep 30, 2004 12:23am | #7

   Yeah, pigmented shellac by any name is ethel alcohol-based (I think, but may have other things too) and will make you high, like drinking alcohol, but it gets into bloodstream faster through sinuses and a more direct route to brain. You end up with a killer hangover. People who "French polish" have same problem because they are using shellac with alcohol. I read somewhere that the old timers would take a drink of brandy or such in hopes that that would ward off the problems with breathing it. Maybe the opposite of hair of the dog?

   In college I met a crazy guy who drank wine by putting it in his mouth and inhaling, bubbling the air through the alcohol on the way to his lungs. Takes some practice not to choke. Just think what you could do with stronger spirits!

1. 
   RW | Sep 30, 2004 12:36am | #8

   You know, I spent a good chunk of today spraying shellac. The old thin cut plus dye adjusts the color trick. I bet I snorted a good gallon of DNA. Wonder if that's why I'm in such a great mood. I do have the munchies."If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

1. 
   DANL | Sep 30, 2004 01:56pm | #13

   Yeah, I do suppose they denature the alcohol--lord knows we wouldn't want people drinking BIN or Kilz. "Doc, how cum my tongue is white?" (Maybe THAT'S why they named it "Kilz", cuz it gives you a headache that just kills.) (Don't bother correcting me, I know it's really cuz it kills stains and odors.) But the munchies, hmmmm...sure you didn't get into the fumes of something more...uh...herbal? Seriously, I know a woman who swears she permanently damaged her lungs by breathing the fumes from BIN, so it's probably a good idea to at least open windows when using it.

5. 
   SEBDESN | Sep 30, 2004 02:30am | #9

   I had a rental house that had a little fire in the stove, because the #$%%$% hadn't cleaned it. Hired some flunkies to take off the doors and mask the windows, carpet was used as masking and 15 gallons of surf white latex, and an airless later, it was done. never had a problem with it. 

6. 
   4Lorn1 | Sep 30, 2004 05:11am | #10

   Used to maintain a bar. The tobacco smoke was a major issue.

   Use TSP dissolved in as hot water as you can stand to use and add just a dash of dish washing detergent. A teaspoon in a five gallon bucket is about right. Just enough to allow the water to wet the surface.

   Find a good janitorial supply house and get a wall washer pole, a half dozen cotton scrubber pads and a couple of nylon scrubbers sized to fit your unit.

   Wash the walls bottom, yes that right bottom, to top. Going from top to bottom gives you streaks where the solution drips down softening the dirt in narrow stripes. These can end up very difficult to remove.

   Once you have scrubbed the tobacco off the walls you might not need to paint. If you do the TSP scrubbed wall is pretty much deglossed and ready for paint without a primer unless there are issues with paint peeling or a major color change.

   Once you use a commercial duty wall scrubber pole and pads you will wonder what you did without it. No more bending and stretching and you can really get leverage.

1. 
   DANL | Sep 30, 2004 01:48pm | #12

   You are absolutely right about starting at the bottom and working up--on another thread a guy had problems with streaks after he washed his exterior walls and I think his washing from top down was at least part of the problem.