Paulownia 2/17/2005

TO; John Pahre, Limback Lumber Co

FROM: Jim Frost; Hall Forest Products

This is from Jerry Huber the importer. He has been selling these products for close to three years.

The “chalkiness” is actually some white powdery residue left on the smooth/sanded face from the sanding process. The sander dust collection system usually does a fair job of removing, but doesn’t get it all.

The generally accepted practice for prepping any smooth board before second coat priming or top-coating is to make sure the board is clean and dry and the temperature of the primer or paint, the board to be painted and the air temperature are above the paint manufacturer’s specifications – usually 50 degrees F.

A dry or very slightly damp cloth should work – no need for anything else. If a damp cloth is used, be sure the surface has completely dried before applying primer or paint.

Also, this temperature should be maintained for at least 24 hours to ensure proper binding/adhesion. If the temperature is allowed to drop below that temperature, the curing process of the primer or paint is completely stopped. The above would be recommended for any primer/paint on any wood. A mistake commonly made is boards are painted during a warm day and then the temperature drops far lower at night and the curing process stops.

Your customers will find the dimensional stability of Paulownia unmatched by any specie. Movement is service hardly measurable. I would not recommend butt jointing two pieces (end to end) of any specie – rather a scarf joint (45 degree on both boards) is a better/neater application.

As to putty and caulk, we have no specific recommendations. I am sure almost every product on the market has been used and this issue has never been mentioned to us – good or bad.

As to nails, again, we have no specific recommendation as probably every type has been used with no feedback good or bad. However, expensive aluminum or stainless steel nails are not necessary, as you will not have the chemical reaction to hot dipped galvanized common nails that you do with redwood and cedar.

The Sherwin-Williams primer will probably be ordered this week – but it will take some time before we can actually ship boards with the S-W primer.

Hope all of this is of some help to you.

Best regards,

Jerry