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Ingalls Home Gets New Paint

The Ingalls home in De Smet needed painting and all consultants recommend the house be stripped to the bare wood first. The PEEL-AWAY 1 system chosen for the job is an environmentally safe method of removing multiple layers of paint with a single application. First, a paste is spread or sprayed over the surface to be stripped. Then a fibrous laminated cloth which controls evaporation, is applied and left on until all the paint dissolves. The cloth with the paste and paint adhering to it is then removed and the stripped surface is washed clean and neutralized.

The PEEL-AWAY system is especially suited for removing lead paint because, applying the paste and covering it with the laminated cloth keeps the paint damp and prevents lead particles from getting into the air or onto the surrounding surfaces. The lead paint comes off intact on the laminated cloth for proper disposal when the stripping process is complete.

Stripping the Ingalls Home was finished by the end of July and the house was allowed to dry thoroughly.

Research revealed the original color that Pa had painted the house. The house was primed and then painted with Diamond Vogel latex paint.

Funding for preserving the Ingalls home exterior was provided by:

The Mary Chilton Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution through the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation, Sioux Falls, SD.