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A plan by President Donald Trump paint the granite facade of Eisenhower’s executive office building next to the White House with a white mineral silicate masonry paint he has called “magic paint” won’t work the way he said it would, according to 25 restoration specialists.
“Mineral silicate paints are not suitable for granite,” he said said the specialists in a question and answer prepared by conservationists seeking to stop the plan. “These paints do not chemically bond to the granite in the way necessary to activate its powers to strengthen and protect the underlying stone.”
Cultural Heritage Partners, the DC Preservation League and others sued President Trumpthe General Services Administration and the National Park Service in November for violating federal laws that require work on a historically significant building to be done only after public notice and in consultation with interested parties.
In the questions and answers they prepared, the plaintiffs say President Trump has claimed there is a “‘magic silicate paint'” that, if applied to the building’s exterior granite, would strengthen the stone, retain water, prevent staining, be easy to apply and rarely require repainting. None of these claims are true, according to experts.
They say that mineral silicate paints are unsuitable for granite because granite does not contain calcium carbonate. “Mineral silicate paints are designed to chemically bond with stone containing calcium carbonate, such as limestone, sandstone or marble.”
Other points raised:
- Making the paint work would require the use of a primer or other acrylic bonding agent, which would detract from the paint’s advantage. “The barrier layer of a primer [would block] chemical bond between the paint and the stone,” they said.
- Granite would need to be polished, which would permanently alter the surface. “Because granite is relatively smooth and non-absorbent, all surfaces of … granite should be polished, scarified, etched or otherwise abraded,” they said.
- Paint would not protect the granite from deterioration. “At best, it only acts as a surface coating,” they said. “It does not repair internal defects, prevent cracking, or enhance the inherent durability of granite.”
- It would not stop water penetration. “Water infiltration occurs from failures of joints, sealants, flashings and mortar, and building movement, not from the exposed face of the granite blocks,” they said.
- Discoloration would still be a problem. “Iron leaching and staining can pass through breathable coatings,” such as silicate paint, they said. If the granite is painted white, as planned, the stains would become even more noticeable, they said.
- Removing the paint in the future would be an expensive job and would not be possible without damaging the granite. “It would require mechanical or chemical methods that further damage the stone,” they said, leaving a “hazy, filmy” residue.
President Trump late last year said the building’s gray facade was deteriorating and didn’t fit well with the White House stylistically. “Grey is for funerals,” he said while talking to Laura Ingraham, host of the Fox show. He revealed on this show that he had started work on repainting the building and making repairs.
The plaintiffs’ complaint says the plans violate the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. They said they also violate Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution, known as the Take Care Clause, because it requires the president to “take care” that the laws of the United States are faithfully enforced.
The president and the other defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in late January. In your answer in the motion, the plaintiffs reiterated their complaint that the project is illegal.
“Congress [made] a deliberate choice to require early and meaningful consideration of environmental and historical impacts by federal agencies precisely so that those considerations can inform decision-making before commitments are blocked and irreversible harm occurs,” the plaintiffs said.
The president also faces lawsuits against his plans build a ballroom on the grounds of the White House and renovate the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A non-profit group is is also being prepared a lawsuit against the president if he moves forward with a demolition plan several historically significant federal buildings in Washington, including the former headquarters of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
