Paint Analysis and Recommendation for Repainting: Itjen House

Pearson, Barbara

The objective of this paint analysis is to determine the original exterior color scheme of the Itjen House located in Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Skagway, Alaska, for the purpose of recommending colors for repainting. Twenty paint samples taken from the exterior facades of the Itjen House were studied. Of these twenty samples, all but six have evidence of a similar chromochronology. This chromo chronology consists of approximately five layers with a cream first finish coat. Testing with sodium sulfide (Na2S) confirms that the first primer layer most likely soaked into the wood. Many of the samples are missing early layers due to apparent weathering, however, the remaining layers can still be identified as fitting into the 5-layer sequence. Of the six samples that differ from the 5-layer chromochronology, five samples have the cream first finish coat. Four of these six samples differ only by lacking the peach layer. These include #'s 4 and 7 from the moulding and #'s 18 and 19 from the north facade. Another sample, #2, from the siding, has some sections of light blue layers above the cream. These blue layers, which were observed in only one sample, may indicate that the siding was painted blue at one time. Only one sample, #12 from an unknown location, appears to lack the cream first finish coat. This sample with a first finish coat of the peach color, appears to have been taken from a new or reconditioned piece of wood since there is no evidence of weathering. In conclusion, nineteen of the twenty paint samples were deter mined or conjectured to have a similar cream color first finish coat. The one exception is a sample that appears to be from a new or reconditioned area. This cream layer was color matched to Munsell 5Y 9/1 and Benjamin Moore OW-69.

Paint Analysis and Recommendation for Repainting: Itjen House

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