March 23, 2026

Historic Homes: Residential Painting Tips for Preserving Character

Historic residences don’t whisper. They speak in wavy glass, hand-planed trim, plaster that feels cool to the palm, and layers of studies tucked lower than each and every sash and board. When you paint an area like that, the stakes are different. You’re no longer simply changing colour. You’re stewarding individual. A right residential painter understands a way to highlight the quirks with no sanding the soul suitable out of them. A good one makes the ancient home feel brand new even as honoring what time built.

I’ve spent years running on residences from the 1860s because of the early Nineteen Forties, and so they each existing their very own brush-bending puzzles. Greek Revival cornices with dry rot, Victorian gingerbread crowded with lead paint, Arts and Crafts shingle exteriors weathered into gentle grey, and Spanish Revival stucco with hairline crazing that drinks in paint like a sponge. The tips underneath comes from the ones task web sites, not from a catalog. If you very own a historic situation, or you’re a residential or advertisement painter getting in one for the 1st time, you’ll discover a direction that avoids the widespread blunders and respects the bones of the development.

Start with a listening walk

Before you rate, patch, or select a coloration, stroll the area slowly, inner and out. Let your hand and eyes lead. I raise a bright LED flashlight, a magnet, a moisture meter, and a small scraping instrument. The magnet tells me if a “metallic” railing is actually iron or aluminum; the moisture meter spots wherein paint failure connects to leaks or growing damp; the scraper is helping title what number coats we’re facing and where the bond is vulnerable. In older homes, the paint typically will become a ancient checklist. You can study it. Thick layers at window trim suggest repeated repaints without prep. Blistering close to a basis points to capillary moisture. Fine alligatoring, like cracked dust, on a regular basis ability historic oil paint nearing the stop of its life.

Inside, I fee the plaster with the lower back of my knuckles. A hole sound capacity it has pulled far from lath. Don’t masks this and wish, for the reason that vibration from sanding or window work can drop an entire panel. On exteriors, I kneel to glance below the primary clapboard and alongside sill nosings where water sits. I’ve came across rot hidden by trim caps more than as soon as. Better to detect that earlier than you’ve completed a super topcoat.

This first skip units your scope and informs every selection after, from containment for cause whether or not a full strip is well worth the threat. It also exhibits what to save. Sometimes, a triple-bullnose part on a newel publish has the quite hand put on that you could’t reflect. Plan to protect it, even though it slows down the process.

The actuality approximately lead, and the way to paintings effectively with no drama

If the condo predates 1978, I assume there’s lead somewhere. Most old houses have it around the world, certainly underneath layers at trim, home windows, and external siding. Lead isn’t a reason to panic, however this is a cause to comply with practices that shield folk and the constructing.

Containment is the 1st step. I wish to construct lightweight plastic walls with zip doorways on interiors and use tack mats at thresholds. On exteriors, flooring tarps and vertical containment retailer chips from drifting into gardens. If I’m doing window work, I deploy a uncomplicated “blank room” on observed horses with HEPA vacuum on the ready. Wet scraping reduces airborne dirt dramatically. I avoid aggressive sanding structures which could gouge profiles or warmness up paint. Heat weapons can work at low settings, but the margin for error is slender near glass and dry wooden. Infrared heaters melt paint extra correctly, however you continue to need to seize every scrap.

HEPA vacuum attachments paired with hand sanding sponges are the unsung heroes the following. Your aim is to create sound, feathered edges devoid of overexposing naked picket. After cleanup, I run the vacuum over surfaces back, then do a humid wipe. These steps may perhaps sense fussy. They’re what allow a historical space keep its finely milled edges in place of growing to be a rounded, nameless silhouette.

When to strip and when to go away neatly adequate alone

Total paint elimination sounds noble except you’re on a twelve-foot ladder with a stubborn beadboard ceiling and an aching neck. Full stripping makes feel in about a scenarios. One, the existing paint is failing far and wide, with deep alligatoring or intercoat adhesion complications that telegraph through any new film. Two, high-worth picket important points were buried lower than such a lot of coats that profiles, famous, and joints are smothered. Three, there’s a regarded incompatibility, like heavy calcimine residue on plaster or a modern alkyd base that repels present day acrylics despite what you do.

Even then, I rarely strip each square inch. A specific process preserves extra persona and decreases menace. For exteriors, I’ll strip handiest to sound paint, incessantly down to naked wooden at horizontal edges and finish grain wherein failure begins. On interiors, I may possibly strip stair balusters and newel posts to recuperate crisp edges, yet I’ll consolidate and browse different trim to stay its background intact.

Chemical strippers have come an extended approach. The gentler ones are slower, yet they’re far kinder to old picket. I ward off methylene chloride for safeguard. Soy-primarily based or alkaline pastes paired with paper wrap can elevate a number of layers devoid of burning. The change-off is neutralization and endurance. If you don’t neutralize and permit the wood leisure, you can actually trap residue that interferes with primer. Plan your series and resist the urge to hurry.

Primers that earn their hold on previous picket and plaster

Primer is in which many historic tasks be successful or fail. I damage primers into four classes whilst operating on antique houses: stain blocking off sealers, bonding primers, penetrating consolidants, and really expert primers for masonry or chalky surfaces.

For outside historical-boom timber with checking or minor weathering, an oil-elegant or alkyd primer still earns its position. Modern waterborne primers have more advantageous, however oil penetrates and seals give up grain like not anything else. If I see resin bleed in cedar or stains from antique knots, a shellac-elegant primer is the quit signal. It dries quickly, locks in tannins, and sands into a easy base for teeth. The odor is extreme, so I time table it strategically or use it in small areas.

On indoors trim so that you can get a excellent acrylic tooth, I ordinarilly use a waterborne bonding primer that sands to powder the next day. That supplies a glassy surface with out loading the room with fumes. Old plaster with minor chalking reward from an acrylic primer designed for masonry. If the plaster used to be previously painted with calcimine, you’ll want to bathe it down adequately, then follow a dedicated calcimine sealer or a shellac-elegant primer to retain the new coat from peeling.

For exteriors the place the paint isn’t just peeling however the picket fibers are friable, a penetrating consolidant may be a lifesaver. These are thinner resins that soak in and harden the surface. Use them sparingly. Overuse can create a brittle layer that fails in another way. The aim is to fix teeth, no longer encase the condo in plastic.

How to read and restore plaster previously you even focus on paint

Historic plaster has a consider that drywall can’t fake. It displays easy softly and contains sound in another way. Keep it if you're able to. Hairline cracks may well be opened a bit of with a 5-in-one tool to a shallow V, then choked with a versatile compound and a fiberglass mesh in which mandatory. I decide upon lime-based or atmosphere-fashion compounds for structural components on account that they don’t decrease the way pre-mixed dust can. If you find a unfastened section that drums, forestall and reattach it. Plaster washers, pushed rigorously into studs and lath, pull the sphere tight. In a few rooms, I’ll inject a gypsum adhesive behind the lath and clamp the house overnight.

Where there’s historic calcimine, a chalky ceiling paint used simply by the Forties, you’ll see coloration on the rag once you damp wipe, and new paint will bubble inside hours. Scrub it tough with warm water and TSP substitute, rinse, allow dry properly, then use a primer primarily made to fasten it in. Don’t bypass the rinse. Residue is your enemy.

Decorative plaster and medallions ask for hand paintings. I use small sash brushes and patience. If a chunk is chipped, I repair the profile with a sculptable plaster blend and a customized-made profile scraper fashioned from a plastic card. That stage of care takes time, yet one medallion can anchor a full room.

Choosing paints that appreciate move, breathability, and sheen

Old houses circulate. They swell with humidity, slash in iciness, and flex in another way throughout vintage-development studs and later additions. Pick coatings that may accommodate that. For exterior wood, a effective one hundred percentage acrylic paint continues to be my default because it remains versatile, resists UV, and breathes ample to let the wall dry. In very old buildings with minimal vapor limitations, I avoid over-sealing. A paint film that traps moisture pushes it into joints and rot paths. Limewash and mineral paints make sense on historical masonry that wishes to respire, distinctly gentle brick and lime stucco. They carbonate with the substrate, growing a bond that lets vapor move. The coloration bloom is not like fashionable acrylics, rather variegated in a manner that matches age.

Sheen is the other lever. Shiny trim could make feel in formal rooms, but a dead-flat on plaster partitions hides old waves and patches better than eggshell. I customarily pair a sturdy matte on walls with a satin on trim. On exteriors, satin or low-luster hides imperfections in old clapboards more desirable than complete gloss at the same time nevertheless shedding water. If you want that outdated-faculty the teeth seem to be on interior trim, be truthful approximately the upkeep. Gloss shows the whole thing. Satin grants forgiveness with no dulling the structure.

Color, tone, and the load of light

Color resolution needs to grow from the area, now not from a paint store card on my own. I want to sample with considerable, brush-carried out swatches on primed poster board and circulation them round at extraordinary occasions of day. Historic properties continuously have deep window wells that cast precise shadows. A color that looks wealthy at midday can pass muddy at dusk.

If you’re working with a selected interval, look at the palette with no turning out to be a reenactor. Victorian exteriors dealt with comparison and ornament; Craftsman buildings typically liked earth tones; Colonial Revival enjoyed refreshing, gentle rooms with painted trim. But the terrific outcome occur after you additionally think of context. A shaded lot shifts how blues and veggies read. Bright solar bounces off white properties harshly if the sheen is inaccurate. In one 1915 foursquare I labored on, the consumers wished a grey external. Every grey leaned bloodless opposed to the historical crimson brick starting place unless we warmed it subtly with a drop of brown. That tiny pass tied the whole facade at the same time.

Small samples lie. Get in any case two quarts, paint a few sq. feet at the absolutely surface, and reside with it for every week. If you’re matching an historical color from a protected enviornment, like at the back of a leaf of hinge or lower than a doorknob escutcheon, recognise that long-established binders and getting old shift tones. Use the match as a place to begin, no longer a conclude line.

Windows: the lungs and the jewelry

Original home windows are price the fuss. They would be tightened, weatherstripped, and repainted to outperform many replacements, and so they appear exact. The joinery, the wavy glass, the percentage of rails and stiles, it all things.

When painting sash, the goal is security and tender operation. I put off the sash while you'll, label them, and work on a bench. Old glazing putty in many instances wants to be raked out and changed. Linseed oil-structured putty takes time to pores and skin however ages gracefully and bonds to primed wood and glass. I most effective the glazing rabbets with oil primer, let them dry, then mattress the glass in a skinny bead sooner than utilising the face putty. Paint must always overlap the glass onto the putty with the aid of a 16th of an inch to shape a climate seal. A lot of peeling at glazing traces comes from painters who lower too tight to the glass.

Don’t paint weatherstripping, cords, or parting beads whenever you favor home windows to maneuver. A little paste wax on tracks enables particularly. I’ve visible sashes welded shut with the aid of thick layers of latex on higher of oil. If you hit that location, rating the perimeters with a sharp knife, heat the paint with a hair dryer, and paintings lightly to damage it unfastened. Resist prying which breaks profiles.

Doors, hardware, and the delight of patina

Front doorways on old residences quite often earn a other stage of consciousness. Sun, rain, and coping with all conspire to wear finishes briefly. If the door is solid picket with decorative panels, I more often than not strip the outdoors face most effective, leaving the inside painted. That we could the determine of the wooden instruct on the public part whereas keeping the indoors trim cohesion.

Linseed oil or a marine-grade spar varnish approach can look superb, yet they need renovation. If the door faces south with out an overhang, be simple. A painted finish would live much longer than and require less constant focus. When portray doors with raised panels, begin with the panels, then the muntins and rails, and finish with the stiles, conserving a moist part. A first rate sash brush and a gentle hand are the change among seen brush ruts and a hand-brushed sheen that fits the age of the apartment.

Hardware tells the reality about a home. I get rid of it whenever achievable. If you might’t, mask it cleanly. Many historic backplates hide a sharp paint ridge. Soften and shave it lower back in preference to bury it again. For tarnished brass that clients prefer brilliant, I refreshing and wax it rather than lacquer, which can flake and lure moisture. If the patina earned over a long time is fascinating, I’ll blank it gently and depart it. Not each and every surface needs to seem new.

Exterior woodwork: rot, joints, and the art of compromise

If there’s rot, portray is a pause button, now not a solution. Probe sills, column bases, and water tables. Small components will likely be consolidated and rebuilt with epoxy strategies, however the fix is in basic terms as really good as the water management above. If a gutter dumps onto a porch column, repair the gutter ahead of sculpting epoxy. Lumber alternative subjects for patches. I resource vertical grain, kiln-dried inventory on every occasion I can. It moves much less and holds paint longer.

For joints, avoid stuffing caulk into titanic gaps to cause them to disappear. Deep caulk beads fail and appear bloated. Instead, backfill with most excellent supplies, then apply a modest bead of incredible elastomeric caulk and instrument it evenly. On ornate Victorian fascia and brackets, I use caulk with restraint, letting small shadow strains examine. A residence demands to point out its joints. Painted monoliths are easier to spray but flatten the structure.

Spraying as opposed to brushing is a fixed query. Spraying can observe a uniform coat without delay and is magnificent for textured shingles and broad fields, but it could be followed by back-brushing on historical wooden to work the paint into the grain. Brushing on my own leaves a common texture that suits clapboards and trim, and it affords you extra keep watch over in tight profiles. I do each, relying on the floor, yet I in no way enable a sprig-handiest coat be the remaining observe on a historic exterior.

Moisture leadership, the invisible paint job

Many paint failures blamed on products are tremendously water difficulties. Historic buildings have been developed to shed and breathe. Flashing important points, drip edges, and venting styles count as plenty as primer decision. If soffit vents are clogged and tub fanatics vent into attics, are expecting peeling on south-going through gables. If the grade pitches in the direction of the muse, predict blistering near the bottom of clapboards. I’ve had projects in which basically extending downspouts and adding a one-inch rain kerf to a sill stopped routine paint loss.

On masonry, be aware of the distinction between demanding Portland cement mortars used in later maintenance and the authentic softer lime mortars. Too-onerous repointing can pressure moisture because of bricks, causing spalling. If you’re painting or limewashing masonry, plan after proper repointing and permit new mortar cure correctly. Trapping damp masonry with an impermeable coating is a protracted-time period liability.

Interiors: surfacing for beauty, not perfection

Perfection is current. Charm is historic. If you chase flat, laser-immediately walls in a 1910 bungalow, you’ll sand the existence out of it. I tell prospects to decide focal issues for increased refinement, just like the dining room and access hall, and enable secondary spaces preserve just a little of their unevenness. That system saves time and preserves authenticity.

Skim coating can unify patched partitions, however it must be primed and sanded among layers to hinder telegraphing. I more commonly add a sophisticated, hand-sanded texture on the very last coat to echo the development’s age other than a laptop-flat conclude. For crown and baseboard gaps that open seasonally, use a caulk with smart elasticity, and retain the bead tiny. Large beads crack in wintry weather and smear shadows.

Ceilings in historic properties can trick you. Stains more often than not migrate from historical roof leaks long after the roof is changed. A devoted stain-blocking off primer is non-negotiable overhead. Two coats once in a while, with adequate dry time, or you’ll see a ghost circle wink by means of your closing paint.

Working rhythm: sequencing that saves headaches

Historic projects run smoother when the order of operations respects the area. Exterior, I jump on the suitable. Gutters and roof edges first, then soffits, fascia, and trim, and best then siding. Windows stick with a good judgment: most appropriate and paint the sash on the bench even as the frames are being prepped, reinstall after glazing skins, then conclude with a remaining coat in area.

Interior sequencing starts off with ceiling maintenance and paint, then partitions, then trim, leaving floors and final contact-u.s.for last. If you’re doing stair rails with oil the teeth, schedule them early in order that they have time to remedy beforehand heavy use. Old residences benefits persistence with dry times. A paint that might possibly be recoated in four hours on the label may want an afternoon in a funky, plaster-coated room.

What pros carry, and tips on how to appoint one for a historic job

Not each and every residential painter is relaxed with old fabrics. That’s nice. The trick is finding an individual straightforward approximately what they do good. Ask how they manage lead-riskless practices, whether they’ve reattached plaster sooner than, and the way they preserve common data. A great contractor will dialogue about sequencing, primers, and the way to check for old coatings with no guessing. They’ll present you samples of hand-brushed tooth and be aware of when to replace to mineral paint on masonry. If you’re hiring for a business undertaking in a historic district, ask how they coordinate with affordable painter Beaverton upkeep forums and record colour and materials possibilities. The most fulfilling painters see themselves as stewards, no longer just applicators.

Two compact checklists really worth keeping

  • Quick diagnostic walk: Look for alligatoring and adhesion failure, examine for moisture close foundations and underneath windows, assess plaster for hole spots, look at glazing and putty traces, probe sills and column bases for rot.
  • Prep essentials: Lead-protected containment, centred stripping the place profiles are buried, very good primers for substrate, repairs that resolve water first, experiment patches for shade and sheen in precise mild.

Budgeting time and cash with no dropping your nerve

Historic painting takes longer. Prep is the lion’s proportion, occasionally 60 to 70 percentage of the job on exteriors, and 0.5 the process on interiors. You’ll use more material considering that older wooden and plaster are thirstier. Plan contingencies for surprises like hidden rot or a plaster area that we could move if you open a hairline crack. I construct a ten to 20 p.c contingency into estimates on first-time initiatives with a home I haven’t unfolded earlier. Clients delight in the candor extra than a rosy range that balloons later.

Trade-offs are true. You may elect to strip and refinish the eating room constructed-ins this yr, then paint the relax of the trim to stabilize it, saving a complete healing for a future section. Or you retain the unique storm home windows, tune them up, and lengthen a dear window healing a season whilst nonetheless covering the sash. Good planning layers preservation over time and respects the budget with out slicing the wrong corners.

A few small concepts that make a massive difference

I oil vintage wood calmly in the past priming. A thin wipe of boiled linseed oil, lower with mineral spirits, soaks dry give up grain and decreases primer soak-in, specially in which many years of solar have cooked the floor. Let it penetrate and wipe the excess before priming. The primer grabs more suitable and remains greater uniform.

I bridge small checking on exterior timber with a prime-construct acrylic primer, then sand to level in place of loading with putty. That retains the board’s average enlargement route. On inside trim, I tip off tooth with the lightest brush force after laying it on. The brush marks tighten because it dries, giving that hand-brushed glow.

I necessarily, perpetually label elements. Sash pass again in which they got here from. Casings with easy warp have compatibility their unique openings more beneficial than any “correct” switch. Historic residences are handmade approaches. Put the puzzle again the way you chanced on it.

When not to paint

Some surfaces get advantages from being left by myself or handled another way. Soft brick, straightforward inside the nineteenth and early 20th centuries, shall be damaged through trapped moisture if included with impermeable paint. Limewash or mineral silicate paint is safer. Decorative pretend finishes, graining, or stenciling that survived underneath a radiator cover or a pantry shelf have to be documented, whether no longer restored at present. Photograph, degree, and preserve them. There’s pleasure in letting a component to normal work breathe and be seen.

Unpainted internal timber with a century of shellac or wax might merely need cleaning and a thin refresh coat, not paint. I scan with denatured alcohol. If the end melts, it’s probably shellac. A gentle cleaning, scuff, and new coat can bring it lower back with out erasing the proof of time.

Living with the result

A freshly painted ancient residence feels proud. The secret to maintaining it that means is smooth renovation. Walk the external every spring with a cup of espresso. Touch up hairline cracks in caulk ahead of they widen. Clear gutters. Catch a failed bead of glazing formerly a better wintry weather. Inside, wipe hand oils from stair rails and door edges with a light cleanser other than harsh chemicals that uninteresting the teeth. Small, regularly occurring care extends periods between best repaints through years.

I once revisited a 1928 Tudor cottage five years once we had painted it. The owners had accompanied a useful routine: kept downspouts transparent, repainted a sun-baked southern window once, and often called while a small section of fascia showed checking. The apartment appeared practically as just right because the day we packed up. Smart maintenance isn't very a chore record. It’s an funding in the personality you worked to defend.

Why this work matters

Historic homes are more than actual estate. They hang craft we rarely see now. You can’t buy region-sawn okaynewel posts like the one I oiled on a January morning, or hand-lower rosettes that trap faded at 4 p.m. on a winter day. Painting them seriously is not approximately freezing time yet about letting a building proceed gracefully. The properly prep, the perfect supplies, and the excellent contact make a obvious distinction. They additionally allow a condo reside itself, which is the whole element.

If you’re a home owner weighing DIY as opposed to hiring a painter, be trustworthy approximately the scope. You can control a bed room or a porch while you take it slow and respect the substrate. For full exteriors, intricate windows, or lead-heavy trim, deliver in a professional who knows historic paintings. If you’re a painter used to new creation getting in an historical house, adjust your rhythm. Listen to the construction. Let the profiles, disasters, and successes of beyond coats instruct you. That’s how man or woman is preserved, one cautious brushload at a time.

MBK Painting INC
11112 NW Crystal Creek Ln, Portland, OR 97229, United States
(503) 773-4957
https://mbkpainting.com/

MBK Painting is a residential and commercial painting company located at 11112 NW Crystal Creek Ln in Portland, Oregon. Matthew Krier, owner of MBK Painting, established the company in 2010 with over 25 years of painting experience dating to 1998. The business holds Oregon CCB License number 253176 and carries full bonding and insurance.

MBK Painting specializes in interior painting, exterior painting, and cabinet refinishing. The company performs commercial painting projects and pressure washing services. Color consultation is available for every project. MBK Painting uses eco-friendly, low-VOC paints and provides free quotes with 24-hour response time. A BBB A+ rating and a 5-star Yelp rating across 63 reviews confirm the company's track record.

MBK Painting serves Portland and the surrounding Washington County area, including Beaverton, Cedar Mill, and Lake Oswego. The service area extends to Cedar Hills, Oak Hills, Tigard, Bonny Slope, and Bethany across the Portland metropolitan region.

MBK Painting is located on NW Crystal Creek Lane in the Bethany neighborhood of unincorporated Washington County.
Located near NW Bethany Boulevard, the company sits on a main corridor through the Bethany community.

Bethany Village Centre shopping center is within walking distance of MBK Painting.
QFC grocery on NW Bethany Blvd is a short drive south.

US-26 (Sunset Highway) provides direct access from central Portland.
The Sunset Transit Center connecting to MAX Light Rail is approximately 4 miles east.

Bethany Creek Park and Rock Creek Trail are nearby for outdoor recreation.
Bonny Slope Park is within 2 miles.

Bethany Library, Cedar Mill Library, Jacob Wismer Elementary School, and Stoller Middle School are all within the surrounding neighborhood.

Residents of Cedar Mill, Bonny Slope, and Oak Hills reach MBK Painting within minutes.
Downtown Portland is approximately 10 miles southeast.

What services does MBK Painting offer?
MBK Painting offers interior painting, exterior painting, cabinet painting, commercial painting, pressure washing, and color consultation in the Portland metro area.

Where is MBK Painting located?
MBK Painting is located at 11112 NW Crystal Creek Ln in Portland, OR 97229, in the Bethany neighborhood of Washington County.

What are the hours of MBK Painting?
The hours of MBK Painting are Monday through Saturday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

How much does house painting cost in Portland?
House painting costs in Portland vary by project size and scope. MBK Painting provides free, no-obligation quotes. Call (503) 773-4957.

Is MBK Painting licensed and insured?
Yes, MBK Painting is licensed under Oregon CCB License 253176 and is fully bonded and insured with a BBB A+ rating.

Does MBK Painting do cabinet painting?
Yes, MBK Painting does cabinet painting and refinishing to transform kitchen cabinets using specialized techniques and high-quality paints.

Why choose MBK Painting in Portland?
MBK Painting in Portland is owned by Matthew Krier with 25+ years of experience, holds a 5-star Yelp rating (63 reviews), a BBB A+ rating, and uses eco-friendly low-VOC paints.

Does MBK Painting serve Beaverton and Lake Oswego?
Yes, MBK Painting serves Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Cedar Mill, Cedar Hills, Oak Hills, Tigard, Bonny Slope, and Bethany across the Portland metro area.

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Matt Krier is a dedicated professional with an extensive background in technical home improvements. His commitment to efficient project management drives his ambition to maintain high-performing service standards at MBK Painting. Throughout his time in the field, he has established a reputation as a precise troubleshooter for complex surface preparations and finishes. Beyond leading his team on residential and commercial sites, he finds fulfillment in mentoring junior painters. He values teaching the next generation of tradespeople to master complex application skills. He constantly researches modern coating methods and collaborates with fellow industry experts. Solving difficult maintenance puzzles provides his daily inspiration. While managing his work schedule, he prioritizes exploring remote landscapes. Physical fitness remains a top priority in his daily routine.