apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I suddenly want to go tag my neighbor's Hummer.

aerosols sprays should not be used by vandals nor non vandals.

When making models in college (product design) we would go to a local auto-body shop where there were probably thousands of colors to choose from that could be custom mixed and bought in spray cans.

This is possibly the most useful post I have seen on AT all year. I can't believe I didn't know about any of this before!!

Bookmarked!!!

mattab - That's a great suggestion, I've done that before also when restoring pieces and I needed to match something, but never thought to go in strictly for a custom piece! Thanks for the reminder!

-Sarahrae

The worst part about the IDIOTIC ban on the sales of SPRAY PAINT IN CHICAGO is.......
have YOU seen a drop-off in Graffiti around Chicago?
Ever?
Whether its Gang's markin turf-
or idiotic taggers (look at the new Condos in early Construction phase with Limestone ruined!) the volume has not declined-
kinda like "The War on Drugs"-
Prohibition never seems to work-

At Sappanaos Hi-Grade Paints , if you can present them with a "Contractors Card", you can have them "unlock" the Glass Display Case full of various Krylon and Rust-o-lean Brand Paints as well as a few Novelty Paints like faux sandblasted glass and BlackBoard Paint.

Thanks for the good post, good resources. I'd like to see more of these for chicago.

Although this is a good post, and there are sure to be many people that just find out about this... spray paint is a godsend. I use specialty spray paint to create stencils and find a beauty within this art form.

This post did however lack the best resource period for paint in the US.

ArtPrimo.com They stock everything, and they are cheap, and take pride in their orders. Every tagger or serious artist knows of this website and knows that they take care of you. They also carry the best brand of paint with the most colors (Belton Molotow) which runs about 6 bucks a can (but is sooooo worth it, it tries with no drips in about 2 minutes).

I once made a wonderful pinata for my daughter. We spray painted it pink (it was a flying dragon) and they we found a gold spray paint that superimposed a gold netting.

Although the children attacked the beautiful thing with sticks as if they had just they sprang out of the pages of Lord of the Flies, it was still a creative high and a wonderful memory for my daughter.

konroy- Thank you so much for the ArtPrimo.com link, they are a wonderful resource that wasn't on our radar. They carry what could be the largest selection of paints and inks in one place!

-Sarahrae

Although I don't use it often, when I do, it has been as konroy said, a godsend. Thanks for sharing this great info on the different caps, Sarahrae and to you, konroy for the artprimo.com link!

Useful resource for the 'do it yourselfer' with artistic skills. But in the absence of that, if all those colors set your ideas in motion, there is a great little etsy store that can put your creativity to canvas for you. www.creaturesofhabit.etsy.com

My friend made the most amazing mural on a basement wall with a huge array of colors and nozzles. If I ever own a place, I'm absoutely having him spray paint me some fantastic scene!

Sarahrae — Did you find the spray caps at a store in the area? I haven't seen anything like it and would like to try them on a project I currently have.

How do you get a piece to stop smelling of spray paint, though? Whenever I use it for something indoors, the smell lingers for months, even if I paint outside and let it dry and sit outside for a bit.

thirdcoastgirl- We picked up paint when we were in town last week, but we get our caps locally here in Kansas City. There's a good chance that illegalsupply (.com) down in Oak Park (which is a few blocks from The Blue Line) carries them (they do on their site, but since I wasn't looking when we were there, I can't be sure).
You can order them from the artprimo.com link above, just make sure that the caps you order fit the cans you want to use them with. Some caps are male and some are female, so you'll want to make sure they match up!


That70sHeidi- We've never really had a problem with the smell, although if it bothers you, once your piece is 100% cure (leaving it outside until it is helps out!) you can wipe it down with a vinegar and water solution and it's been known to help other smelly items and shouldn't harm the paint job.

-Sarahrae

I don't know if anyone else will still see this...

That70sHeidi - The smell remains because most paints (Krylon and Rusto) have crap chemicals in them, mostly lead. People always laugh, but if you use cheap paint, expect cheap results. The smell remains because of the kind of paint, the good stuff like Belton has a sweet smell to it, and I hang my stencils in my house all the time and can never smell them. Belton is one of the only paints that doesn't have lead in the aerosol btw.

As far as caps go, if people msg me I can direct you to places you can get them, or sell them to you at cost when I make an order from ArtPrimo. Each cap does a different thing obviously but a good artist only needs 3. (Stock, Fat, and Skinny). The rest is in how you control the can.

konroy,

You've been a great resource on this thread. Thanks a lot!

Thanks for the info, both of you! I always thought Krylon was decent (except for that smell) but now I know what to look for. I will definitely try the vinegar thing.

I love spray paint art I try myself I should try to convince my roommates to let me do a wall in our living room!