color-me-red

I have noticed as of the past two months that it is getting more and more difficult to find a decent selection of colorful spray paint at the hardware stores.  This is not news.  For decades hardware stores have done everything from denying spray paint to kids under 18, locking their spray paint behind caged doors, and carrying only the basic colors in "high graffiti" areas.  Art supply shops benefit from this because they can charge a whole lot more for their spray paint.  But now, at least in D.C. and the surrounding states, aerosol artists are finding their options limited.  Most stores carried only the top two U.S. brands: Krylon and Rust-Oleum.  So it was an easy choice.  Mix and match some to get the best cover but the top seller in D.C. was always Krylon.  

Now the best paint is not Krylon or Rust-Oleum, but in D.C. most artists aren't ordering their Belton or Montana on a daily basis.  Those are saved for the best piece work. However, money calls the shots so most people doing street art in the area do it with the most affordable and with what covers the best.  Despite the anti-graf campaigns by Krylon, it's still #1.  Until recently.

At my first stop at my favorite local hardware store, I was shocked to find only Rust-Oleum lining the walls.  I asked where I could find Krylon and they sent me to Home Depot.  Of course.  At Home Depot I again found no Krylon.  Luckily I met local graf artist Vic in the aisle and he told me what was going on.

Apparently stores will no longer be carrying Krylon except for their Krylon plastic line.  Why?  Vic told me that, other than too much graffiti, that Krylon is harder to strip off the walls and so stores were switching to Rust-Oleum because it comes off with a simple power wash.  It also means that it'll take a whole new method in order to get a decent result.  Vic, who does mostly murals, sounded disappointed with the new switch.  It takes more to cover a wall.  More paint, more time, and more money.  

Look out America.