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Surplus Grey

Free Paint
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There’s a lot of left-over paint in the world. Any time anyone paints anything, there is inevitably a little paint left over, which normally sits around for a while, and eventually gets thrown out.

As a less wasteful alternative, I propose that each town, village or municipality maintain a giant vat into which the citizenry can pour their surplus paint. The result would be a free source of greyish-brown semi-gloss available to people who need to paint something, but don’t have any money and aren’t too picky about the color.

AO, Jan 20 2004

Sorta baked here where I live http://www.ci.phoen...s/GARBAGE/bopa.html
"Useable paints will be mixed and reused..." [half, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

he can paint my bedroom lavender, any day! http://www.llb.co.uk/index2.htm
[po, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Salem Transfer Station http://publicworks....r.us/es/misc_wr.asp
"This blended, recycled paint is available for free at the Salem-Keizer Recycling and Transfer Station in five gallon buckets, on a first-come basis." [Klaatu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

AO meet google http://www.halfbake...int recycling color
Google, meet [AO]. Very baked and very good. [DadManWalking, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       sell to aliens...
po, Jan 20 2004
  

       The City of Phoenix does something like this. (link) We don't have a surplus gray paint tap coming in with the other municipal services but I believe that some of it is used for painting over graffiti. I saw a TV program about it once.   

       I hope that they also use it in the grants for home improvements to low income home owners, but that sounds way to cost effective.
half, Jan 20 2004
  

       navy is blue not grey!
po, Jan 20 2004
  

       oh lets brighten up our battleships. where Is Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen when you need him!
po, Jan 20 2004
  

       he prefers soldiers, they are better dressed & more masculine, dear.
po, Jan 20 2004
  

       Navy is grey, no matter what the comercial says. Ships are grey. Planes are grey. Sky is grey. Only thing that is blue is the ocean.   

       But the idea is cool. Pastry for you.
azmatsci, Jan 20 2004
  

       Reminds me of a crap joke for some reason:   

       What's blue and smells like yellow paint?
Blue paint.
lostdog, Jan 20 2004
  

       Grey is the new blue.   

       Forget the "service-to-community" crap, why not set up shop and sell to color-blind people and dogs!   

       ....or collect the paint in general hue-specific vats: greenish, redish, bluish, yellow and/or orange, ... etc.   

       ....or standardise all paint to a nice, non-offensive corporate blue with a medium gloss. Heck, it works with TV stations and software companies. ;)
not_only_but_also, Jan 20 2004
  

       We will have a whole new world, covered in grey.
k_sra, Jan 23 2004
  

       Oh, let us have our variant.
k_sra, Jan 23 2004
  

       [buddha] grey is spelt grey and not gray, on the UK side of the pond.
jonthegeologist, Jan 23 2004
  

       I had a neighbor once that would have a new blindingly terrible color of house every week or two. My guess was always that he was a colorblind do-it-yourselfer that would buy discounted paint from Home Depot. They have a discounted paint area where you could buy the paint that they had miscolored.   

       Um... I think I had a point. Oh yes, if there's a lot of paint left in some cans you could leave those out of the vat and sell them for a few dollars to those who don't like grey.
Worldgineer, Jan 23 2004
  

       You can sell any color to the colorblind.
k_sra, Jan 23 2004
  

       I'd like stripe coloured paint.
po, Jan 23 2004
  

       Do the colorblind care if you sell them the wrong color?   

       And if not, why do blind people comb their hair?
Worldgineer, Jan 23 2004
  

       "I see blind people..."
k_sra, Jan 23 2004
  

       I'd like spot coloured paint.
po, Jan 23 2004
  

       What color is Spot?
Worldgineer, Jan 23 2004
  

       Spot is vaguely dog-colored.
dijontoothpaste, Jan 23 2004
  

       no, any colour spot.
po, Jan 23 2004
  

       How about grey spots on a grey background?
AO, Jan 23 2004
  

       now don't be silly, AO.   

       oh light grey on a dark grey background might work!   

       I had a plain white picture on my wall for a while. all you could see was the title: "polar bear playing in the snow"
po, Jan 23 2004
  

       but polar bears are technically cream. They are not pure white......   

       I know, I'm being to technical. I still like the picture [po].
babyhawk, Jan 23 2004
  

       must send you a pic of my cat called Polly - she has the coat of a polar bear!
po, Jan 23 2004
  

       That’s impressive. How’d she manage to get it off him?
AO, Jan 23 2004
  

       [po] that must be a huge cat. And I would love you to e-mail me a picture of your cat. :)
babyhawk, Jan 23 2004
  

       is polly not on the half bakery pet calendar [po]?
jonthegeologist, Jan 23 2004
  

       baked <link> I painted the tavern that I managed, with the stuff.
Klaatu, Jan 24 2004
  

       Of course, not only are there many colors that mix to that unlovely mud color, but there are sundry polymeric bases, many of which are incompatible, not to mention the lumps and sludge. Otherwise, it’s a fine idea.
ldischler, Jan 24 2004
  

       It would be interesting to see how the Amalgamated Communal Paint Colour varied from community to community. Perhaps if it were done on a country-wide basis - The UK National Paint colour might be slightly murkier than the US National Paint colour.
hippo, Jan 25 2004
  

       Surplus Grey what? Anatomy? Whale's? Poupon? Tea? Matter?
thumbwax, Jan 25 2004
  

       Vermin
Tiger Lily, Jan 25 2004
  

       skin
lintkeeper2, Jan 25 2004
  

       oh go on, goose
po, Jan 25 2004
  

       Mornington Crescent!
hippo, Jan 25 2004
  

       Vee-Train.
dijontoothpaste, Jan 25 2004
  

       We have this in here in Oakland, California, according to my neighbors. Any home owner can get up to 6 gallons of free paint, most of it gray or beige. They save some bright colors for trim. From what I've seen of my neighbor's houses who've used it, they either have a bad selection, or I live amongst the colorblind.
oxen crossing, Jan 26 2004
  
      
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