The chronology of spray paint is going to look simple here, but rest assured it is not. As I routinely explain before paint store owners and 'nuff wrinkled brows, paint companies don't necessarily keep the best records. Some paint cans carry dates, and some dates coorelate to the date of the can design copyright or when the can was printed, not filled. Collectors scrounge for information on can dating, sometimes relying upon very weak information, imperfect color charts, or assumed conclusions. Anomalies occur so frequently that the rules have been bent and bent back multiple times. Much of what is known is just like any other history; testing theories and group agreement is the foundation of what is known and, best believe, it took some time. Krylon is among the sketchiest of the big brands to precisely date, with most can dating occupying a loose 2-3 year range, i.e. the style known as a "68" likely was used from 1968 through to 1970 or 1972. Dizzying, right? CMC is dropping a rare visual chronology of the enduring Krylon brand, the grandfather of every broad-palette artists' spray paint for the years 1951 to 2002. Collect and save...

-Joewelcome, 2012




^Other than the extremely rare "soup-can" canister that preceded it, this is one of the earliest forms of Krylon spray. This, the "grenade" style can was the most visible early aerosol format. Originally available from Krylon only in fixative and clear sprays, this extremely sturdy can style was formed out of one piece of extruded steel (no side weld), and sported a very distinctive actuator or cap. Circa 1951.




^Moving into the rolled-steel can style that most associate with spray paint container, this is a lithographed can from the time when Foster & Kester owed Krylon and they had expanded into a rapidly expanding color spectrum. This is an early variation with no warnings printed on the front of the can. Circa 1959.




^From the classic Krylon era of Borden ownership, this is the initial Borden can style, most notable for the then-new 5-Ball logo. The telltale way to distinguish this from the almost identical (and far easier to find) 1968 style is the distinctive Borden script below the 5-Ball. Available in both paper label and litho cans, with metal or plastic overcaps. Dated on can 1966.




^The legendary "notchtop" can which takes its moniker from the unusual molded channel leading to the screwdriver pry-hole in the overcap. Borden made this overcap specifically for Krylon and sister brand Sparvar and it is distinctly Krylon. By now Krylon was a household name, had the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, and no longer boasted the term "spray paint" across the front. Circa 1979.




^The 80s were a streamlined era of the Krylon style, where they standardized the text on the cans and distinguished each color only by varied adhesive labels on the overcaps. Firstly it was "ingredient labels", followed chronologically by "name labels", and then lastly by this, a "barcode label". This simplified design was to become standard, and this became the final can style under Borden ownership. Circa 1986.




^Notably a huge switch in ownership but a small jump in can design, this is the initial Sherwin-Williams Krylon design, notable for the stripes on the bottom inch of the can. These stripes bore a modified barcode label with color name, and this can style is nicknamed "flatball" to differentiate from slightly later "3-D ball" cans where the 5-Ball logo gained dimensional shading. Note that the Good Housekeeping seal remains on this can, which is an easy way to tell that it is a 1991 variant. Dated on can 1991.




^One of the shorter run latter-day styles, this is one of the stranger aesthetic moves in Krylon design history, where text-dominated can features the iconic 5-Ball logo cropped in, thus its nickname of "boxlogo." Like most new can designs, this came with some new colors, and variations on overcaps. This later version boxlogo boasts a pinch-lock overcap, a design which evolved over time. Dated on can 1998.




^The end of our run of classic Krylon is this 2002 logo. Admitting stylistic defeat, Krylon returns the full 5-Ball logo which made them famous and tones down the busy text-heavy layout while maintaining the bi-lingual warning and using typeface and lowercase letters. This relaunch of the classic can design came with a broad revamp of the color range, which despite colors such as Tuscan Sunset and Hosta Leaf, was short lived. Dated on can 2002.