What do you write?
Kit 17
Tell us a little about yourself… How long you’ve been painting and who you’re down with etc.
I was born and raised in the bronx and lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I started piecing trains in 1974 and by late 1978 I slowed it down due to the raids and getting chased constantly and also the big buff in 78 I still was peicing up until 1981. The crews I was down with were: MG BOYS, BYB, OTB & TOP.
^Classic Piece Breakdown: P.NUT 2. Fill: Rust-Oleum ‘Marlin Blue’. Outline: Rust-Oleum ‘National Blue’. Cloud: Rust-Oleum ‘Avocado’. KIT 17. Fill: Rust-Oleum ‘Federal Saftey Purple’, ‘Avacado’ green & ‘Light Yellow’. Highlights: ‘Gloss White’. Outline & 3D: ‘Gloss Black’. Cloud: Krylon ‘Hot Pink’. Painted in Esplanade tunnel.
What brands of paint did you use most frequently in the early years?
Red Devil which was the thickest paint – it never dripped! Rust-Oleum and Krylon, they both had nice colors and were good paint to piece with, and Utilac wich was made by Benjamin Moore. I loved thier ‘Parrot Green’.
Are you a can collector?
No.
Can you still find old paint stock in your area?
It’s very hard to find old cans these days you have to travel to upstate NY to the mom & pop stores if you’re lucky enough to find them!
^Classic Piece Breakdown: Fill: Rust-Oleum ‘Dunes Tan’. Designs: ‘Federal Safety Orange’. Outline: ‘Gloss White’. 3D: Utilac ‘Parrot Green’. Cloud: ‘Gloss Black’. Cloud outline: ‘Gloss White’.
Any good racking stories?
The best racking story is when I didn’t go racking. We did a over night in a MH Lampstons, which is the sister store to Woolworths. We ended up going thru the back window. I remember just filling up the plastic garbage cans with cans of paint and dumping them out the back window where my friend was bagging them up. By the end of the night we had over 400 cans of Red Devil and were ready to go bombing!
^Classic Piece Breakdown: Fill: Montana ‘Ivory’ &v ‘Boston Green’. Designs: ‘Halloween Orange’ flames & ‘Cherry’ dots. Cloud: ‘Baby Blue’. Outline & 3D: ‘Gloss Black’.
Any favorite old paint stores?
Woolworths, Martins, Strauss Auto Stores for ther high heat silvers and the mom and pop stores along the East side of Manhattan.
Best discontinued paint, and why?
Red Devil hands down. It was the thickest and the best paint for designs… it sprayed real skinny which was perfect for outlines and designs.
Ever found some racked caps work good with certain paints?
Jifoam’s which came off an oven cleaner, they were perfect for the Red Devils. Niagras and Scotch Guard’s worked well with Rust-Oleum and Krylon.
^Classic Piece Breakdown: Comet. Fill: Montana ‘Baby Blue’ & ‘Shock Blue’. Designs: ‘Shock Yellow’ & Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch ‘Berry Pink’. Outline & 3D: ‘Gloss Black’. KIT. Fil: Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch ‘Berry Pink’. Designs: Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch ‘Key Lime’, ‘Gloss White’, ‘Marigold’, ‘Brilliant Blue’ & ‘Grape’. Outline & 3D: Montana ‘Gloss Black’.
Worst paint ever award goes to?
Wet Look. They had fruity colors but the paint was like water, it wouldn’t cover good and always dripped.
What are some of your best painting experiences?
Esplanade where I would do most of my whole cars and T2B’s.
How do you feel about the brands of Euro paint and their impact on the scene?How do you feel about the brands of Euro paint and their impact on the scene?
They’re good paint… nice colors. The problem is they’re too expensive and don’t last long, so I sometimes go with Rust-Oleum Painters Touch from Home Depot, it’s cheaper and they have all the fruity colors and there’s fat caps and skinny caps out for them now!If you could choose a few cans to have on your shelf, what would they be?
Red Devil ‘Chinese Red’ and ‘Delta Blue’, Rust-Oleum ‘Fed Safety Purple’, Fed Safety Green’, ‘Dunes Tan’, ‘Cascade Green’, Krylon ‘School Bus Yellow’, Krylon ‘Hot Pink’, ‘Hot Raspberry’, ‘Jungle Green’ and Utilac ‘Parrot Green’.
Any other comments?
I was fortunate enough to be a part of graffiti in the 70s during the train era and made the most of it. Just a shout out to all the writers from the train era who did their thing! Peace.
^Classic Piece Breakdown: Fill: Montana, ‘Pink Lemonade’. Designs: ‘Horizon Blue’. Outline: ‘Pure White’. 3D: ‘King’s Royal Purple’ with ‘Black’ blends. Cloud: ‘Halloween Orange’ with ‘Shock Yellow’ blends. Background outline: ‘Gloss Black’.
^Classic Piece Breakdown: These two pieces were done with mostly cheap spray paint called Quick Color. The cans go for under a $1 at the departmant stores. Mark. Fill: Quick Color ‘Off White’. Designs: ‘Deep Red’. Outline & 3D: ‘Gloss Black’. KIT. Fill: Quick Color ‘Off White’. Designs: Krylon ‘Hosta Leaf’. Outline & 3D: Quick Color ‘Gloss Black’. Cloud: Quick Color ‘Dark Blue’.