More from my paint sales days......

[Bob Wright]

Working in the paint store, I was never taken aback by requests made by potential customers. And usually ended up making a sale.

Customer: "Do you have paint for a fish?" Turns out this was a mounted fish that had gotten bedraggled over the years. The owner had restored it, but wanted to restore the "wet" look. Sold her a can of gloss polyurethane.

Another customer: "Do you have paint for grass?" Sold him white latex paint to mark out boundary lines on an athletic field.

Yet another customer: "I need some paint for some dogs." Turns out he was into field trials up at Grand Junction, Tennessee. They were using chalk, but the dogs running through the brush smeared the numbers so they were not readable. Sold him white latex paint, with the caution that it be washed out at the end of the day.

Bob Wright

 

[BDM1]

Interesting. Funny how we are able to remember things like that!

 

[dfletcher]

No striped paint? :)

 

[Hondo44]

Have you ever sold a bucket of prop wash?

 

[Kevin]

I like it. It would be pretty funny to have a customer ask for dog paint.

There is a place here in DFW called “Cat Tattoo.” Our first cat was mean enough I always wanted to take him in and get a tattoo on his shoulder. Maybe a picture of a dog. He had to go and die before I could do it. Now every time we drive past “Cat Tattoo” there’s some nice memories of Nixon.

 

[sheepdawg]

I live about 6 miles from Bob and worked for a regional paint manufacturer, Farrell Calhoun, here in Memphis for 35 years. We have a collection of old products dating back to 1905. I know for a fact we have a pint labeled dog marking paint from the 30s in that collection. The product was made specifically for the dog trials and was in our catalog for a few years.

 

[powder smoke]

I live about 6 miles from Bob and worked for a regional paint manufacturer, Farrell Calhoun, here in Memphis for 35 years. We have a collection of old products dating back to 1905. I know for a fact we have a pint labeled dog marking paint from the 30s in that collection. The product was made specifically for the dog trials and was in our catalog for a few years.

We have used that product on beagles IIRC it was yellow. So the numbers would
stand out and you could score the front runner! Wow that goes way back around
1970. lol ps

 

[SteelBlue]

Do you ever paint a bullseye on your dog?

 

[buckeyeshooter]

I live about 6 miles from Bob and worked for a regional paint manufacturer, Farrell Calhoun, here in Memphis for 35 years. We have a collection of old products dating back to 1905. I know for a fact we have a pint labeled dog marking paint from the 30s in that collection. The product was made specifically for the dog trials and was in our catalog for a few years.

I sold Farrell Calhoun XIM Primers in the 90's,as I was the Regional Manager for 18 states. I remember the contractor bbq's and the wild events well.

 

[sheepdawg]

I live about 6 miles from Bob and worked for a regional paint manufacturer, Farrell Calhoun, here in Memphis for 35 years. We have a collection of old products dating back to 1905. I know for a fact we have a pint labeled dog marking paint from the 30s in that collection. The product was made specifically for the dog trials and was in our catalog for a few years.

I sold Farrell Calhoun XIM Primers in the 90's,as I was the Regional Manager for 18 states. I remember the contractor bbq's and the wild events well.

I was usually in the middle of the wild events. The contractor BBQs have become tame ever since Joe died. Best boss I ever had and boy did he love to party. Most politically incorrect person ever. I'm sure he's taken over in hell by now.

 

[caryc]

Have you ever sold a bucket of prop wash?

How about a bucket of bitter ends? Rumor has it that you could go to the boiler room on a ship and pick up a bucket of them. Or if they were out of bitter ends, pick up a bucket of steam.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Bucket of steam.....I was told to get a bucket of steam and returned with a bucket of water.
"Darn, it cooled off".

 

[Bayouhunter]

I have to admit I never sold a bucket of prop wash but sending a new greenhorn walking the dock going from boat to boat asking for a bucket of prop wash seemed to have occurred a few times.

I was entering into an oil company’s dock to make crew change and just outside the gate about a 1/4 mi from the boat stood my deckhand. He was standing on top of the levee wall holding a large sheet of aluminum foil pointed towards the boat. Turns out the captain I was relieving thought it would be good prank to send the guy down the road with the foil to tune the radar. Looked a bit strange and hard to explain to company execs that were arriving for a quarterly safety meeting. It wasn’t acceptable even then 30 yrs ago. to embarrass someone like that on the job especially with those Guys from Houston arriving.

 

[mohavesam]

Reminds me of sending a Tenderfoot to the waterfront at Scout camp, looking for a canoe stretcher...

 

[gramps]

My father had a print shop. He said the type had got lice in them, making the print come out fuzzy. So I was tasked with finding the little buggers, and removing them. He showed me how to spread the type, put water in and look close. That was when he closed the type up quickly causing the water to squirt into my face! Never could find those little buggers! :mrgreen:
gramps

 

[Achigan]

We sent new arrivals to the USS Charles Berry (DE1035) looking for waterline and fallopian tubing...

 

[buckeyeshooter]

I live about 6 miles from Bob and worked for a regional paint manufacturer, Farrell Calhoun, here in Memphis for 35 years. We have a collection of old products dating back to 1905. I know for a fact we have a pint labeled dog marking paint from the 30s in that collection. The product was made specifically for the dog trials and was in our catalog for a few years.

I sold Farrell Calhoun XIM Primers in the 90's,as I was the Regional Manager for 18 states. I remember the contractor bbq's and the wild events well.

I was usually in the middle of the wild events. The contractor BBQs have become tame ever since Joe died. Best boss I ever had and boy did he love to party. Most politically incorrect person ever. I'm sure he's taken over in hell by now.

Joe B was one of my favorite customers. Great guy !!

 

[caryc]

Bucket of steam.....I was told to get a bucket of steam and returned with a bucket of water.
"Darn, it cooled off".

It didn't cool off, it melted. :wink: You were just too slow.

 

[Bud0505]

We sent new arrivals to the USS Charles Berry (DE1035) looking for waterline and fallopian tubing...

Have you ever stood mail buoy watch?

 

[protoolman]

Electronic boys sent a few guys for an A S H receiver. (Ash tray)

 

[exavid]

Have you ever sold a bucket of prop wash?

That's nearly as difficult to find these days as red and green running light oil.

Now jet blast is easier to come by.

 

[needsmostuff]

Friend of mine saw a pint of wood hardener in my shop .
He asked if I was "having issues".
https://www.minwax.com/wood-products/maintenance-repair/minwax-high-performance-wood-hardener

 

[Bull Barrel]

If you have wood you don't need hardener.

 

[exavid]

Ah, sigh... times past.

 

[eveled]

Funniest can I ever saw was white with black letters. “nipple
Lube”. It was for the push nipples that hold a steam boiler together.

 

[toysoldier]

In surgery, a newbie might be sent for an inguinal ring.

 

[wiz1997]

Reminds me of sending a Tenderfoot to the waterfront at Scout camp, looking for a canoe stretcher...

Worked in a Scout summer camp way back when.

Sent Scouts to the canoeing area to get a paddle stretcher, which doubled as an arrow straightener in the archery area.

Sent a few looking for the key to the flag pole which was a valve wrench we used to open the drain valve on the pool, valve wrench was 12 feet long.

Sent electrical apprentices to the tool room for a bucket of ohms, a sky hook, or a left handed Cresent wrench.

 

[Dan in MI]

Reminds me of sending a Tenderfoot to the waterfront at Scout camp, looking for a canoe stretcher...

Worked in a Scout summer camp way back when.

Sent Scouts to the canoeing area to get a paddle stretcher, which doubled as an arrow straightener in the archery area.

Sent a few looking for the key to the flag pole which was a valve wrench we used to open the drain valve on the pool, valve wrench was 12 feet long.

Sent electrical apprentices to the tool room for a bucket of ohms, a sky hook, or a left handed Cresent wrench.

Don’t forget smokeshifters and bread stretchers

 

[4 lb kate]

how about an oil fuss or bearing (5 degrees North) grease. Worked in the steam lab at Great Lakes and one of the Cheifs sent a seaman after a bucket of steam at the IT school. He didn't come back for several hours and the Chief started wondering if he had taken off. About 6 hours later the kid comes back with a bucket of water: "Chief I keep getting you steam but it turned to water every time. I keep going back trying to get you a good bucket. Sorry they all went to water." He had a good day off. No one went after steam after that.

 

[caryc]

how about an oil fuss or bearing (5 degrees North) grease. Worked in the steam lab at Great Lakes and one of the Cheifs sent a seaman after a bucket of steam at the IT school. He didn't come back for several hours and the Chief started wondering if he had taken off. About 6 hours later the kid comes back with a bucket of water: "Chief I keep getting you steam but it turned to water every time. I keep going back trying to get you a good bucket. Sorry they all went to water." He had a good day off. No one went after steam after that.

Actually, when he finally returned, he could have told the chief, here's your bucket of steam. true steam is a gas so one can't see it. It's invisible. It's only visible as it condenses and cools.