By: Cadillac Pat

Date: February 2008

NOTE:  This process could really be applied to any canned spray paint. 

Duplicolor spray can paints are reasonably priced and come in a variety of colors.  They are especially useful for basecoat colors, basecoat clears (to fill in and smooth out imperfections and scratches), and primers.  A lot of customizers use Duplicolor spray cans, including their Transparent Kandies of Anodized Metalcast.  Duplicolor is available from many automotive or retail suppliers. 

Actually, I didn't use it "in" the spray can, I used it "out" of the spray can.
 

Here's what I mean:

Here's a trick I came up with to transfer the paint from the aerosol can to a container so I could spray it with my airbrush.

You will need a 3" - 4" length of plastic drinking straw, some 1" wide tape, and of course a suitable container.
I collect the empty 35mm film cans from my local WalMart photo shop. This soft pliable plastic will not react with automotive paints.



1st-----Butt the straw up to the hole in the button of the aerosol can. In most cases with Duplicolor, the straw will actually slip over a short protrusion in the button.

2nd-----Wrap the tape around the straw and button so they are held together firmly and tightly.

3rd-----Just spray your paint into whatever container you've chosen.

The straw will perform like a muffler, choking down the escaping gases and allowing the paint to gently run out the end of the straw.

If you're only using small amounts of paint, you can just spray the paint directly into your paint cup.