The grocery shrink ray is now targeting home improvement stores! 2x4s will be next!

Clearly, this is a contractor’s gallon. It's like a baker’s dozen, except the cook hates you.

Grocery Shrink Ray hits paint?

Hello attorneys general? Don't want to spoil ya'll's golf game, but...

I noticed this at Home Depot as well. My guess is that it's a gallon once you add in the pigment, but even then sometimes there isn't much pigment in a color.

Sadly, it's just one of those things.

Is it possible that the label correctly states the volume of the "base" paint, before tinting (coloring) are added? If you started with a true gallon of base there may not be any room to add the coloring to make your living room "hot mocha starbeam" or whatever crazy name the call brown these days. Afting all the coloring is added you may actually have 128 fl-oz of paint. Just a thought.

@masonreloaded: 2x4s have already been hit. they're actually 1.5x3.5s and have been for years. :/

It looks like the same product has two different cans, one contains 10oz less base. Unless the computer somehow knows this, I would imagine it is adding the same amount of pigment to each can. One of the "gallons" would be tinted slightly different. I hope HD doesn't do this with Behr as that's all I buy.

The stuff they use to color paint is pretty concentrated, there is no way the average gallon needs 12 oz to color it.

I used to mix paint at a Walmart. There are different bases that use different amounts of color. If you look at the picture, there are two different bases there. Base 1 and Base 4. There are usually different bases for different types of colors. Base 1 would probably refer to a lighter color, and Base 4 would refer to a darker color which would require more pigment.

@ryan89, TWinter: The cans shown are "Eggshell Base 1" (126 fl. oz.) and "Eggshell Base 4" (116 fl. oz.). This jives with a MousePrint.org posting from late 2006 indicating that darker bases may require more tint than lighter bases, thus 12 vs. 2 oz. short. As some have guessed, this is done when tint is to be added, so to base paints rather than pre-mixed colors. And yes Home Depot's Behr does it to.

While the linked article asserts there's nothing illegal in this widespread (and sensible, I might add) industry practice, it certainly appears that more than "must add tint" is needed for the average weekend DIYer to know what's going on, e.g. something like "one gallon (with tint), maybe."

As others have stated, the cans are short-filled to allow room for pigment. I worked for 8 years for a national paint manufacture (in their color lab) and this is standard practice. The formula for any given color (the 'recipe') would include at least enough colorant to bring the can up to the correct volume (32 oz for a qt, 128 for a gallon, etc).

BTW...some of the colorants are very (VERY) expensive. The reds and yellows tend to be the most expensive, and black and umber (a dirty brown) tend to be the cheapest. But if you wondered why strong and/or bright colors cost more than an off-white...there's your answer.

I'm agreeing with this is a base. The computer probably dispenses out pigment in the proper proportions for 12 ozs. I would ask the paint people. They will probably explain this to you. Unlike some of the other depts, the paint people are usually pretty knowledgeable.

@muckpond: 2x4s are really 2x4... before they've been trimmed and sanded. It's 2x4 from the lumber mill's point of view, not from the end user's.

@SCAdvanced: Great explanation. Move along, nothing more to see here...

@speedwell: Yes, lumber companies were the early pioneers of the grocery shrink ray! (its kinda like how my truck has 200HP, before they connect the transmission and wheels to it...)

A lot of two by fours are even smaller than the 1.5"x3.5" they used to be. Sometimes as much as 1/8" smaller than standard. At first I though I was just getting the occasional bad board, but it seems to be happening more and more frequently. Same thing with plywood and especially OSB. We used to talk about 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4", Now you see numbers like 11/16", 15/32", etc. Lets just convert to metric and get over with it.

I worked a paint counter for years. Some colors need over 12oz of colorant. This could be a marketing error but chances are if you get a darker color (something in a midtone or deep base) you will get the full gallon. The lighter pastel bases may leave you with a few ounces less but not enough for you to even notice considering the pastel base tends to cover more than say a midtone.

All in all I wouldn't freak out too much. Chances are if you were to bring this up to an experienced paint mixer he or she would probably point at the colorants and tell you thats where the extra ounces go.

Ya learn something new on Consumerist some days. Completely off topic, but I work at an auto parts store, and it is astonishing how many people ask "How many quarts in this gallon."

Gallons are a measurement of volume and ounces are a measurement of mass.

There are 128 fluid oz to a gallon. Thats based on water.

Obviously the paint weighs more than water and they are measuring the ounces in mass not volume, however the gallon is measured in volume.

The CANS are one gallon, not the paint...right?

@eekfuh: Sorry...but wrong. The can says fl oz., which is fluid ounces, which measures volume.

As others have stated, the cans are short-filled to allow room for pigment.

I'll grudgingly buy this explanation.

@eekfuh: No. Obviously they are adding ~12 ozs of pigment or dye which brings you up to a gallon.

I was fixing to say, it's not that the tints just magically disappear in the 128oz of base. You have to account for the space the tints take up since they do have volume. The more empty bases are for darker/more brilliant colors as others have stated.

However, it should say "1 gallon after tinting"

As stated above, the missing ounces are to allow room for the adding of tinting.

If you read the can, it says "Base 1". There are usually Bases 1-5. This is not actually a gallon of white paint that anyone should be purchasing (without adding tint).

Lowes used to have the "bases" within the cage in the paint department, but have since removed the cage to make it more customer friendly, which in this case has only caused more problems.

The Grocery Shrink Ray hits the English standard measurement system?

Sounds like a job for The Department of Weights and Measures.

But I'm willing to go along with the "numbers on the can indicate quantity of base" theory. Still, you'd think that they'd put on a label that says "116 oz base/12 oz pigment"

AHA! THIS is a case for the Government involvement.
Department of Weights and Measures should punish them severely.

What happens if I want a can of straight white eggshell paint? Is there a separate can marked "white eggshell", or do they add 2oz or 12oz of "white" dye (no).

@jgodsey: As long as the can contains the stated amount of paint, then this is completely legal.

@MrEvil: The label also states right underneath the circles on the right "MUST BE TINTED". It also lists the amount of paint in the can. AFTER tinting, a new label is applied by the employee which states 1 gallon. If the machine adds 12oz of pigment, then this label would be the correct label.

Grocery shrink ray FAIL.

actually a 2x4 doesnt measure 2" x 4".

measure one sometime.

/I want my .5" x .5" back ;)

@AstroPig7:

I had a guy at Canadian Tire add the tint to the wrong paint cans. He was adding it to the cans of white instead of the ones made for tint to be added, it was overflowing from the cans. And it tinted a kind of pink instead of the deep red I wanted. I wasnt questioning him untill at can 15 I noticed him using a cup to bail out some paint to make room for the tints :O

/I got the 15 cans of $38 paint for $5 each
//Using it as a base coat in the new house
///yea you have to add the tint to get the gallon

They typically add 4-8 ounces of marbles to the can to aid mixing the paint. Also, 2-6 ribbons of chocolate fudge, if the flavor is fudge-based.

At Lowes, a dozen is 10.

@kable2: As I mentioned before, a 2-by-4 starts out as a 2 by 4 cut. After dressing, drying, and straightening, it is supposed to be 1-1/2 by 3-1/2. If you go to the lumber mill and purchase freshly milled, green, wet, unseasoned, rough 2-by-4s (which I understand is possible), then you can have your full 2 by 4. I wouldn't want lumber that way.

@EBounding: That's what I was thinking before I read through all the responses. The CAN, filled up to the top, is 1 gallon.

Now whether or not it actually HAS 1 gallon of paint in it, is a different story, and explained well by others.

This is true with just about every bulk liquid container. A 55-gallon drum of gas/veggie oil/whatever doesn't have exactly 55.00 gallons of whatever in it, there's always a little headroom at the top.

In this case, the paint can has a little bit more headroom to allow for the addition of pigment.

So the question is, is this a deliberate scamming of consumers, or a time-accepted practice, and only now are people figuring it out? Methinks the latter.

Wow, I'm really surprised to find out some colors take 12 oz. of tint, but it sounds like it does happen. And it does explain the story.

Seems the problem would be solved if the can simply stated "116 fl oz before dye is added"

@joebar: The white or pastel bases are usually filled to 128 oz. You can only put an ounce or two of pigment in that base...

@savvy999: Obviously they're just advertising the gallon container used to hold the paint.

Too bad they can't claim "contents may settle" like the cereal people do.

@speedwell:

yea I know that lol.

/the trimmings are used to make mdf and other stuff

I reported to Meg a few weeks ago that Home Depot's BEHR paint was 122 fl. oz., but I figured the shortage was because of the pigment. Now I have the question - why is HD's paint 122 fl. oz., Lowe's is 116 fl. oz. and/or 122 fl. oz.? Certainly, the pigment differs based on the color, but somebody somewhere is getting shorted a few ounces.

@masonreloaded: You mean 1.75x3.75's don't you?

Regardless of the very plausible explanations provided regarding die and pigmentation, this strikes me as false or deceptive advertising.

A gallon is a gallon, and 116oz not a gallon. Unless they have some specific disclaimer that says "Gallon refers to volume of container, actual volume of contents may vary" you can't advertise a gallon and then sell less, even if its fairly reasonable as to why.

If I were a lawyer I'd ready up for a nice class-action suit and take my cut of the tasty pre-trial settlement.

I used to do support for Home Depot's paint dispensers so I can vouch for the fact that they sometimes add several ounces of tint to a base. They even have some called "deep bases" for colors that require a shedload of tint.

Howie999, the 116oz vs 122oz at Lowe's is likely a case of deep base vs normal base.

I used to manage a hardware store, and I've had people ask me this question before. Some of the commenters are right on, and that it is to leave room for tint.

Since not all colors will require the same amount of tint, different manufacturers sell a variety of bases. Some call their bases "Base 1, 2, etc." while some give them names that make a little more sense, like "Midtone, Deeptone, Neutral, or Pastel, etc."

In the example in the photo, for that green color, you can see the formula on the label.

When it says 101-2, I'm assuming that means you add 2/48ths of an Oz of "101" (one of their colorants). In the paint world forumlas are given in a manner such as 2Y40 which would mean 2 Oz, and 40/48ths of an ounce. Some places may say "1 Oz, 28 shots" which would be 1 Oz, 28/48ths.

So in this formula you have 11.625 ounces of tint added to Base 4, so you have a total of 127.625 ounces of paint in the 1 gallon container.

Now some formulas might call for less colorant, and would go into a different base.

As mentioned before, some colorants can be very expensive, so the deeper-tone colors are more expensive for the store to make. That being said, no retailar charges based on what color you buy. You pay for what size (gallon or quart) and what finish (flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, etc). So you could buy 2 gallons of flat paint, and you'd pay the same price for them, no matter what the color. Even if one color was $2-3 more expensive for the store to make.

You aren't being ripped off, and I don't really know a better way to advertise the paint. Should the label say 127.625 Oz. rather than "One Gallon?" I don't know, and personally I think that would be rather silly.

And if you did buy a gallon of ready-mixed paint, for a standard color such as white... you will get 128 oz.

maybe when the can is open and it reacts with air it expands the paint and turns into a gallon.

@daveforamerica: I don't think consumers would be like "OMG THEY STIFFED ME .325 OZ I HATE THEM" if the can contains 127.625 oz rather than the full gallon.