# Rattle Can? Heard of it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958 "2019-03-11T17:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/41 "2019-03-12T23:21:10Z")
Like a rattle gun, right? Or some kind of stage lighting? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/42 "2019-03-12T23:43:05Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Yeah right. Where do you find camo rattle cans? 😃 With the other [Rustoleum](https://www.zoro.com/rust-oleum-camo-spray-paint-deep-forest-green-12-oz-1919830/i/G1476203/) products ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/43 "2019-03-13T04:21:09Z")
And the stupid thing is that the correct term is less letters to type than what you boss typed (and misspelled). ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/44 "2019-03-13T14:27:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I voted “no,” but understood immediately what was meant when I read the first sentence of the OP. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/45 "2019-03-14T14:27:11Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Not on a Jeep, **Beck**. That’s a Ford color. Besides, it seems to attract law enforcement. > > Right next to the Polka-Dot spray paint. > > Photos here: [bob smith | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155285423@N02/) Scroll down towards the bottom > > Serious answer: [https://aervoe.com/product/military-vehicle-and-recreation-camouflage-paint/](https://aervoe.com/product/military-vehicle-and-recreation-camouflage-paint/) Nice local company Puppies! Your camo job looks a lot like the old [70s Canadian Army pattern](http://www.panzerbaer.de/colours/pics/cdn_vw_Iltis-002a.jpg). Also, thanks for the link on the paint, wqe have a few items in the shop that need touch ups. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/46 "2019-03-14T16:44:40Z")
Nice job, **Gato** , I can’t see the vehicle at all. Do you have to leave a small section unpainted–so you can find it–or do you just wander around the ol’ homestead until you bump into it? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/47 "2019-03-14T21:16:46Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Do you have to leave a small section unpainted–so you can find it–or do you just wander around the ol’ homestead until you bump into it? I follow the scent of Dachshund Fart. Ain’t no way to hide that! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/48 "2019-03-15T02:49:46Z")
Pet peeve: people using acronyms and terms that mean something to them, but not to their audience. So if you want paint, DON’T use a regionalism or slang term. What if I called paint brushes “hair sticks” and ordered two dozen to go with ten cans of “aky tosh”? (‘midwest end’ slang for acrylic paint) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/49 "2019-03-15T08:31:55Z")
Adam Savage uses the term. Gets called that in the (US) cosplay and LARP communities as well, so I’m familiar with it (although don’t use it myself, I’d just say “spray paint”). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/50 "2019-03-15T11:52:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I voted “no,” but understood immediately what was meant when I read the first sentence of the OP. Likewise. You’re thinking it’s the type of spray paint that has a ball bearing inside the can that helps to stir the paint when you shake it, right? [Like this](https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Ffc07.deviantart.net%2Ffs70%2Ff%2F2013%2F258%2Fa%2F5%2Fcan_by_kiwi_pdd-d6mdq6x.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.deviantart.com%2Fgraffiti-kings%2Fblog%2F&docid=j2Os3QoFa6VDHM&tbnid=sMaB-c_GXkKhuM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwii5cuYiYThAhXL1uAKHen8ChIQMwhBKAAwAA..i&w=574&h=660&bih=747&biw=1160&q=aerosol%20can%20paint%20cutaway%20diagram%20%20ball&ved=0ahUKEwii5cuYiYThAhXL1uAKHen8ChIQMwhBKAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8#h=660&imgdii=sMaB-c_GXkKhuM:&vet=10ahUKEwii5cuYiYThAhXL1uAKHen8ChIQMwhBKAAwAA..i&w=574). That’s my interpretation of the words, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/51 "2019-03-16T02:17:21Z")
I’ve seen it used in modeling mags to differentiate from something painted with an airbrush. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958/52 "2019-03-16T02:38:52Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > So I’m at work today and get an order for four ‘rattal cans’ of paint, as he spelled it. And I’m looking at that thinking, wtf is a rattle can? And so I ask my boss and she’s like ‘uhh it’s spray paint’. And everyone’s acting like I’m some weirdo because I have honestly NEVER heard of this before. My first experience hearing this term was similar; I asked if there was somehow more “street cred” in calling it “a rattle can” instead of just “spray paint”? Curiously, I don’t think I heard the term again until this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rattle-can-heard-of-it/830958.md?page=2)