Teaching · For Teachers

Know what is on the rack
before you buy it twice.

Painters buy the same color twice and find the one they needed dried in its pot. Add each paint with its level and condition. The inventory works out how old each one is, builds the shopping list from anything low, dried or frozen, totals what the rack cost and flags the paints that need thinning, solvents or a better label for young hands.

Add a paintWhat you get
$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 72 items.

Your paints

The worked example is made up: a dropper acrylic going thick, a nearly empty wash and an enamel metallic that has separated. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$19

What you finish with
A record per paint: maker and line, color, swatch code, type, role, container, level, condition, date bought, price, ASTM D-4236 labeling and five storage checks. Works out age in months and whether it goes on the shopping list; totals cost, lists what to buy and counts solvent-based paints; flags thick, separated, dried and frozen paint, solvent paints with no ventilation and labels without ASTM D-4236 conformance.
Who it is for
Miniature painters and model builders, and teachers and club leaders who keep a shared paint kit.
Format
Browser inventory with a saved record per paint. Prints one paint, the whole rack in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pull every pot off the rack and shake it.
  2. Add each one with its level and condition.
  3. Paint a swatch on the lid while you are at it.
  4. Read the shopping list in the side panel.
  5. Move solvent paints to where there is fresh air.

Add a paint

Paint types

Paint types on a hobby tableTypeThin and clean withDriesAcrylicWater, or acrylic mediumMinutes, then permanentEnamelIts own enamel thinnerHours to a dayOilOdorless mineral spiritsDaysLacquerLacquer thinner, outdoorsMinutes, strong fumesPaint types on a hobby tableAcrylicThin and clean with: Water, or acrylic mediumDries: Minutes, then permanentEnamelThin and clean with: Its own enamel thinnerDries: Hours to a dayOilThin and clean with: Odorless mineral spiritsDries: DaysLacquerThin and clean with: Lacquer thinner, outdoorsDries: Minutes, strong fumes
Acrylics suit classrooms and younger painters. The others need fresh air and adult supervision.

The label for children

Under the federal Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act, art materials sold in the United States must be reviewed for chronic hazards and labeled under the ASTM D-4236 standard. A label that says it conforms to ASTM D-4236 means that review happened; it does not mean the product is safe to eat or breathe. Products for children should carry no hazard warning at all.

Make thinned paint last

Most miniature acrylics thin well with a drop or two of water at a time, mixed on a palette rather than in the bottle. Thinning in the bottle changes the whole pot; a wet palette keeps a small amount workable for hours.

Sources

  1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA) requirements and ASTM D-4236 (cpsc.gov).
  2. ASTM International. ASTM D4236, Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards.
  3. Art and Creative Materials Institute. The AP seal and art material safety for children (acmiart.org).
  4. Rossol, M. (2001). The Artist’s Complete Health and Safety Guide (3rd ed.). Allworth Press.

The worked example is made up and the paints in it are generic. Read each product’s own label and safety data sheet. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.