ARE ALL PRODUCTS MADE IN CHINA, MADE WELL?

[GordonJ]

If you’ve read my story called Cuckoo Clock on the SowPub home page, you know that I’m not a typical do-it-yourselfer. But every once in awhile, I get the itch to fix or paint something. The something I recently needed to paint was an antique table that was very much in need of some love, care and attention.

When it comes to do-it-yourself projects, I need all the help I can get.

Therefore, I went to my local Home Depot and bought an aerosol can filled with Rust-Oleum paint, and I also bought a plastic product that is called a Rust-Oleum Spray-Grip aerosol pistol, and that is a kind of a plastic pistol that gets attached to an aerosol paint can.

The idea behind a Spray-Grip pistol is that when I pull the trigger and aim, it paints. The trigger of the pistol presses down on the aerosol valve "button" on the aerosol can so that my fingers stay clean and, hopefully, I can do a more professional job in spraying the paint.

Several years ago, I had watched a friend use a Spray-Grip pistol that he had also purchased in a Home Depot store, and when I recently purchased my own Spray-Grip pistol in a Home Depot store, I assumed that I was buying the exact same product that my friend had purchased.

However, when I got home and tried to use my Spray-Grip pistol, I quickly found out that it would not properly "grab" an aerosol can, because the aerosol cans that I tried to attach it to kept dropping off.

I then called my friend and asked him what I was doing wrong, and he came over to my home and we both carefully examined his pistol, and we compared it to my pistol, and we found out that his pistol was "made in USA," while my pistol was "made in China"!

I have since found out that Loews carries a "made in USA" pistol, so I went to a Lowes store and purchased a "made in USA" pistol that has a Homax brand name on it, and it worked like a charm for me!


Well, the lesson I’ve now learned is that many desirable products can undoubtedly be manufactured in China these days, but many products still need to be manufactured in a country such as the good old USA, in order for certain products to work right!

Gordon Jay Alexander

PS. I’m glad and even somewhat giddy when I find "made in USA" on a product, because they are becoming harder, and even a great deal harder, to find.