| Answers |
| Pre-Order
Questions |
» Can
I bring in my own shirt?
Yes,
you can.
We ask that you please make sure that the shirt is clean
and dry. We can paint on cotton, polyester, and
rayon, but materials like satin and silk cannot be sprayed
as they are a looser weave and the paint doesn't stick
as well as cotton fibres. Also, heatsetting is harder
because the fabric could melt.
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» Can
I bring in my own design?
Yes,
you can.
If you have a drawing or picture, please make sure it
is clear and understandable. We can then make it
just as it is, or make improvements.
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» Can
I change a stock design?
Yes,
you can.
We can change any color, name, shape, font, text and language
that you ask for.
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» Can
I get two designs on one shirt?
Yes,
you can.
Just pick out or bring in the two designs you want,
tell us what sides of the shirt you want the designs and
then we can do it.
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» Can
you paint a sample for me first so that I can see if I
like it or not?
Ummm...
no.
Not unless you wish to pay for the design twice. We can,
however, draw a sketch of the basic layout and based on
the level of skill as shown in the artwork in our portfolio,
thi should give you a good idea of what we can do for
you.
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» I
need a lot of shirts. What is your bulk order policy?
Hot
Paint is now only concentrating on creating one-of-a-kind
and few-of-a-kind shirts. We can definitely do more
than a few, but we want to limit this to no more than
50. Anything more than this and we will have to recommend
a screen printer, or use transfers. Eventually we will
be able to handle larger orders when we have more artists,
but as long as we remain small, we want to be able to
do a good job and still have fun at this job. We
ask that bulk orders be brought to us at least 2 weeks
before you need them in case we need to order specialty
shirts.
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» Do
I have to pay upfront?
Yes,
you sure do.
This is to obligate us to paint your order, and
to obligate you to come back for it.
It's very frustrating to do an order and not be paid for
it, because if no one has paid for it, legally, they don't
have to come back for it. However, if you have paid for
something and you haven't picked it up for a long time,
rest assured that we will store it until you come for
it, or try to contact you so that you can have it. If
you think that it may be a long time before you can pick
up your order, just email
us and tell us your address so that we can mail it
to you.
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» Do
you accept credit cards over the phone?
Yes,
we do!
Have a look at the payment section on our ordering
info page for more information.
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» How
can I pay without a credit card?
Customers
from Australia can pay using a money order. Just step
up to the AusPost counter and purchase one. You must then
send it to us, and we must allow time for the money order
to clear in our bank account. We also can do wire transfers.
Email
us for details. We do not take personal checks.
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| Post-Order
Questions |
» Are
the paints safe?
Yes,
they are.
Our airbrush paints are water-based and non-toxic.
We actually add a fragrance to them to enhance their appeal.
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» How
long does it take to dry?
Not
long at all!
In fact the airbrush paint dries most of the time
within 5-20 seconds. The paint will definitely be dry
by the time you get it because we heatset the paint with
our heat press at a temperature of 180C-375F.
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» Can
I wear it when I get it?
Yes,
you can.
You'll be rapt!
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» Does
the paint wash out?
No,
it doesn't.
We have airbrushed thousands of t-shirts without ever
having one complaint of it washing out. We do have a heat
press in the studio to greatly reduce fading and we also
give you washing instructions
that will help keep your airbrushed shirt looking fairly
new thru many washings.
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| Shipping
Questions |
» How
long will it take to get my order?
Pretty quickly, depending on the kind of order you have
made.
Have
a look at our ordering page
for more information.
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» Do
you deliver in the Melbourne Area?
Not
personally, but if you need a courier to deliver your
order at a specific time, you can arrange it. Otherwise,
Australia Post should be able to get your order to you
by the next day.
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» Can
I send items to you to airbrush?
Yes,
you can!
People have sent jackets to us from America, and we send
them right back with the design of their choice on them.
The customer is responsible for shipping
costs.
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» Do
you ship to locations overseas?
Yes,
we do.
Have a look at our ordering info
page for more info.
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| Tech
Questions |
» Why
do I have to send you pictures? Can't you just get it
off the 'Net?
Using
pictures off the Internet for use in transfers is bad
because they are usually made at 72dpi, a low resolution
that looks very pixely or blocky when blown up. We ask
that your pictures be sent to us in at least 150dpi and
preferably at 300dpi, which is a good resolution for manipulating
and printing.
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» What
graphic filesizes do you work with?
We
work with GIF, PNG, PDF and JPG if you are sending them
over the internet and TIF, BMP, PSD, and AI if
you bring in a disc, flash drive or USB memory stick.
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» What
programs do you work in?
We
use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, ImageReady, Corel Draw,
and Fireworks for graphics and animation.
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| Miscellaneous
Questions |
» What's
the difference between airbrush and screen print?
Airbrushing blows the paint onto
and around the shirt's fibers as opposed to just laying
down screen ink on top of the fibers. Screen printing
ink can also be quite a bit thick and stiff when it dries.
What happens then when you wear it on warm days is that
you may sweat a bit where the design is applied. Airbrushing
the design let's the shirt breathe because the design
is blown thru the shirt and stays soft and flexible when
dry. And a word about drying. Screen printing takes a
long time to dry... so long in fact that the printers
must employ heaters to speed up the process of drying
and curing. Airbrushing has the distinction of being very
fast drying. Most of the time, the paint is dry within
two minutes of painting, and it is definitely dry and
ready to wear by the time we give it to you.
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» What's
the biggest thing you'll airbrush?
Hmmm...
this depends on what it is.
We airbrush boards up to 2400mm wide and 900mm high. This
is the biggest that we would like to handle in our humble
shop at this time.
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» Do
you airbrush on leather?
Yes,
we do!
Leather is great to paint on, and we have lots of experience
painting it. If you have a motorcycle jacket or vest that
you want done up, just let us know. We hope to
find some suppliers so that we can do some real airbrushing
for the crotch rocket crowd.
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» Do
you airbrush on skin?
No,
we don't.
Our paint is not approved for use on skin. There are paints
that we can purchase to be able to do it, but this would
require a large investment in additional materials and
shop space and then a specific targeting of the cosmetics
and bodypainting market, and that's a direction
that we do not wish to go in at this time. The shirt and
portrait market is wide open for us and that is enough
to keep us busy for years!
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» Do
you airbrush on cars, motorcycle tanks, or helmets?
No,
we don't.
We could do it, but again, that would take us in a direction
that we don't want to go, and on top of that, there are
plenty of people out there airbrushing on cars already.
Hot Paint wishes to stand out in the t-shirt market, where
there is relatively little activity. The market is wide
open and we want to develope that. If you want the names
of people who can paint cars and tanks and stuff we can
certainly help you out there. Just email
us for the info!
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» Do
you paint murals outside of your shop?
Hmmm...
that depends.
If you would like to have a mural painted by us, just
email us for information.
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» Do
you do tattoos?
No,
we don't.
We can never see ourselves wearing tattoos, and
as such could never see ourselves dealing tatts. Now we
acknowledge that someone may want to have a tatt done
of our artwork, and that is your perogative. There are
plenty of tattoo shops in the area.
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» Do
you give lessons?
Sorry,
at this time, we don't.
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» Where
can I get airbrushes of my own to do what you do?
Plenty
of places out there, but we obtain a lot of our supplies
from the U.S. Cheaper to get it fom there as well.
Hot Paint does not stock or sell airbrush supplies. You
could try www.bearair.com
or www.dixieart.com.
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» I'm
an artist. Can I use your designs?
Well,
this is a touchy subject.
We realize that Hot Paint will be a website that has
some of the freshest designs out there, but they are
all ideas that have been around for years. All artists
get inspiration from someone else. Anyone who has painted
at the beaches of the Gulf Coast and Florida knows about
that. But what we cannot condone at all is artists
taking exact images of designs from this site and then
try to pass them off as their own work. Simply NOT ON,
mate.
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