When House Paint Cleaned Itself in Atlantic City, NJ in 1947

We thank Kenneth McIntyre from the Facebook page “I Grew Up Or Lived In Atlantic City New Jersey” for this oldie, but goodie.

The year was 1947 and the well established Soltz Paint store was advertising a Du Pont house paint, that “cleans itself.”

Soltz Paint store was the largest and most comprehensive in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area.

Here’s the claim:

Your house keeps its freshly painted look when finished with Du Pont House Paint. Dirt and grime can't become embedded - rains just wash them away! SELF-CLEANING Du Pont House Paint is so formulated that, as time goes by, a microscopically fine white powder forms on the surface. Heavy rains wash the powder away, taking dust and dirt with it, and leaving the surface clean and white again. Excessive accumulations of dirt (particularly in sooty industrial communities or in heavily shaded locations) may delay or interfere with this process.

I love the disclaimer at the end.

This classic 1947 advertisement explains it all.

Kenneth McIntyre photo.

You have to remember that this was 1947. It was a whimsical time in both American history and the Atlantic City, New Jersey area.

In the late 1940’s, all the way to the 1970’s, boardwalk barkers like Ed McMahon pitched a myriad of products.

These products offered magical cures; including health remedies, kitchen gadgets and other novelties.

When you look at 1947 paint in the year 2024, it’s pretty amusing.

The so-called “microscopic fine white powder” that forms and washes away when it rains is a novel claim.

I have no idea if the paint actually worked.

But, this was the exact kind of product that was popular during this era.

In these simpler times, you didn’t have onerous government suffocating the citizens.

This allowed many scammers free to sell “snake oil” and other questionable products, which were advertised to cure maladies and solve other problems in daily life.

SOURCE: Kenneth McIntyre.