Colors Of Chalk

[crokett]

My chalk box ran out of red chalk the other day so I started using Grandpa's old one. His had blue chalk. That ran out tonight so I need more chalk. I got curious why the different colors - I figured it was more than different trades identifying their chalk lines on a job site. are pretty'. As it turns out, the different colors have to do with water resistance - white being least and red or black being highest. Of course after that, different colors of indoor chalk are used so each trade or person can identify their chalk lines.

[thiggy]

I am red-green color blind, so a red chalk line is difficult for me to see. I always use blue in my chalk box. It stands out much more readily to me.

[iceman61]

I don't know if it is the degree of water proof as much as it is the duration of how long it will stay marked. If you read a bottle of black chalk it says "permanent". Then again I guess to be permanent it would have to be water proof.

[BobSch]

I don't know if it is the degree of water proof as much as it is the duration of how long it will stay marked. If you read a bottle of black chalk it says "permanent". Then again I guess to be permanent it would have to be water proof.

I wonder what they mean by permanent? Permanent chalk sound like an oxymoron to me.

[lebomike]

I just read an article the other day and the person recomended using baby powder in your chalk line as it is cheaper and it is easy to remove from the surface. Sounded good to me and when my chalk box runs empty I am going to fill it with baby powder.

[LinuxRandal]

Some colors stand out on surfaces better.

[cabinetman]

Some of the "permanent" chalk means that. It can read through paint. I use blue mostly, seems to last long enough. As for who has the blue line...we settle that outside.
.

[Tom Slick]

I have 5 year old bright red chalk marks on my fence.
IIRC some trades will use a specific color so lines don't get mixed up on a jobsite.
I'd use whatever color suits my fancy when at the store.

[L. D. Jeffries]

Never used anything except the blue, but neighbor was putting cedar shingles on a wall and used the "red" chalk. What a mistake, would NOT come off, no matter how much scrubbing! Guess for rough construction would be OK, where it won't show.