SAN GABRIEL VALLEY COVER STORY : Fighting Taint With Paint

For those who want to replace graffiti-covered walls with painted vines, mural painters in the La Puente area offer a few tips.

1. Organize a group of volunteer painters and set a painting date.

2. Call the numbers that follow to solicit advice and training. Homeowners generally should be contacted beforehand and should sign permission forms. Liability forms should be signed by those painting. If children are involved, their parents should sign the forms.

For help on organizing painters and acquiring donated paint:

* Assemblywoman Hilda Solis:

(818) 369-3551

* County Supervisor Gloria Molina:

(818) 350-4500

For help painting walls white in preparation for the mural:

The Maravilla Foundation:

(213) 721-4162

For advice and instruction:

* Valerie Brannon: (818) 965-8787

* Irma Sandoval: (818) 917-2862

* Loretta Chase

c/o the Workman Mill

Homeowners Assn.

P.O. Box 2146

La Puente, Calif. 91746

3. On the painting day, be sure to bring enough paint and supplies to get the project started. Sometimes groups waste time waiting for the donated paint to arrive and can’t reach local officials on the weekend, according to experienced vine painters.

4. Provide homeowners with touch-up paint to blot out any later defacement.