‘Manager said it was my fault’: AutoZone customer picks up spray paint can. Then it explodes

An AutoZone customer had an unsettling experience in one of its stores. They reported that a black spray paint can "blew up in [their] hands." But it was perhaps the store manager's response to the accident that was the most shocking.

The incident's aftermath was recorded by creator Roeunos (@roeunos). It went up on Feb. 7 and generated more than 498,200 views as of Monday.

In it, the creator shows, via a seven-second video, the aftermath of the spray paint can explosion. Black paint paints the creator's hand and shoes, as well as several sections of the store's floor and counter.

In the background, someone says, "Yeah, that's what I'm saying, but it needs to be taken off of this," but the context of that is not clear.

However, the creator attempts to provide context for the incident in the caption accompanying the video. They write, "He told me to test it out to make sure sprayed right then the cap popped off and wouldn’t stop spraying everywhere."

The "he" in this case would appear to be the manager, as the on-screen caption at the end of the video reads, "Manager said it was my fault," with an emoji suggesting the creator disagreed.

Is this a thing that happens?

According to an article written by Storemasta's Melissa Hampton, who initially joined the Australian company as a Dangerous Goods Storage Consultant, "These little cans pack a lot of potential energy—and can transform into dangerous projectiles or flamethrowers when they rupture or get too hot."

The article walked through a few accidents involving pressurized cans like the one featured in the AutoZone video.

That included a warehouse worker who suffered facial injuries as the result of an exploding whipped cream can. "A worker was stacking cartons of aerosols full of whipped cream onto a pallet," one story started. "While the worker was moving the boxes, one of the aerosol cans ruptured and burst through the cardboard carton. The worker was struck in the face by the can which fractured his cheekbone and other bones around his left eye. He also suffered a damaged tear duct; detached retina and was left with multiple lacerations to his eyelid."

"A paving machine operator was finishing an asphalt driveway," another story started. "A can of spray paint used for marking the driveway had been left on the screed of the paving machine (which gets very hot). After about 30 minutes of operations, the aerosol can of paint overheated and exploded, igniting the clothing of the machine operator. He suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his legs and calves."

A Redditor took to the r/pics forum to show a situation similar to what Roeunos experienced. "Spray paint can exploded on my face," that poster explained, showing a swath of blue across his nose and mouth, and even several of his teeth. "Accidents artists don't talk about when painting street art."

Viewers blame AutoZone

People responding to the video decided to rail against AutoZone.

One offered a crude suggestion regarding the company, and then favored its chief competitor with "O’Reilly for life."

The creator responded, "I’ve got too many lifetime warranties at AutoZone to just jump ship to O’Reilly."

@roeunos He told me to test it out to make sure sprayed right then the cap popped off and wouldn’t stop spraying everywhere @AutoZone #fyp #foryoupage #viral #creatorsearchinsights ♬ original sound - Roeunos

"You need to call the District Manager, if not escalate to the Regional Manager," another suggested. "The floors can be replaced, you as a customer are worth more to lose."

"I have never been asked to test my spray paint before buying it," someone else pointed out. "With him asking you to test it first it almost tells me that there's been a couple of returned beforehand."

Finally, one asked, "Is that the duplicator vinyl dye? Same thing happened to me 3 years ago. Hands were black for a week."

The creator rued, "A week? I’ve been scrubbing with no luck."

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok and Instagram direct message and to AutoZone via email.

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