Green, Understanding The Facts about Paint, Stain and Coating

Posted By Green Planet Paints, 02/19/16

In this Green blog we will cover the Paint industry. Items such as Paints, Stains and other Coatings including colorants “tint”

We will address what really constitutes “Green” when it comes to coatings in general (paints, stains, sealers, exc) as it is not all about VOC’s! It is much, much more.

Other items we will be addressing is what is considered Sustainable and what is best when talking about recycled components, and why is this important.

We also hope to help our viewers and customers, not just for your health, but for the environment as well.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Comments will be addressed by different technical experts in this field too.

Our leading Chemist and Formulator guest is Mr. Tom Rauls, the owner of New Century Coatings Technology, the leader in green coating technology. Tom has been in the industry for over three decades. He has also been on multiple boards that played a key role in development of the federal guidelines on green and bio based technologies.


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11 Comments - Add a Comment
Comment 11 from [email protected], on 06/16/16
Today we received an email that is worth while posting along with our inputs. Q: I am a carpenter/painter/handyman. I recently underwent chemo therapy and stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma (a blood cancer). My doctor urged me not to paint anymore. The issue is VOC's. Is this a genuinely zero-VOC product? If so, it seems like the perfect choice for me to use. At present, I will be using a respirator when painting indoors. It would be nice not to have to do this. I would appreciate a response. Thanks very much. A: Dear Customer, To answer your questions, there is only 1 totally and absolutely 100% zero VOC paint in the world and that would be water color paints. Of course, you can't really paint with most as they will not withstand washing at all or in most cases, rubbing of any kind. You also can't get them to stick to pre-painted surfaces. There are several others on the market that state they are zero or no VOC. The facts are by law; zero VOC is any paint base that has 5 g/l or less of VOC's. No VOC means they have 3 g/l or less of VOC's. Our interior Alkyd Clay paint line has 0.08 g/l, has been C14 tested to validate that and the BIO content of the product. Other do not do this testing as it would show what the true VOC amount really is. Current industry standard testing units can not accurately read VOC's in water born thin film coatings. So they can still say they are zero VOC by EPA standards and get away with it. This is also not the main issue. When the can states zero VOC or VOC's >5 g/l, this is only for the base product, it does not account for added VOC's when the product is colored (Tinted). In this case since over 80% of the paint industry gets their colorants from same manufacture / formulation, and that can add anywhere from 150 g/l all the way up to 5000 g/l. There are very few that use organic colorants that are 5 g/l or less. We however make our own colorants from minerals and other materials they were originally and still made by the Mayan Indians. So we have absolute zero VOC's in our pigments that we use. The rest of the materials are plant based and recycled materials. So we are in the 20% that have zero VOC colorants. Now there are still others that use minerals and other natural materials, and state they are zero VOC and they are in the same are as we are. But they have binders and bonding agents in the product that although do not have a significant amount of VOC's they do have other materials you do not want to be breathing in. Formaldehyde being one of them, but they sell a lot of every expensive products based strictly on the zero or no VOC point. One that I know of much slimier to others in its category sends you the product in a powder form, and a polymer additive. You add the polymer and then water up to 50%. They highlight all over their marketing materials and data sheets how they have no VOC's at all and it is all natural. Again, they are talking about part of the product and not all of it. They get away with this as you the consumer is adding all the materials together and mixing it up. By law that makes you the manufacture and not them. They stand behind the idea that they only manufacture the raw materials for you. Even the using of milk paints has the same issues with coloring and most start to decay within 4 to 5 years, this decay allows the TiO2 in the product to go airborne and then innocent people will be breathing this in and could end up with cancer later on. Now as far as using or not using a respirator. Anytime you are painting, sanding, using cleaning materials, painting even with a real zero VOC or petrochemical free coating, or even using seed or citrus oil based products, I would highly recommend the use of a respirator and in some cases a very good filtering dust mask. You can get cancers from something as simple as sanding woods as most have been sprayed with chemicals to kill any larvae or pests that could have still been in the wood after cutting. Sanding paint without a respirator and filtering dust mask, you can get TiO2 into your lungs which can cause cancer. Hope we have provided you with answers to all your questions.
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Comment 12 from [email protected], on 06/16/16
Today we received an email that is worth while posting as I am sure some of you may have the same questions. Q: I am a carpenter/painter/handyman. I recently underwent chemo therapy and stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma (a blood cancer). My doctor urged me not to paint anymore. The issue is VOC's. Is this a genuinely zero-VOC product? If so, it seems like the perfect choice for me to use. At present, I will be using a respirator when painting indoors. It would be nice not to have to do this. I would appreciate a response. Thanks very much. A: Dear Customer, To answer your questions, there is only 1 totally and absolutely 100% zero VOC paint in the world and that would be water color paints. Of course, you can't really paint with most as they will not withstand washing at all or in most cases, rubbing of any kind. You also can't get them to stick to pre-painted surfaces. There are several others on the market that state they are zero or no VOC. The facts are by law; zero VOC is any paint base that has 5 g/l or less of VOC's. No VOC means they have 3 g/l or less of VOC's. Our interior Alkyd Clay paint line has 0.08 g/l, has been C14 tested to validate that and the BIO content of the product. Other do not do this testing as it would show what the true VOC amount really is. Current industry standard testing units can not accurately read VOC's in water born thin film coatings. So they can still say they are zero VOC by EPA standards and get away with it. This is also not the main issue. When the can states zero VOC or VOC's >5 g/l, this is only for the base product, it does not account for added VOC's when the product is colored (Tinted). In this case since over 80% of the paint industry gets their colorants from same manufacture / formulation, and that can add anywhere from 150 g/l all the way up to 5000 g/l. There are very few that use organic colorants that are 5 g/l or less. We however make our own colorants from minerals and other materials they were originally and still made by the Mayan Indians. So we have absolute zero VOC's in our pigments that we use. The rest of the materials are plant based and recycled materials. So we are in the 20% that have zero VOC colorants. Now there are still others that use minerals and other natural materials, and state they are zero VOC and they are in the same are as we are. But they have binders and bonding agents in the product that although do not have a significant amount of VOC's they do have other materials you do not want to be breathing in. Formaldehyde being one of them, but they sell a lot of every expensive products based strictly on the zero or no VOC point. One that I know of much slimier to others in its category sends you the product in a powder form, and a polymer additive. You add the polymer and then water up to 50%. They highlight all over their marketing materials and data sheets how they have no VOC's at all and it is all natural. Again, they are talking about part of the product and not all of it. They get away with this as you the consumer is adding all the materials together and mixing it up. By law that makes you the manufacture and not them. They stand behind the idea that they only manufacture the raw materials for you. Even the using of milk paints has the same issues with coloring and most start to decay within 4 to 5 years, this decay allows the TiO2 in the product to go airborne and then innocent people will be breathing this in and could end up with cancer later on. Now as far as using or not using a respirator. Anytime you are painting, sanding, using cleaning materials, painting even with a real zero VOC or petrochemical free coating, or even using seed or citrus oil based products, I would highly recommend the use of a respirator and in some cases a very good filtering dust mask. You can get cancers from something as simple as sanding woods as most have been sprayed with chemicals to kill any larvae or pests that could have still been in the wood after cutting. Sanding paint without a respirator and filtering dust mask, you can get TiO2 into your lungs which can cause cancer. Hope we have provided you with answers to all your questions.
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Comment 14 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
You're on top of the game. Thanks for shnairg.
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Comment 15 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
You've hit the ball out the park! Inecediblr!
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Comment 16 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
It's great to read something that's both enjoyable and provides prtdaamisgc solutions.
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Comment 17 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
You really saved my skin with this inmoafrtion. Thanks!
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Comment 18 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
Wow! Great to find a post knncoikg my socks off!
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Comment 19 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
I will be putting this dailnzzg insight to good use in no time.
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Comment 20 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
As I remember, the feds can’t act unless the governor asks them to and the governor at the time (I forget her name) at first declined to ask for federal hel;8It&#.217ps a popular misconception. . Putin’s PR debacle with the Kursk-filmed vacationing and laughing while the sub crew was facing certain death-comes to mind. Compounding it was the Bush lie about the levees ‘I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees’. After the video surfaced, that probably hurt him the most.Good old Brownie not knowing about people being at the Superdome didn’t come across well on live television either.
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Comment 21 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
The standard rent leveling ordinences are fair! If you live someplace and are a tenant, your costs should remain fixed to inflation. If imerpvoments need to be made or energy prices rise or something, file a financial greivence with the rent leveling board and get the rent raised to offset the incresed cost of operation. As long as the rent control laws are sweeping and inclusive it makes perfect sense.
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Comment 22 from Anonymous, on 11/30/16
Hi, on the 10 inch tab you get a Full sized USB port, would there be any way to use the micro usb on this in any way like the full size on or is it just for date to and from a PC ? Thnkas
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