Paint, anyone?

[flea]

We want to paint several rooms of the house. Consumer Reports is now saying that Valspar (Lowe's house brand) is as good as Behr (Home Depot's house brand). But they don't rate low or no - VOC paints. Anyone used them? Are they any good, or as good? We are a high-use household. Sometimes people color on the walls, and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is our friend. Environerds, are they really better for the environment?

I am currently thinking robin's egg blue for the upstairs bath, a related color, maybe with more green, for our bedroom, pale kingfisher blue for the dining room, a darker version of the same for the kitchen (which has white cabinets and can take it), and one wall lettuce green in Casper's room. (Note: mr. flea has not yet voiced his opinions.)

Comments

[serrana.livejournal.com]

I actively do not recommend the Benjamin Moore Eco-Spec, which is the only national-brand low-VOC I've tried.

They are definitely better for the environment (and your lungs), but some of them are not very good paint. It is worth asking around; at least around here, the local paint brands make MUCH better low-VOC paint than the national brands do.

[mearagrrl.livejournal.com]

I know nothing of the low VOCs. But the Behr worked fine for me...just don't use the Glidden. That stuff needed coats and coats and still didn't freakin cover.

[smonsterbite.livejournal.com]

The only personal experience I have w/ low/no VOC paints was helping a friend use milk paint several years ago. It was fun and smelled great (like good "clean" dirt, you know?) but I don't know about the washability of it.

I found Little Yolo, a no-VOC washable paint designed for kids' rooms. They have earned GreenSeal, which offers independent science-based certification standards.

Ideal Bite had a good tip: "Look for the Green Seal, which means the paint's certified eco. Bad = EPA, OSHA, or DOT seals, which mean the paint contains hazardous chems that the government has to monitor."

Here's a potentially helpful thread on treehugger, including kid-friendly recs.

[veejane.livejournal.com]

That's a lot of blues. While I do not generally advocate for the baby-shit colors of the spectrum, you might want to vary it up a little. I don't know with what, but, just make sure your house isn't totally the House of Glum on a cloudy day.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Currently it is the house of cafeteria mint-green - all the rooms I mentioned are the same mint green, except Casper's, which is (like the rooms not mentioned) sort of creamy pale yellow. You can imagine my pain.

[veejane.livejournal.com]

Ah, so you are in the House of Insitutional Blandeur. Or possibly the House Of Stewed Vegetables.

[dxmachina.livejournal.com]

I can't help you on the low-VOC thing. I'm a chemist. I like the smell of VOCs.

I've used Glidden, and it worked just fine for me. I also like it because the five gallon pail of antique white I bought eight years ago when I thought I'd paint the whole interior in the first month I lived here was still in pretty good shape last time I used some of it (in 2005). Consumer Reports rated Wal-Mart's house brand a best buy some years back, and I've used that for doors. It seems to work pretty well. I rarely draw on the walls with crayon (at least not since I was four and wrote toddler brother's name on the wall thinking my mother would blame him), so I can't report on that aspect of things.

[gingerk.livejournal.com]

I have had great luck with the Behr latex enamels. They go on smoothly and have good coverage. If you look on the website, you'll see that most of their paints, including the eggshell enamel, which would be the easiest cleanup surface, meet the low VOC standards.

[minim_calibre]

I *love* American Pride. LOVE.

I have used others, but American Pride remains the low/no VOC paint of choice for me. It's one of the best paints I've used, period. I hadn't realized how unstinky it was until I primed my old house with conventional paint and almost passed out from the fumes.

[aimeejmc.livejournal.com]

We've only ever used Valspar - I suggest the satin or eggshell finish as both of those clean up better, even using a Magic Eraser.

Also, if you go the primer route, I love Zinnser and have them tint it light gray. Sounds crazy, I know, but you'll get much better coverage and life out of your paint. We only had to do one coat of color (in most cases) after priming.

[fatoudust.livejournal.com]

We used Sherwin William's low VOC line, Harmony. Can't speak to the actual environmental impact, but for the painter, it was well worth it. Our bright red accent wall color did not come in a low VOC version and we just about passed out just doing the small area that needed cover, while doing the whole rest of the house much more painless. We were satisfied with the coverage, although you may want to do more layers since Magic Eraser is an abrasive, right?