Low/No VOC paint?

[jazzharmony]

We will be painting soon (trim, bedrooms, walls, etc) and I would like to know more about the safe paints. Any experience or info to share?
Thanks

[GreenGranolaMama]

Olympic brand pant is low VOC... I did my DS's room with it and plan to eventually do the rest of the house... just waiting on time/ambition DH painted houses and businesses during the summer when we were in college and could not believe how mild smelling this paint was compared to what he painted with before... of course we still cracked the windows and didn't hang out in there until it was dried and aired out.

[marrymeflyfree]

Sherwin Williams has a No-VOC paint that we have used. It isn't available in all colors, though. Our experience is that it seems to take more paint to get a good finish and coverage and isn't as durable. For instance...we used it in a half bath that tends to get a little water splatter when people use the towel hanging on the wall. When I wipe it off, a little wall color often comes with it if I'm not super careful. Since then, we've only used the no-VOC paint on rooms that will likely get very little wear and tear.

[crittersmom]

We painted our downstairs with Olympic and I'm getting ready to paint the rest of the house too.It went on nicely,wears well and comes in lots of colors and toothpaste smells stronger than this paint.I also have four very young little ones leaving lots of fingerprints and Picassos on my walls.I just take water and wipe them down once a week and unless I am scrubbing no paint comes off.
I would have checked out the Sherwin William's but they are way too far way for me to get to.

[Ola_]

We used Aura from Benjamin Moore for our kitchen and dining room and were very pleased with the low odour, great coverage and durability/scrubbability (is that a word)? We are planning to paint our bathroom very soon and plan to use Aura also.

One of the colours we chose was in the Aura line, the other was a regular BM colour and we had it mixed into the Aura base. So that means you can use any Benjamin Moore colour with this stuff (and they'd probably colour-match from other brands too, but I haven't tried that).

[jazzharmony]

Thanks everyone. The Benjamin Moore is one I have seen referenced online a lot. I'm glad to hear that it's durable. That is a huge factor for us.

[crl]

I've also used Aura and was really pleased. I found it very easy to paint with, great coverage and low-odor. It is really expensive per gallon, but I figured that in several rooms I got away with one coat instead of two which meant it cost about the same to paint the room as cheaper paints (plus it saved on my time).

Catherine

[sairy_gamp]

The low-VOC paints we've used (mainly Rodda, and Home Depot brand once) have a downside: they seem to be made with a greater fraction of clay (or whatever that binder is) to make up for the reduced solvents.

This means if they sit for any period of time, the sediment precipitates out and you get a big lump on the bottom. You have to be really, really careful to stir it all up really well to re-suspend all of it, or else you'll get lumps on your walls while painting. We avoided this once by getting it re-mixed at the store.

[nurturedbirth]

I've used Benjamin Moore Natura (no VOC) and have heard good things about BM Aura (low VOC) as well. As far as I know any color can be mixed into those bases. The Natura doesn't come in Satin finish (only flat, eggshell, and semi-gloss).

[jazzharmony]

Originally Posted by nurturedbirth

I've used Benjamin Moore Natura (no VOC) and have heard good things about BM Aura (low VOC) as well. As far as I know any color can be mixed into those bases. The Natura doesn't come in Satin finish (only flat, eggshell, and semi-gloss).

How did you like the Natura? Does it take many coats? Is it durable? I would much prefer no VOC to low VOC, of course, but know nothing about it.

[mom0810]

Benjamin Moore Aura, all the way. Great coverage (usually one coat!) no odor and very very durable.

We used to use the Sherwin Williams stuff, too, and it is not durable at all. When I compared it to the Aura, it's so thin and doesn't go on easily at all. Aura goes on easily, covers great and with no odor. And they can do ANY color in Aura paint. Awesome.

[Ola_]

From what I've heard from the people at the paint store, the Aura is more durable and has better coverage, while the Natura has no VOCs - it seems to be a bit of a trade-off.

I also have to say that while Aura is more expensive than other paints, we only used 1/2 of the paint that the our surface area should have needed (even after removing doors and windows from our equation). We did two coats and everything. So it worked out to be quite economical surprisingly. And getting a deep red perfect with only two coats (and no tinted primer) was awesome.

[Ellie'sMom]

FYI, regarding color choices with the Olympic brand. I asked the paint guy at Lowes and he said that they can tint the Olympic No VOC paint with any color they have in the store. He said they don't advertise this, but it is something they are willing to do. It was on sale for $20/gallon recently, so it's a good deal.

There was an odor, but it cleared out much faster than with regular paint, imo.

[madis81]

We use Olympic Premium Low Oder - Zero VOC paint. If it makes a difference, it recently won an award for being "green", as well as the Good Housekeeping Award, I think for price and quality. We have used this paint several times in the last few years and have had no problems with it. It has stood up to time, wear, and my rambunctious toddler. We've never needed more then one coat, unless we're painting over a darker/brighter color that needed primed.

And like a pp said, Lowe's can tint it any color. They're technically not suppose to though. You just have to ask a Lowe's paint desk employee.

[Ola_]

I read this on Consumer Reports today and it made me think of this thread:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...-paints-ov.htm

"One-coat hiding
Olympic Premium and Benjamin Moore Aura have lower VOC levels than other tested paints and did a good job in this hiding test."

[Owen'nZoe]

I've used Sherwin Williams, Pittsburg Paints Pure Performance, and Graham Water-Bourne Ceramic.

Graham is my favorite. It was nice and thick, easy to get good coverage, and it is incredibly durable. I have it in the kitchen, and crayon, grease splatters, food messes all wipe off easily without taking off the paint. The only down-side is that it is expensive compared to the other 2 brands.

Pittsburg was my second favorite, and Sherwin Williams my least for the reasons others have mentioned.

[jazzharmony]

Originally Posted by madis81

We use Olympic Premium Low Oder - Zero VOC paint.
And like a pp said, Lowe's can tint it any color. They're technically not suppose to though. You just have to ask a Lowe's paint desk employee.

I imagine this is because once they tint it, it can no longer be called Zero VOC I'm assuming they use regular paint for the tinting. I'm sure it's still low VOC though...