TreeHugger Asks: What Green Paints Do You Like?

Sherwin Williams makes a no-VOC paint called Harmony. They have a store across the street from my home, so next time I paint, I'll try it. It's about $40/gallon, though.

Farrow and Ball paints are mostly made from natural pigments, and they have six finishes that are low or no VOC. They claim to be a pretty green organization as well. Plenty of stockists across Canada, dunno about the States.

http://www.farrow-ball.com/ProductAdvice/Environment.aspx?language=en-GB

I have used the Sherwin Williams Harmony paint and was very happy with it on all levels. There was a slight odor, but nothing obnoxious (it was primarily due to the pigments that were added), it covered well and is durable/washable. So I am sold, even if it does cost in the mid 30's per gallon. Plus another bonus for me is it is considered a local manufacturer.

I've had good luck with Safe Coat, and am looking forward to trying Anna Sova's aromatherapy paints for an upcoming project.

I don't think I'd get too much painting done with aromatherapy paint...

We used Safecoat Paints for the baby's room. No issues (odor, etc.) at the time and still looks good two years on.

Lowes brand paint, Olympic, is a zero VOC paint and it much less expensive than brands like Sherwin Williams. It is nice too because Lowes stores are everywhere so it is relatively easy to find. The paint is slightly less thick than the more expensive paints but is does a nice job covering and they can color match any sample you bring in.

I have used Miller Paint's Acro(low/zero VOC), Rodda's Horizon (low VOC), Yolo Colorhouse & milk paint from The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company.

The least stinkiest is the milk paint, but it requires a level of precision when mixing to get a good consistency.

The Miller paint offering is less stinky than Roddas, and the store is closer, so that is what I've been mainly using.

I like the Yolo stuff, but the palette is somewhat limited.

All three cover pretty well and clean up about the same.

Not sure if Miller, Yolo and Rodda are available outside the NW.

I've used Anna Sova (stripes in a 1/2 bathroom without a shower in it...the aromatherapy is great in there!! And you can mix your own smells- I did orange and vanilla for a creamsicle scent). I've used Safecoat, which was fine, colors just the same as regular paint, and a low-VOC store brand from a local paint supply store that worked great too. My whole house is an experiment with eco-paints...and I've used a less-toxic stripper too which worked pretty well. So far, it's been a year, and it's all looking great. I don't have kids who put their annoying little hands all over the walls, but lots of animals (a dog and three cats) and so far the paints have been behaving just as regular ones do...so why do they even make regular paint anymore??

i got some microspheres for my normal paint... making it green paint no?

they are meant to decrease thermal conductivity of the painted surface. thereby making the paint act in a greener way.

henceforth and fothwith i will have sandpaper instead of cold walls!

http://www.thermilate.com/
they did sell in leyland in london im not usre if it is still there. otherwise buy it off the web.

We're currently painting our house with the Oikos (http://www.oikos-paint.com/) range of paints with superb results. Not only are they low or zero VOC but the manufacturing process is also environmentally friendly. Plus the company seems very progressive and enlightened.

I need to find a green spray paint to use with stencils for recycling and composting on about 100 rubbermaid trash bins. Do green spray paints exist?

Farrow and Ball paint is great to work with, especially the Estate Emulsion which I beleive is their "greenest" paint. It covers like no other paint I have ever used, and it has absolutley no odor. It is a bit on the pricey side, but the quality is far superior to anything else I have tried.

How long do these green paints last? I would hate to paint something only to find it's faded a year later.

I've had amazing results with craign & rose chalk emulsion paints. It covers amazingly and is really tough.

Recently I painted a bedroom with American Pride low/no VOC paint. First coat went on OK, second one better. The smell was minimal and it looks great. I also used a bathroom grade primer and finish coat. Also performed very well with minimal odor. Got it at the Environmental Home Center, Seattle WA.

http://www.environmentalhomecenter.com/shop.mv?CatCode=PRODUCT&ProdCode=AM_PRIDE

I made a batch of milk paint from scratch for my bedroom, and learned a whole lot: 1. If you add grapejuice for color, it will curdle a gallon of milkpaint (duh); 2. If a wall has been painted previously, it needs to be primed to accept milkpaint. My experiment kind of worked but I wouldn't DIY it again, next time I'll buy some mix from the people who know what they're doing.

I've also used Benjamin Moore Eco-Spec (low VOC), it covers great, no odor, great colors.

Ditto on the American Pride, we used it to repaint our bedroom and we were really pleased with the minimal odor.

Hi-

I am also looking for green spray paint but to no avail so far. Does anyone know if it exists?

I'm also looking for a green spray paint.

My only idea if it doesn't exist yet is using a spray gun (the thing with compressed air) and thinning the paint if needed so it can work with the mechanism, which I did many years ago but with just regular paint not green stuff, so don't know what the difference would be potentially.

Krylon makes an eco-guard spray paint:
http://www.kpg-industrial.com/products/ecoguard_latex_spray_paint/

I have recently used The Fresh Aire Choice zero VOC paint in my master bed/bathroom. It covered beautifully in one coat, is creamy and goes on very smoothly. No toxic fumes! No smell at all really. I love it! In the past I was sick for two days after painting... not with this paint. The only drawback is that the color selection is very limited with only 65 to choose from. Each color has a bag full of pigment that is simply dropped into the paint and then put in the mechanical shaker for mixing. The can, label, paint chip samples, etc. are all made from recycled materials and, in turn, can again be recycled after use. I am off to The Home Depot (not sure if anybody else carries it) to purchase 4 more gallons! Happy painting!

I used Fresh Aire over the weekend, and was NOT impressed. It took multiple coats, and there was a smell. The smell cleared out in a couple of hours, but it wasn't what we expected.

I rehab homes quite often, so i am used to painting. I wouldn't recommend this paint again. Kind of neat how they use a little baggie with the dyes in it for tinting, and the little baggie did desolve(we couldn't find any remnants in the 5 gallons we used). So basically, from my perspective, we used the paints the way they were designed and intended, with poor results.

May be a coincidence, but we painted on 2 consecutive days, and both days one of my dogs got sick and threw up. He never throws up. He also hasn't been sick since those two days.. He isn't the type of dog that would have gotten into the paint, either... again, possible coincidence, but I doubt it.

I have used Benjamin Moore Eco-Spec (low VOC), it covers great, no odor, great colors and its color lasts. My father who is a pro painter, says its one of the better paints hes used.

I used Yolo Colorhouse paint recently, my local paint store just took them on. I could not be happier! The coverage was great and no odor. I am thrilled!

I've recently used Sherman Williams Harmony in a living room and hallways. Very low odor that went away quickly. Went on nicely. Doesn't seem too durable since I've already had to do touch ups but it was a pleasure to work with. Definitely needed two coats for both light and mid-tone colors. Took about a week for blue colors to settle in and dry out completely to their final value. I did not have this time lag with Autumnal (an orange color). For a green I was trying it seemed like 4-5 days for the color to settle. As a result I would recommend leaving up your paint test patches for a week to see what happens to the color as the paint cures.

I also bought some FreshAire from Home Depot (Honey Sand is an awesome color!). After putting up the test patch on my wall and noticing the odor I took the sample chip to Sherman Williams to match. Unfortunately they were not able to get the same color exactly and I really loved the Honey Sand color. As a result I decided to go ahead and put it up. I was very disappointed in the very strong odor which is still around a week later but starting to fade. I'll likely be using it for my kitchen also (don't want to have too many different colors) but I'm dreading putting it up because it stinks so bad.

Freshaire does not offer sample colors and I bought another color for my bathroom (Still Moment) that I'm not going to use because I did not like it when I put it up on the wall. At this time I do not remember Still Moment having such a bad odor so the smell may vary with the color.

I would not recommend Freshaire due to the very strong unpleasant odor that does not dissipate quickly and the lack of samples (wasted $s trying out a color). This paint also requires two coats.

Next I'm going to try either the BM Eco spec or the Olympic Premier. I started with BM colors since they seem to have the best selection of colors but their sample paints have very high VOCs and they would give me a headache so I switched to Sherman Williams. SW samples are higher VOCs than Harmony but I've been putting them up to make sure I like the color. If Olympic Premier has low VOC samples I would say that is a significant benefit. They do sell quarts so that is one way to get a low VOC sample.

Devine Color out of Portland has 99.9 percent VOC-free paint that works great. They have really nice colors, too, I just ordered some to do my bathroom and they're offering free shipping, so that's green for me!

It is interesting that some of you have had odor problems with Freshaire paints from Home Depot. We have painted two rooms and are prepping a third for Freshaire paints and we couldn't be happier with the lack of odor or the results. We even primed with Freshaire primer. Maybe, that made a difference with the ease of coverage, but primer coats are normally recommended and ignored by most painters. We on the other hand didn't know what we were painting over (new construction) so we continue to stick to the instructions. Additionally, samples and color fans are available for Freshaire paints it just isn't a convenient process. Go to the store or look online for the colors that you are interested in, call Freshaire 1-800 number and request your sample choices. They will send them to you free of charge. So far we have used the primer, semi-gloss white for trim, Northern Pear eggshell, and we are ready to use Healing waters (study) and True North (kitchen) for our next two projects. Northern Pear was used twice once with a black base and the other time with a white base....changing the base changes the color just enough to create a whole new look. We found this out by mistake, but I believe everything happens for a reason. : ) Take the nay sayers with a grain of salt and give the samples a try....we did!

No, I do not work for HD or Freshaire...I am just concerned and going Green Mommy.

Mythic Paint, by far the best green paint i ever used. zero vocs, non-toxic, little to no odor, and the outcome was excellent. bright colors, and it's formulated to spread on thin.. with the lighter colors, all you will need is one coat, and darker two.. One gallon of this paint took me to 400 square feet. I recommend to everyone. very happy