Paints and Coatings: Covering All Bases
Part 1: Managers Consider Performance, Environment When Specifying Paints
Part 2: Paints: Third-Party Organizations Develop Standards, Certification Programs
Part 3: Master Painters Institute Develops Application Guidelines
Part 4: Paints and Coatings: The Impact of VOCs on Performance
Managers Consider Performance, Environment When Specifying Paints
By Chris Matt, Managing Editor - Print & E-Media
September 2009
Performance and environmental impact are the two primary concerns for managers specifying paints and coatings for institutional and commercial facilities.
More than ever, companies are manufacturing paints with minimal levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other toxic chemicals, including carcinogens, mutagens, hazardous air pollutants, and reproductive toxins. While the performance of low-VOC paints might have been a concern for managers in the past, paints and coatings have evolved and now offer managers the complete package — lasting performance and little or no impact on the environment or building occupants.
“As these newer products began to evolve in the marketplace, one of the first critiques they get is, ‘Oh, it’s not going to perform as well,’” says Marilyn Black, founder of Greenguard Environmental Institute. “In the early stages, I think manufacturers had to address that to make sure that they did have good performance characteristics.
“But now, with the products in the marketplace, we seem to have gotten over that. From a performance standpoint, there doesn’t appear to be as much differentiation between the solvent-based paints and the newer, water-based formulations.”
Third-party organizations, such as Green Seal, Greenguard, and Master Painters Institute (MPI), are inundating managers with resources and materials to make decisions that consider both performance and the way paints and coatings affect the indoor environment.
