# BM EcoSpec



## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

I've never used it. Home owners wants us to. Is it any good? In my mind it's to low of a quality paint for us to use. If it's crap I will push what we normally use.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

It's never a good sign when you do a google search and the first four things you find is how bad this paint smells, same with Natura.

Any other zero VOC paints out there that are actually good?


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

I've never used it either, but if they're BM friendly customers and wanting zero VOC I'd consider pushing them towards Natura. I'm at the point where I really don't want to use anything with a name that ends in "spec".

Although I did try BM superspec earlier this summer with good results.

Edit: Actually I think it was ultra spec I tried. Can't remember. I seem to remember now that I think of it that I tried superspec years ago and it was horrible and no longer available.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Wildbill7145 said:


> I've never used it either, but if they're BM friendly customers and wanting zero VOC I'd consider pushing them towards Natura. I'm at the point where I really don't want to use anything with a name that ends in "spec".
> 
> Although I did try BM superspec earlier this summer with good results.
> 
> Edit: Actually I think it was ultra spec I tried. Can't remember. I seem to remember now that I think of it that I tried superspec years ago and it was horrible and no longer available.


I have always used mid-top grade paints. It's how I started out painting, my boss used better paints instead of contractor grade.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

cdpainting said:


> I've never used it. Home owners wants us to. Is it any good? In my mind it's to low of a quality paint for us to use. If it's crap I will push what we normally use.


It's crap. Commercial low voc stuff to compete with low voc Promar 200. Although in this case you would be better off using the Promar! (THUD! Everyone alright?) Go with Natura if they MUST use Ben Moore.

At my last job at a BM dealer we had to sell all of our Ecospec at an auction to get rid of it because it was about to go bad in the can it had been sitting on the shelf so long!


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

PACman said:


> It's crap. Commercial low voc stuff to compete with low voc Promar 200. Although in this case you would be better off using the Promar! (THUD! Everyone alright?) Go with Natura if they MUST use Ben Moore.
> 
> At my last job at a BM dealer we had to sell all of our Ecospec at an auction to get rid of it because it was about to go bad in the can it had been sitting on the shelf so long!


Problem I reading about Natura is it can still smell after a long while. I haven't really checked around for better zero voc's paints yet.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

I used a lot of it when it first came out. We did a bunch of dialysis centers that wanted it. I don't know how it held up in the long run but it was easy to use and didn't have much odor to it.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

cdpainting said:


> Problem I reading about Natura is it can still smell after a long while. I haven't really checked around for better zero voc's paints yet.



I just used it a while back for a VERY pregnant woman who wanted their baby room done. She was about to explode and I'd worked for her in the past. She was adamant about using zero VOC paint and if anyone was going to complain about odour it would have been her. She scrutinized the room for odour throughout the job and didn't give one complaint.

I wouldn't worry about odour Dave. I didn't notice any, but I really can't smell much of anything these days anyways.

It does cost about as much as Aura around here though.

I was pretty impressed with how it performed.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Wildbill7145 said:


> I just used it a while back for a VERY pregnant woman who wanted their baby room done. She was about to explode and I'd worked for her in the past. She was adamant about using zero VOC paint and if anyone was going to complain about odour it would have been her. She scrutinized the room for odour throughout the job and didn't give one complaint.
> 
> I wouldn't worry about odour Dave. I didn't notice any, but I really can't smell much of anything these days anyways.
> 
> ...


I will let the HO know what we will use and give it a shot.


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

PACman said:


> It's crap. Commercial low voc stuff to compete with low voc Promar 200. Although in this case you would be better off using the Promar! (THUD! Everyone alright?) Go with Natura if they MUST use Ben Moore.
> 
> 
> 
> At my last job at a BM dealer we had to sell all of our Ecospec at an auction to get rid of it because it was about to go bad in the can it had been sitting on the shelf so long!




Never thought I'd read something like this from PACman!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Just so you know, it acts a lot like Aura when you're using it. Really fast dry time, don't go back into your paint. Once it's on, leave it. It also gets that weird kind of electrified look when it first starts setting up.


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

cdpainting said:


> Problem I reading about Natura is it can still smell after a long while. I haven't really checked around for better zero voc's paints yet.


No no no no no no. I've used about 350 gallons of Natura, in every tint and sheen. No smell. Whatever you've been reading is wrong, or old AF.


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

Used Ecospec when it was the main alternative to the original Lifemaster zero VOC.
We must have used hundreds if not thousands of gallons, same with Ultraspec and Natura.

All good paint with low or no odour (even with colourants).
Better raw materials than most of their competitors, better technology.
Insane percentages of solids, nobody is even close, apples to apples.

I find it funny how the esteemed chemist/contractor community here finds it to be "crap".
You may have favourites, it's understandable, but you should be able to appreciate decent paint from any top manufacturer. 
At least you can at least make it work.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Eco Spec came before Ultra Spec 500. I haven't seen it around in years and assumed that it was discontinued. It was very good.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

I'm sorry but any paint I have to liquidate for pennies on the dollar at an auction to the amish because no one wanted to buy it at 50% off is crap in my book.


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## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

PACman said:


> I'm sorry but any paint I have to liquidate for pennies on the dollar at an auction to the amish because no one wanted to buy it at 50% off is crap in my book.


Or...those Amish are some really crafty people!


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

SemiproJohn said:


> Or...those Amish are some really crafty people!


Yeah they sure are! But liquidating product is one way retailers get a feel for how bad or good a paint line is. If absolutely no one buys it in 6 months of 50% off, it must be bad. Even the Superspec sold out in that 6 months at 50% off. Ecospec? Nope. (That was the OLD Ecospec.)


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Mr Smith said:


> Eco Spec came before Ultra Spec 500. I haven't seen it around in years and assumed that it was discontinued. It was very good.


If you look online there are still recent topics about it being discontinued. In fact 6 out of 8 paint stores can't even find it on their order forms.

Any paints that coat under $30 a gallon from my experience is utter garbage. We charge top dollar for our work and get the best products we can for each project. We flately refuse to use contractor grade paints and any along those lines.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Yup. Just looked again. It isn't in the 2015 BM product guide so it has definitely been discontinued. That's probably why it isn't on the order forms as well.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

PACman said:


> Yup. Just looked again. It isn't in the 2015 BM product guide so it has definitely been discontinued. That's probably why it isn't on the order forms as well.



Add another store to the list.

What I don't get is all this info, all the stores saying it's not around but yet the design firm always uses it they say. Our reps say it's still around but where? I can only drive to so many stores before I am either convinced some one is messing with me or I'm feeling like I'm looking for a lost toy or some thing the dog ate.

% of the stores we go to still can't order it after the reps said they could. All I know is if some one else asks us to use that I will say sure but you get the paints. I refuse to look for it any more.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

I know this is an old thread... but apparently EcoSpec is spec'd by little caesars corporate so I got to order some this last week. The only EcoSpec still available for ordering is this:
https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us...ns/product-catalog/eswbsip/eco-spec-wb-silver

It is a gennex product unlike the old stuff.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

cocomonkeynuts said:


> I know this is an old thread... but apparently EcoSpec is spec'd by little caesars corporate so I got to order some this last week. The only EcoSpec still available for ordering is this:
> https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us...ns/product-catalog/eswbsip/eco-spec-wb-silver
> 
> It is a gennex product unlike the old stuff.


Dang! They're actually going by the spec and not using Promar 200? Lucky!


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

I had a look through the updated DC stocking list today and every BM DC stocks the EcoSpec N372, N373, N374, N376 so all of these are still available for ordering as well and are Gennex products (and yes these are in the 2015 catalog lol).

The old EcoSpec definitely discontinued and indeed complete crap to paint with, I painted some shelves with the 224 enamel and I wish I had just thrown it away.


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## bluegrassdan (May 8, 2015)

I am in Canada and it is still available. Dries too fast for me. Today I did a job and got air bubbles on the walls.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

Sorry, know you're not supposed to bump old threads but this was on the first page.

Apparently Natura is now out of production (maybe will come back after the shortage?) and BM stores are pushing Eco-Spec instead of Natura. It's definitely cheaper, our stores charged $39 a gallon. We got a gallon of white Natura for trim of old stock.

I used a couple of gallons and imo found it like Promar 200 or so in quality. In a gray it covered amazing over dark chocolate brown walls, not quite sure on color accuracy. I found it easy to handle and nice. Only problems we had were my boss liking to push recoat times and he had problems double cutting (which I don't like to do, but you know, if it's not your own job...) and it tearing away at his first semi-dry cut. If it was my own job it wouldn't matter and I'd not double cut and let everything set up longer, but alas, that is the problem with working with other people.

It was a basement in a forested/humid area with rain most of the week, over walls painted in a glossier eggshell/satin with the brown tint likely being oil based and really sealing everything, so dry time was actually really really long. After rolling walls it would be 2 hours before it even looked dried to the touch in some parts. I think it's just conditions but I'm almost certain Regal or Aura would dry way faster.

Smell was about non-existent and I actually found it pretty cool paint overall, coverage is great, looks decent dried (though the eggshell is a glossier eggshell, really actually looked identical to PM200, since some of my last gallons of PM200 were in almost an identical gray.) I think Ultra Spec is probably better, as Ultra Spec seemed to dry/cure to a much harder finish (imo, dries as hard as Regal) but Eco-Spec maybe covered better? The hardness and all that, too could be from the paint not curing well enough with the conditions.

Natura on trim really surprised me, but it too didn't seem to cure up super hard, but again it could be (likely was) conditions. It LOOKED amazing, though. Very high gloss and very bright white. Could be conditions but it did run and sag and need a very light touch to apply, it reminded me a lot of latex Proclassic but better. Good news even the runs that came a long time later could be hit out and it would level back well. Since it's out of production it's irrelevant but it probably would have been a good competitor to latex Proclassic.

So yeah, definitely not bad paint, just expect something near PM-200 and you'll be happy.


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