# Have you guys ever hear/use 0 VOC's Yolo Paint?



## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

I've painted a entire brand new house, everything is eco-friendly built and certified. So I got hired from too many companies to do the job, they wanted minimal waste, not spraying what so ever as requested by the home owner, the use of 0 VOC paint and varnishes for the entire house, so looking around to our options we found a company that manufacture 0 VOC paint, they seem to have a lot of choices for colours, they can even match most colours from different paint stores, well I don't wanna make this too long, this paint it was ok, not super thrill about it but way better than other low voc's I have used before, except for semi-gloss paint, it took us 5 coats for the doors and trim to give it a good coverage, but walls look super nice with eggshell and flat ceilings that I realize that even if you do some couple of touch up it doesn't flash and that was awesome. They also have some big sheets painted by hand from the actual colour instead of buying samples so you can just put this big sheets on the wall so you can see which colour you want instead of buying a lot of cans for samples and ended up in the garbage, you can also take this sheets back and get your money back if in good condition, this help a lot. This paint is quite expensive but it turn out ok for us and the HO is really happy with our job that now I am repainting a couple of houses that he own an rent out (interior and exterior). Good thing this guy pay my company per hour plus materials, this is not cheap what so ever but people that can afford it is asking a lot for that kind of job now.
I am not a sales person from this Yolo paints and I am not getting paid or doing advertisement I am just commenting in case any of you guys ever need to try this kind of product.

This is the website http://www.yolocolorhouse.com/


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

It always gets me when they say no voc's and then put the paint in a plastic can. Why don't they put them in edible cans?


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## VanDamme (Feb 13, 2010)

I have used Yolo on a interior repaint right before the couple (she was 8 months pregnant) moved in to their new house. I really liked the paint and how it worked, and they were super happy w/the 0 VOC's.

I did have to up-charge for the added material cost per gallon as it was somewhat more expensive compared to other paints and they hadn't specified Yolo at the time of proposal.


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## VanDamme (Feb 13, 2010)

johnpaint said:


> It always gets me when they say no voc's and then put the paint in a plastic can. Why don't they put them in edible cans?


I don't apply the plastic can to the wall, so it works out pretty good :thumbup:


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Farrow and Ball is the greenest paint i've ever come across, though at $100/gal (cost) it's a tough sell. You can't eat the container though, unfortunately. Well, I suppose you could, but I don't know how healthy that would be. 

If you really wanted to you could probably eat the paint though.


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

I like Yolo for being the first time I ever used it and I'm not disappointed, I mean Z-coat from GP is something I'm not using anymore, too expensive and Z-coat don't even have good colour choices. I don't think we have Farrow and Ball here in Victoria, I could of use that instead (This customer is paying whatever price if he request the greenest paint, he has the cash), far enough I did driving 3 hours back and forth from Victoria to go get Yolo, that doesn't seem too environmentally friendly to me though, lol.


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

Did you ever consider Ecospec or Natura Waterbourne from BM on this project? It is Zero VOC, qualifies for Leeds, etc???


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## gamby (Feb 29, 2008)

Rcon,
What is it about Farrow and Ball that makes it so green ? I have a designer who loves the stuff and I have used their paints but was not overly impressed. She loves the image it projects. BTW, John Lahey of Fine Paints of Europe has a interesting discussion of low voc paints and the whole green thing. I think FPE paints overall to be superior to other high end [ expensive, image directed paints ]. I just started using BM Natura and am happy with the results so far. I just like the no odor factor which makes me and my customers happy. Don't know about long term performance, tho.
I am tired of the whole greenwashing, organic, natural, bs marketing of whatever someone is trying to sell today.


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

ROOMINADAY said:


> Did you ever consider Ecospec or Natura Waterbourne from BM on this project? It is Zero VOC, qualifies for Leeds, etc???


No BM, No GP, No Cloverdale, No Behr, No Para, No ICI. I've tried all their VOC's and didn't work for me, those paints have done some weird reaction everytime I use them. But this Yolo paint was the one that gave me the best results. I finished this project already, doors were hard to cover with two coats but I also understand that this doors were made of recycled material so it's not the usual door that we paint everyday.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

gamby said:


> What is it about Farrow and Ball that makes it so green ?


This is from their website:



> Farrow & Ball produces some of the most environmentally friendly paints available anywhere in the world. Unlike many other manufacturers, Farrow & Ball continues to use natural ingredients such as Linseed Oil and China Clay and does not use harmful ingredients such as ammonia and formaldehyde. VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) levels for most Farrow & Ball paints are so close to zero that the leading finishes, including Estate® Emulsion, Modern Emulsion, Estate® Eggshell and Exterior Masonry, are classified as ‘Zero VOC’ when tested to US Environmental Protection Agency standards.
> Our environmental effort extends throughout the manufacturing process and has been recognised by the award of ISO14001:2004 certification. At every stage of our work, from raw materials to energy use, waste management and distribution, we do our best to act in an environmentally responsible manner. We continue to resist the industry-wide move to plastic containers, which are hardly ever recycled, and remain faithful to our traditional tin packaging, which has a high recycled content and is easily recyclable.
> The Farrow & Ball range of environmentally preferable eco-finishes and eco-primers is denoted by the
> 
> ...


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

I'll try to use that Farrow & Ball next opportunity...


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

I have used all of the above.
Farrow $ Ball is low tech, performs like builder's paint for $100 a gallon.
Their technology is really old and natural ingredients are not harmless.

Yolo is ok, but really, you get so much more with B. Moore's Natura.
If you take performance and eco-friendly attributes into account,
the new Benjamin Moore offerings are way above everyone else.
(never use Mythic yet)



> No BM, No GP, No Cloverdale, No Behr, No Para, No ICI. I've tried all their VOC's and didn't work for me, those paints have done some weird reaction everytime I use them.


Thre are so many lines of paint there, some really good ones, they all had weird reactions?

What I mean is, we used thousands of gallons of the above (not BEHR)
different painters, they work fine.


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## theMonseignuer (May 18, 2010)

Just used this paint for an eco-conscious client based on the comments on this forum. Thanks for the advice! Worked very well... definitely going to add it to my arsenal.


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## Roamer (Jul 5, 2010)

johnpaint said:


> It always gets me when they say no voc's and then put the paint in a plastic can. Why don't they put them in edible cans?


BM's Natura has a re-cycled label and they claim that the full paint can itself has never traveled more than 200 miles from manufacturer to retailer. Further reducing the 'carbon footprint'.


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

American Pride is another good one. I have used Yolo before.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

if people were truly "eco conscious" they wouldn't be building new, using new materials, and taking from the earth. I find it funny. Yeah, its ok to buy materials harvested in a place that disrupts the local habitat, and is shipped using a bunch of fossil fuels, not to mention the construction of it, but lets make ourselves feel good and trendy too by using a "environmentally friendly paint":thumbup:
this whole "eco" bs is solely the luxury of the wealthy, who in their lifetime have benefited from the consumption of much more resources than the average poor earth citizen. But somehow, they think they are doing such great things with the hybrid escalade and designer eco paints. Give me a break. Its just something trendy for the rich.


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

I did an interior this year that requested No VOC paint. This client was not rich, but it sure helped her out considering she has asthma. It's not always about the rich... I did another interior small apartment (under a house) with No VOC paint. After doing the one before for the gal with asthma, I thought it could be a benefit for the next renter of this small apartment. I figure it's always better to use No VOC paint than to use anything else. Plus, it's not that expensive...


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

If you want to mess with people, just add some lacquer thinner to the low VOC and tell them this is the smell of future.


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

TJ Paint said:


> if people were truly "eco conscious" they wouldn't be building new, using new materials, and taking from the earth. I find it funny. Yeah, its ok to buy materials harvested in a place that disrupts the local habitat, and is shipped using a bunch of fossil fuels, not to mention the construction of it, but lets make ourselves feel good and trendy too by using a "environmentally friendly paint":thumbup:
> this whole "eco" bs is solely the luxury of the wealthy, who in their lifetime have benefited from the consumption of much more resources than the average poor earth citizen. But somehow, they think they are doing such great things with the hybrid escalade and designer eco paints. Give me a break. Its just something trendy for the rich.





> ...people.. everyone else.. and the rich...and the poor that can't afford it...and everyone else...and Al Gore...and not me...


All your statements above are not incorrect,
but try being accountable for your self. 
Just do your part and don't throw the baby out with the bathwater


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

Even if it is trendy for the rich and the people that can afford it, I think I would rather work with Low VOC's or 0 VOC's than Oil, Alkyd, Marine Enamel, Urethane, Varathane, Melamine (Just naming the worst and the stinkiest) At least for my own sake and health, I Am the painter working with those chemicals not the HO's it is for my own benefit and my employees as much as HO's. This days Low VOC's are getting cheaper and better no matter what the brand is. Just my opinion.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

AztecPainting said:


> Even if it is trendy for the rich and the people that can afford it, I think I would rather work with Low VOC's or 0 VOC's than Oil, Alkyd, Marine Enamel, Urethane, Varathane, Melamine (Just naming the worst and the stinkiest) At least for my own sake and health, I Am the painter working with those chemicals not the HO's it is for my own benefit and my employees as much as HO's. This days Low VOC's are getting cheaper and better no matter what the brand is. Just my opinion.


I agree, I'd rather work with lower voc too. 


[email protected] said:


> I did an interior this year that requested No VOC paint. This client was not rich, but it sure helped her out considering she has asthma. It's not always about the rich...
> Plus, it's not that expensive...


good point, this low voc paint isn't that expensive compared to normal paints. 


George Z said:


> but try being accountable for your self.
> Just do your part and don't throw the baby out with the bathwater


I was considering changing my career path and become a political pundit , but my friends tell me to keep my day job...


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

TJ Paint said:


> this whole "eco" bs is solely the luxury of the wealthy, ...and designer eco paints.



I dont disagree with your assessment one bit when it comes to cars and stuff. But when it comes to paint, I have found that the wealthy residential jobs still are not gernerally concerned with VOC's.

With the exception of the types of wealthy people that actors etc.

I think we may be just starting to get to that point.

But for the last several years most of the people who have been interested in low VOC paints have been more midrange, and younger.

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It is probably just starting to get to the point where things are changing with products like aura etc coming out.

But the thing about high residential and low voc's is, when you walk into a 30,000 installation of a floor to ceiling library of an expensive wood, is that the time to try some brand new zero voc product? Are are you going to stick with the old school guaranteed home run products.

It's one thing to paint a wall with some low voc paint, or repaint some doors or kitchen cabinets on a $500,000 dollar property. But to walk into a house with an elaborate trim packagte where all the trim was immaculately lacquered, that's a different story.

Even at this point switching over feels risky. And in such an expensive environment, it is difficult to resist the temptation to stick with what you know works, and not just finish it with the same product it was finished with last time.

I think this dynamic has been holding up the high end market. Because when an established high end painter walks into a really expensive home ( and usuallly established high end painters get called to those jobs ), a lot of those painters are going to tell the HO that their prefered product to make sure everything gets done properly, will not be a low voc product.

And usually, even if the homeowner is environmentally concious, they don't want to take risks and try new things when there is a lot of money invlolved. And usually the painter would really prefer not to take the risk either, so the house gets painted with the tried and true product and method.

Other than new construction, there are not very many high many high end residential repaint jobs where trim was not previously finished in either lacquer or oil.

It feels like that things might just now be starting to come around in the high end market. Hopefully it will, I hate being around solvents at this point. I don't even like being in a room full of doors that were finished 3 days prior.

I don't even like brief moments of smelling lacquer or lacquer thinner any more.

Even when you wear your respirator, you wind up with lots of moments during the day that you are not actually applying the high VOC product, but you still wind up breathing stuff.

I still have not done a job where the trasition was made from lacquer to acrlylic. I have done lots of oil to acrylic, but I still see a lot of painters doing repaints with oil over previously painted oil.

And I definitely have no idea what product to use to go from a CLEAR lacquer to a clear low/zero voc product.

I have yet to do that. 

I also have not used a low or zero voc stain.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

TJ Paint said:


> good point, this low voc paint isn't that expensive compared to normal paints.


The cost may not be much more. But the covrage is.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

It costs to eat healthy.. why wouldn't it cost to paint or build healthy? McDees has 1$ burgers or double burgers all day long.. try to find a good healthy meal for a buck..


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## AztecPainting (Jan 28, 2010)

nEighter said:


> It costs to eat healthy.. why wouldn't it cost to paint or build healthy? McDees has 1$ burgers or double burgers all day long.. try to find a good healthy meal for a buck..


It seems like you watched Food, Inc. eh, now I'm scared of eating at MCd. and eating chicken or eggs or frozen burguers. 
It is a good point dude, applying this on our daily life, when you go to the 7eleven or whatever store, you see a can or bottle of pop in the fridge for $1.45 and a bottle of water for $1.89, what would you buy? But... Which one is the healthiest? It's not too much of the difference even though we already know which is the healthiest. 

Applying this to painting would sound kinda the same, I guess, except that I agree with some last comments about being already some oil on trim, etc, I wouldn't try new things and I would stick with what I know is better for that matter, but if it is NC and HO's haven't mention anything about a choice for oil paint, I immediately go with a low VOC. Not really because I wanna help my environment or I care that much, I probably care but before that I wanna save myself of smelling that madness 8 hrs a day while I'm done...


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

ewingpainting.net said:


> The cost may not be much more. But the covrage is.


No it's not. American pride has a better coverage than your upscale Duration Home.


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

nEighter said:


> It costs to eat healthy.. why wouldn't it cost to paint or build healthy? McDees has 1$ burgers or double burgers all day long.. try to find a good healthy meal for a buck..


That's backwards thinking... I can eat healthy and a lot more for under a buck out of my garden...


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

You may spend a bit more for healthy food if you purchase it from a store, but I guarantee you will eat less. Not because of cost but because of what your eating. You will get more vitamins and minerals in healthy food, and in turn you don't get the urge to eat as often. In the long run it's cheaper to eat healthier.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

Jason I was saying for readily available food.. salad and clean cuts of meat, fresh veggies and fruit are out of this world compared to the processed fried up ??? whatever it is that you are eating 2 for $2.00 on the roller heater from your local gas station.. that is what I was saying. Quality isn't usually cheap. Growing your own is a total different thing all in it's self.


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

nEighter said:


> Jason I was saying for readily available food.. salad and clean cuts of meat, fresh veggies and fruit are out of this world compared to the processed fried up ??? whatever it is that you are eating 2 for $2.00 on the roller heater from your local gas station.. that is what I was saying. Quality isn't usually cheap. Growing your own is a total different thing all in it's self.


:thumbsup:


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## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> No it's not. American pride has a better coverage than your upscale Duration Home.


Agree, most new Benj Moore paints are higher in solids too.


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