I have tried various paints lately and this post is a report about which ones I would recommend to a person with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS):
AFM Safecoat
I left open containers of the following AFM paints for over 12 hours in my house and although I could feel symptoms from the various paints, the symptoms were not so bad that I had to remove them from my house. Some were better than others and as they cured they became less of a problem.
AFM Durostain Walnut
Metalcoat Primer
Semi-gloss Paint
ZVOC Eggshell Paint
ZVOC Flat Paint
ZVOC Pearl Paint
The Zero VOC paints were surprisingly good for me and hardly affected me at all. However, I still would not want to paint with them myself. The three other products were more problematic for me but since I was planning on using the Durostain and the Primer outside the house anyway, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
ECOS Paints
I have had a good experience with this paint so far. I opened a canister of it in my house and did not have significant symptoms. When I put my nose up to it and smelled it, I noticed it does have an odor, and it irritated my eyes slightly (made them blink). But I left some paint out for about ten hours in my kitchen and it did not seem to cause significant symptoms.
Allback Linseed Oil Paint
I would not recommend Allback Linseed Oil Paint to a person with MCS. I paid someone to paint an outside railing with it and it made me pretty sick for a lot of the day, even though the paint project was outside and I was inside the house except for a few minutes here and there. The man doing the painting was not chemically sensitive but he said that the paint gave him a headache. Even the following day it made me sick to go out and inspect the railing. I have no idea what ingredient(s) in the paint could be making me sick. The company states that the paint is 100% solvent free. I appreciate that people are trying to make more environmentally friendly products but, for me, I doubt this paint is much less toxic than conventional paint. And it is super expensive. A normal sized can of paint was around $180.
I also purchased some boiled linseed oil made by Allback. It had a smell that smelled a little like paint, paint thinner, or some other solvent. I placed some in a bowl and was able to keep it in my house for about a day without it giving me too many symptoms, though it did irritate my eyes somewhat. We used it on our deck and now our deck is toxic and I cannot walk on it. I definitely would not recommend Allback products to a person with MCS.
