Paint for the Chemically Sensitive

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.

Try to Avoid the Auto Body Shop if You Have MCS

I have MCS (with touch sensitivity), and I was in a small car accident three to four months ago. The insurance company advised me to take my car to a body shop of my choosing. After being repaired, the car came back so toxic that I can no longer drive it. I actually dealt with two different body shops and they were both super toxic. Body shops use a lot of toxic chemicals.[See 1.] Auto body shops often use chemicals such as paint thinners, paint removers, solvents in refinish paints, and various other harmful chemicals.[See id.] I would have rather just lived with a dented fender than lose the car--I'll have to sell it and buy another one. In the future, I will try to avoid body shops if at all possible.

 

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[1] Brown, N. J. (1990). Health hazards manual for autobody shop workers. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Chemical Hazard Information Program. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/manuals/7