Please keep me safe from lead

Lead was widely used  to improve the performance of paint. It was used as a pigment, and also was known to improve the durability and appearance of painted surfaces. It is still used around the world for the same reasons.
The performance benefits of lead pale by comparison to the harmful effects it has on humans.
Growing children under the age of six can experience the most severe of side effects. Lead can hinder growth and development and is harmful to the nervous system and every organ of the body. While it is documented to be harmful to young children, adults can experience effects like reproductive problems.
Eating paint chips is not the only way it can hurt children. Dust from old paint during repainting and other renovations, if ingested can also be harmful.
Paint manufacturers for years now have improved paint performance without using lead.
While the debate south of the border is mostly based on the regulatory part of the lead issue, talk goes further than compliance and what someone can get away with.
Responsible Painting Contractors need to look at the well being of their customers and their own safety during renovations and painting of older homes.
The Paul, a remodeler in Minnesota, brings up some real points in an article in the Construction Remodel Forum.

By Karon

We do a lot of Office Painting in Toronto. In quite a few of our Commercial Painting Toronto projects, we paint at night, after the offices are closed. Sometimes we have the opportunity to paint during the day, when the office staff are at work. One of those projects was with Grasshopper Energy Corporation.
They had just moved in to their new office space in January. Most would agree that it looked rather dull. All the walls, doors, door frames and side-lites were the same colour. Benjamin Moore’s Snowfall White was the choice for the main colour, which was quite the job, as it took three coats to cover, so 18 sidelites became 54. Fun it was, I know, I did them.  Sweet Pea was the accent colour, which we colour matched from their Logo. In the end, the painting created the illusion of a larger office space and it was so much brighter. What a pleasure it was to Paint the Offices at Grasshopper Energy Corporation.  A lot of times, in the hustle and bustle of today’s business world, you can find noise, chaos, tension, and other discomforts within a busy office environment.  Not at Grasshopper you wouldn’t! The staff here were a team, they were like one big happy family. These guys loved going to work…and it seemed like they never wanted to go home….if we were painting late into the evening, they were still there! What a nice Office Painting Project that was. Change your colours, we want to come back!

Too cold to paint exterior?

Toronto Exterior Painters have to work within the limitations of a relatively short painting season. Paint exterior surfaces too early in the spring or too late in the fall and paint failure is imminent.  
When painting the exterior of a home, the temperature of the air is something that must be considered. Oftentimes fall comes and people start to think about painting the outside of their homes because they start to recognize chipping paint or a dull deck. However, finding the right time and the right paint to use in cooler temperatures is imperative to a successful paint/stain job. If it is too cold, booking a job for the spring would be the best idea to ensure proper adhesion and curing of the paint.
Some manufacturers offer low temperature paint. Some of Benjamin Moore’s exterior paint can be used when the air temperature is above or at approximately 4.4 degrees Celsius. Aura exterior paint is rated as safe to use in that temperature.
However, not every type of paint will work well in these temperatures. Some paints are not suitable for these low temperatures and need to be applied when there are higher surrounding air temperatures. For more information regarding the specific temperature levels for each type of Benjamin Moore exterior paints please visit www.benjaminmoore.com.
Other manufacturers have similar offerings of low temperature paint. It is a good idea to check every manufacturers recommendations, or ask a technical representative before  using any low temperature exterior paints.
One thing to consider in low temperatures is dew.  Beware of dew developing on paint before it dries as it will cause the paint to appear uneven and not settle properly. Another thing to be careful with is to ensure that the surface is dry before you paint. It may appear to be a dry and sunny day, but again dew can cause problems. Cool fall or spring mornings may create dew on your paint surface before you get started. Be sure to sure that this moisture has not penetrated your paint surface as this will cause problems.

 For Exterior Painting Services in Toronto, please call 416 733-7767 or request a painting estimate

Written By Joanne

Commercial Painting Services was asked to paint the office space of a growing company located in North York. This space had to be painted during the weekend and some evenings.
A crew from Ecopainting was assigned to complete the project. The customer was happy with the results and they were very accommodating to the painters and their schedule.
The only initial difficulty was getting a colour to compliment the company colours. Simply picking a colour off company literature or business cards does not translate well to architectural paint. The painters tested different blue colours before proceeding and at the end a visit by the customer to Boyd’s decorating (local dealer) ended up being very helpful. The end result was a very pleasant and cool colour from Benjamin Moore to compliment the main light grey colour.

Commercial Toronto Painters are available to paint your office space as well in the Greater Toronto Area.
Call them at 416 479 0131, or request a painting estimate online.

 As usual, interesting discussion has been taking place in Painttalk.com about green painting and green paints. The thread started with an opinion that marketing green products is sometimes influenced by unrealistic expectations of how they should perform. Are the new paints performing like the paints of yesterday? What about their cost? Are professional painters stepping out of their comfort zone by using new green paints? Professional painters rely on products that have performed perform well in the past. There is scepticism about the new “green paints”and mostly deserved.

On the question of what is green, the question was asked about having a unified standard of what is green.
The following answer from the Original poster (from http://www.degreeofgreen.com/) addresses that question.
 “The problem with a unified standard is that there is no unified definition of what “green” means. The three most-used independent certifiers, Greenguard, Greenseal and SCS, all have their own set of criteria. Plus, none of them address toxicity of ingredients that make up less than 1% of the volume. For folks with allergies, asthma and chem sensitivity, this wont help them. All in all, the independent third party certifiers are simply providing a rubber stamp for using the approved paints on a LEED project. In a home, who cares about LEED? In my years of being in this business, never has any home owner ever asked me “does this paint meet GS-11?” They don’t care about that. They ask questions like “will this paint be safe for my autistic child?” or “can I use this even though I’m pregnant?” Currently there is NO standard that addresses these questions. Therefore, you have to rely on what the mfg’s say and the track record their products have.”

By Sylvia O’Brien of Colour Theory

2010 will bring two distinct points of view  to colour in decor .

One trend is driven by Generation Y… one by we boomers.

      According to the colour forecasters at Pittsburgh Paints, the Gen Y kids want fantasy. They are influenced & delighted by the strong colours ever-present on the world wide web. They know colour is accessible, affordable and can easily be re-invented when it comes in the form of paint.

       The strength of  bright colour supports the act of throwing caution to the wind, reinvention, and change, change, change. Visualize red & yellow with a hit of electric blue…or chartreuse and turquoise with a dollop of magenta. High voltage choices to exhibit the mindset of the fearless young.

      Their parents (the boomers) have a different plan. They’ll want a break from the incessant visual stimulus that they are inundated with every day. They’ll be drawn to cooler shades and calmer chroma. Think, warm greys, taupes and ‘coffee culture’ brown tones with hints of colour in the form of accents - oranges, golds or muted purples.    These  accent colours can all be found in today’s appliances…. along with a lot more colours! Clever appliance manufacturers aren’t they?

Our homes are our sanctuary, no matter what generation we were born into.

 For the Boomers, cocooning is nowhere near over. The Gen Y kids don’t get that yet!

Sylvia O’Brien is a colour consultant and creative director of Colour Theory, Toronto, Canada

416-766-6789

It took a while, but almost every paint manufacturer has some low or zero VOC paint. The problem starts as soon as universal colourants are added, the low VOC content of the paint becomes history.
New Benjamin Moore paint lines are now using their new waterbourne colourant system. When you add colour, even a lot of colour, in their low or zero VOC paint, the VOC level of the paint doesn’t change much. The Natura paint from Benjamin Moore has other reasons to be considered very eco-friendly, read our interview with a Benjamin Moore representative.
How does Natura perform? Our Oshawa Painters put the paint to the test. The customer was very environmentally aware and using Natura to paint the entire house made sense. We ended up using both Mat and Eggshell Natura and the feedback received from the painters was very positive. The paint was easy to work with and hiding was excellent, even with the bright red colour shown in the picture.
The painters and the customers were happy that there was hardly any smell of paint, even with the red colours. That is a first for us with any manufacturer’s paint we used. The conclusion is that Natura works as promised and will become our residential paint of choice.

In Toronto when we talk about painting a stucco ceiling, we are talking  about painting an acoustical, popcorn textured ceiling. It is similar to the one in the picture, painted by our Richmond Hill Painters.

•  When painting a stucco ceiling it is important to do some research first. Has your stucco ceiling been previously painted? If the texture feels weak to the touch and easy to “crumble” it has never been painted before. In that case an oil primer or paint is your best bet to avoid stucco from peeling off on your roller. The builder stucco does not always adhere as well as paint does and is water soluble. Using oil primer or paint will help to prevent this problem. Zinsser makes a product called “Odorless”. It is not odourless at all but it definitely has less odour than most oil primers. It is also a stand alone finish coat for textured ceilings, so using two products is not necessary.
• Everything in the room has to be covered! Painting stucco ceilings can be very messy. Using dropcloths on carpet or hardwood and plastic over furniture will protect customer property. Also, be prepared to be splattered by the paint/stucco as you roll the ceiling. Protecting yourself with a hat, long sleeves and even safety glasses is a good idea.
• Roll in very small sections as it becomes difficult to see which areas have been saturated and which have not. Do not go back to areas that have been painted as texture may be damaged. Wait for first coat to dry completely. The good news is, that the second coat will be easier to apply as the texture has been now sealed. Clean up the mess and yourself and you are done.

When you need Professional Painters in Toronto to paint your stucco ceiling, call 416 733-7767 or request an estimate online

Keeping paint out of our lakes 

 

       When you have finished a project, it is very rare that you would have used all of the paint you purchased for the job. It is always important to determine what to do with your leftover paint. Painting with dangerous or toxic paints is sometimes unavoidable, however there are safe and environmentally friendly ways of disposing of this excess paint.

       One option is to put that excess paint to good use by someone who needs it. You could donate the leftover paint to non-profit agencies, community groups, churches, or to a friend who wants to paint. Many people opt to keep their leftover paint for touchups or future painting projects. In this case, be sure to read the storage instructions on the can.

        If you want to dispose of the paint, there are environmentally friendly options. There are different methods of paint disposal for oil-based and latex paints:

• Oil based paints and solvents are hazardous waste. Do NOT throw the paint/can into the garbage or down the sink. Your municipality should have a special hazardous waste collection program for this type of hazardous material. There are often drop off sites where you can go to bring your excess paint. Refer to your local municipality for specific rules and regulations.
• Water based paint should not be poured down the sink or taken to the landfill either. One method of disposing of the extra paint is to fill a paper bag or box with a material such as sand or saw dust and pour the excess paint over this material. The material should absorb the excess paint. Allow the mixture to dry in a well-ventilated area away from direct heat, children and pets. Once the mixture has dried, it can be disposed of in the garbage.

         To specifically dispose of the paint cans, allow the paint residue in the can to dry completely by removing the lid. Once the reside is dry it can be peeled out of the can and thrown in the garbage. The can may then be recycled. Be sure to leave the label on so that it is visible during recycling collection. 

Joanne