Question from Angelique
Please forgive me if I posted this yesterday. I don’t remember! We are painting the exterior of our house. Sherwin Williams SuperPaint just squeaks into the “low VOC category” with 49 grams/liter (the threshold is 50.) AFM Safecoat has 17 grams/lister.
17 SOUNDS like a lot less than 49, but is it in practice? I find that sometimes the “mainstream” products are actually better for me because they dry faster.
I know Debra successfully used Sherwin Williams interior paint. Anyone have good or bad luck with AFM Safecoat exterior paint? Or Sherwin Williams?
Debra’s Answer
Readers?
I’m trying to remember which paint we purchased the last time we purchased exterior paint. I don’t remember.
But here’s something to consider. I am always in favor of using the least toxic product. That said, there is a big difference in your exposure to the VOCs in interior paint versus exterior paint.
Interior paint is in an enclosed space where fumes can concentrate and rise to high levels. It also takes longer for paint to dry indoors unless you use heat to speed the process.
VOCs in exterior paint are greatly diluted by the ocean of outdoor air, and drying is speeded by air movement of breeze, which also carries outgassing VOCs away to a different location.
So if cost, performance, or other factors would lead you to choose a brand that is not the least VOCs possible, it’s less critical with an exterior paint and much more important to get the lowest VOCs for interior paint.
