Question from Nancy Carew
Hi Debra,
We are building a new house and considering using prepainted fiber cement siding. I inquired about the paint used and was informed it is Olympic PPG Machine Applied Coating. In the information I was sent it says “VOC 0.6 lbs/gal.” Can you help me understand what this means? Also, if there are VOC’s in the paint and it is painted prior to being installed do you feel this is a concern as it will be on the outside of house? Thanks.
Debra’s Answer
VOC’s are volatile organic compounds. These are the chemicals you smell in paint.
“Low VOC” is used to describe a product with a VOC content at or below 150 g/L.
“Ultra-Low VOC” products have a VOC content below 50 g/L.
Now we have to translate that. to your measurement of lbs/gallon.
That math is beyond me, however, it doesn’t matter.
It’s prepainted, which means the paint is applied and dried in a factory. The VOCs are gone by the time you get the product.
