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What are Eco Friendly Paints?

What are Eco Friendly Paints?

Terms like “eco-friendly”, “fair-trade”, and “green”, are popping up everywhere these days, making it sometimes difficult to discern what exactly is being said when we encounter them proudly emblazoned on the packaging of various products (e.g. “Eco-friendly Edible Shoe Cream”).

As a painting company, the terms remain mysterious to us on many products—but when it comes to paint, we’re happy to clear the air. It can be helpful to first say what it isn’t. The first clue comes immediately after opening a can of paint. Normal or VOC paint will have a familiar strong sharp paint smell. Many people enjoy this smell. Eco friendly paint is much milder in smell, and has little of the characteristic “fresh paint” smell that people generally expect.

VOC Paint

Conventional paint, normally referred to as VOC paint (volatile organic compound), is made up of a creamy amalgam of plasticizers, adhesives, hardeners, pigments, biocides, drying accelerators, and solvents. The volatile organic compounds in the paint work as a solvent to hold all of the different elements in place as the paint dries. If not given proper time to dry, set, and air-out, the volatile organic compounds can be unhealthy to breathe in. For this reason, it’s always wise to give VOC paint plenty of time to dry.

Low VOC Paint

Though the national EPA regulation has said that indoor paint must contain less than 250 VOC grams per liter of paint, San Francisco and other communities, have tightened the regulations further to 50 grams or less. Certainly These paints are more eco-friendly, but they should not be understood as eco-friendly in the proper sense of term.

Certified Green Paint and Natural Paint

Paints are available that have no VOC traces at all, meaning that they are 100% free of VOC colorants, vinyls, plasciticers, and toxic biocides. Green organizations such as Green Seal, Greenguard and Ecolabel test paints, and you recognize truly eco-friendly paints by the certified green seal on the product. Some of these eco-friendly paints—namely, Casein paints--are made of milk proteins, lime, and non toxic pigments. Dating back to the 18th and 19th century, they come in a powder form that must be mixed with water before application. Though Casein paints are great for the environment, they are not without their practical drawbacks. The variety in color is significantly limited compared to VOC paint, and the paint itself is not nearly as durable.

Please don’t hesitate to contact MB Jessee with any questions you may have related to your eco-friendly painting options. We will be happy to guide you through the process of finding out what eco-friendly option best suits both your aesthetic and performance needs!

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Customer Reviews

“M.B. Jessee painted the exterior of my Spanish house over 9 years ago, and they did such an incredible job that they are still getting referrals from me today. The paint is holding up perfectly -- there is absolutely no peeling chipping or any other deterioration. I still remember that my final walk-through list consisted of items written on one side of a 3x5 index card (and I'm REAL picky about my house!) However, when Matt and I did that walk-through over HALF the items were no longer an issue, as his team had noticed them first and they had already been resolved.”

— JoAnn Newcomb

“Julie,Just to let you know I am very appreciative of your crew catching the plumbing/mold problem. It was very astute of them. I wanted to let you know that again your crew has done excellent work here, please pass this along to Mr. Jessee. There are some bumps in the road here, but the painting and your crew has not been one of them. Their work is the only thing going right currently, and this crew is very nice and respectful. It is much appreciated. Thank you again.”

— Beth
Oakland

“I loved working with M.B. Jessee from start to finish on a relatively small paint job that grew a bit. I felt in very good hands from the moment Matt Jessee came out to give me the estimate and talk about my job. He was very easy to talk to and he handled my changes very well. Then the actual work done by Rigoberto and Mario was impeccable. They were neat and meticulous and the paint job looks beautiful. I could not have asked for more and when I did, they accommodated me 100%. I will not hesitate to call M.B. Jessee again and to refer them to friends.”

— Nancy Kurkjian

“Hello Matt,Just another notice of thanks to your wonderful crew, Rigoberto, Javier and John. They did fantastic work, with Rigo providing meticulous and conscientious attention to the details and excellent woodwork finishing, as evidenced by the beautiful fireplace. Javier did a fantastic job in the bathroom especially, it looks "brand new," and John always does quality work, both with the interior and exterior. I can tell they care about what they do. Rigo's "punch out" was very thorough, too. I will call again when I need some more work and will definitely recommend your company and fine crew. I also felt as a homeowner, I could leave my house in their good hands during the day and that took a lot of worry from me, they were honest, prompt and reliable. They were also very kind, respectful and clean in their work, very professional. Thank you.”

— Beth Marx & Melissa Kirsch
Oakland

“Our paint crew did a great job and the foreman, Gersson was exceptionally great to work with. He was always available to answer questions, good at problem-solving, very patient, kind, and highly professional with great customer service. We definitely recommend this company, and Gersson and his crew.”

— Andrea Y.
Berkeley, CA

“The finish on my kitchen cabinets had failed, becoming tacky and grimy around the handles. M B Jessee gave me a reasonable quote, far below some others, and did an outstanding job, striping the original varnish and refinishing with a new lacquer finish. The cabinets look like new. Work was done 1 day faster than estimated. The crew was extremely hard-working, considerate, and neat. Highly recommend M B Jessee.”

— Thama B.
San Francisco, CA

“The entire MB Jessee team is courteous, efficient and professional. From scheduling and estimating to the crew managers and crew, they all did an excellent job on a small (but complicated) two room project in my house. I'm already thinking about getting them scheduled for the next project in the spring.”

— Cari Cheney

“Charles finished yesterday and did a fantastic job. We really enjoyed meeting Charles and having him in our home. He is a great guy in addition to his attention to detail in his work, the protection of our floors, walls and furnishings, and his overall interaction with us both. I would be pleased to recommend him to any of my clients.”

— Ken Morrison
Oakland

“We just wanted to let you know how pleased we are with the work of MB Jessee Painting and your employees. Everything turned out beautiful. Our foreman was great! He was punctual, professional, neat and very accommodating ... and went the extra mile. We will definitely recommend you to our friends and family.”

— Michelle & Rivers Gee

“Just wanted to let you know that the crew was great to have around the house for the past two weeks. All three of them were professional, courteous, and attentive to my thoughts/concerns and were extremely knowledgeable. They paid great attention to the detail and it shows.”

— Mark & Roberta Gross

“Everyone I dealt with was nice, helpful, and very professional. The price was reasonable! (I didn't feel like I was getting the "San Francisco price." The attention to detail and work quality was excellent. They did what they said they would do in the exact timeframe they said they would do. Highly recommend!”

— Tim Tyson

“Edy and crew are hard at work. They are doing a great job. Very professional outfit you have. Your crew is a delight. You may use me for a reference!”

— Heidi B
Walnut Creek