Monday, June 1, 2009

Benjamin Moore Natura: Gorgeous Paint, No VOCs!

In the neverending quest to actually get this joint in shape prior to ecobaby making an appearance, we've been anxiously comparing paint chips, wondering what the best colour is - and once we figured that out, we also had to decide on the right paint. Luckily, one google search brought us to Benjamin Moore Natura. This Award-winning product is one of the few "no-VOC" paints available on the market - not only looking at VOCs, but also at all volatile compounds in the paint that would affect indoor air quality. Both the paint and the tint emit lower total volatile compounds than any other national zero-VOC product in Canada.

What does this mean in a practical sense? Well, low- and no-VOC paint tends to dry a bit quicker than many other paints, so it's a consideration when you're applying it. But other than that it works just like "regular" latex paint, with one big difference: The smell is far lower. Even after just having applied two coats, a room painted with Natura has as much paint smell as a room painted a week ago with regular paint. Which is great when you've got paranoid pregnant people around!

In Primer, Flat, Eggshell and Semi-Gloss and able to be tinted to any colour in the Benjamin Moore Collection, Natura is an easy choice to make for eco-friendly home designers. Check out Benjamin Moore's Website for retailers.

10 comments:

Quinton Coish said...

Homestead House Paint Co. is a local Toronto based Paint Manufacturer that offers all natural milk paints- Zero Voc's. Their 100% acrylic paints are absolutely excellent.

There's something about supporting small and local that never gets old!

Quinton Coish said...

www.homesteadhouse.ca

Anonymous said...

Did you actually use this paint or just believe all the hype about this paint? I have used other zero VOC paints and the Natura has the strongest odor. In fact, it remains for weeks and weeks. When I noticed how strong the fumes were, I stopped painting, thank goodness. Went out and bought the ICI no VOC paint - truly a no odor paint. Benjamin Moore must have used some nasty no VOC chemcicals to compenstate for the VOCs.

If you have allergies or a respiratory condition or kids or you just don't like the smell of strong paint, DON'T BUY NATURA. You will definitely regret it.

Anonymous said...

I have used Natura and the medium grade EcoSpec WB. Both are zero VOC paints and have literally no smell with the biggest difference being that Natura is thicker which increases coverage and is about 20$ more expensive. I have to disagree with Mr/Mrs "Anonymous". I have recommended and sold Natura & EcoSpec WB to Retirement homes, Hospitals and Schools and have never had a single complaint associated with smell.
Mike Jackson
Commercial & Industrial Sales Manager
Speers Paint Inc.
275 Speers Road
Oakville, On. L6K 2G1
905-337-7272
905-337-1669 (Fax)
416-456-2736 (Cell)

Anonymous said...

Mike,

I painted FIFTEEN MONTHS ago and I am still waiting for the smell to subside. All you have to do is google "Benjamin Moore Natura paint review," or "Benjamin Moore Natura paint fishy smell" and you will read about the problems people are having with Natura paint. Apparently not all cans are defective, but some definitely are. I have a file almost an inch thick with complaints I've found all over the internet. These are often people who chose the "zero VOC" paint due to a respiratory or chemical sensitivity problem, so this is a very serious problem for those affected.

GG said...

I painted child,s room with BM Natura a year ago, still smells very badly. Any advise what to do?

Lisa at Benjamin Moore said...

Benjamin Moore & Co. is making the following announcement concerning its Natura Brand paint. Certain batches of Natura flat and eggshell finish paint manufactured prior to 2010 were made with a defoamer that contained canola oil that in certain circumstances caused some consumers to experience a persistent odor problem after the paint was applied. In early 2010, the Natura flat and eggshell finishes were reformulated to replace the defoamer. This eliminated the odor problem. Batch numbers for Natura flat and eggshell finishes containing the defective defoamer are listed below. Benjamin Moore retailers were instructed to remove the old paint from retail shelves in the summer of 2010. If you experienced an odor problem from Natura paint that was purchased prior to September 1, 2010 or is from one of the listed batch numbers, please contact our complaint line at (855) 724-6802 (855-paint-02). If you can identify the batch number from the paint you used, please have it ready. We stand by our products and will address all consumer concerns caused by the paint.

(Pre-Reformulation Batches)
Product Batch Code
0512 01 023116
0512 01 081904
0512 01 102712
0512 1X 013419
0512 1X 022914
0512 1X 023217
0512 1X 033419
0512 1X 061803
0512 1X 073520
0512 1X 082207
0512 1X 083924
0512 1X 092611
0512 1X 093924
0512 1X 094429
0512 1X 103015
0512 1X 122510
0512 1X 132712
0512 2X 022611
0512 2X 033318
0512 2X 054126
0512 2X 112409
0512 3X 022106
0512 3X 022510
0512 3X 032005
0512 4X 013015
0512 4X 022611
0512 4X 031803
0512 4X 043520
0513 01 022409
0513 01 034025
0513 01 044530
0513 1X 019930
0513 1X 019931
0513 1X 019932
0513 1X 013116
0513 1X 014328
0513 1X 021702
0513 1X 021702
0513 1X 021702
0513 1X 023318
0513 1X 031702
0513 1X 033823
0513 1X 042106
0513 1X 052813
0513 1X 053520
0513 1X 073015
0513 1X 073823
0513 1X 074328
0513 1X 082510
0513 1X 092308
0513 1X 101702
0513 1X 122308
0513 2X 022106
0513 2X 023015
0513 2X 030520
0513 2X 032813
0513 2X 041601
0513 2X 043419
0513 2X 044126
0513 2X 074126
0513 2X 082914
0513 2X 103520
0513 2X 123621
0513 3X 022409
0513 3X 042914
0513 3X 092510
0513 4X 013621
0513 4X 014429
0513 4X 032409
0513 4X 043015
K511 01 042308
K512 01 033116
K512 01 072813
K512 1X 041601
K512 1X 043621
K512 1X 113116
K512 2X 054126
K512 3X 031904
K512 3X 052106
K512 4X 041803
K512 4X 052813
K513 01 054126
K513 1X 041702
K513 1X 043722
K513 1X 083520
K513 1X 093520
K513 1X 103621
K513 1X 112005
K513 1X 132712
K513 2X 024025
K513 2X 052005
K513 2X 053015
K513 3X 052005
K513 3X 053318
K513 3X 123015
K513 4X 033823
K513 4X 052611
K513 4X 053621

Unknown said...

I also use those pastel color paint in redesigning some of my furniture los angeles and I don't smell the paint anymore. I put some odor neutralizers to moderate the odor of paint. I think we should make some adjustments about it.

Ryan Donovan III said...

I'm planning to buy office cubicles in long island and I would use this paint. I read that it dries faster and has no foul smell so we can still do office work on the other half of the office.

Louisse Campbell said...

We used this paint in renovating our apartment for rent legaspi village last weekend. I’m glad we didn’t smell some stinky paint even after we applied it in two coats.