Eco Redecorating

Part 2

Following on from Part 1 of the Eco Redecorating article series, read on to find out about........

Step 6 - Repaint

Caution - Paint which has aged will have lost some of its colour and brightness over the years. Avoid touching up with brilliant white paint as this will look terrible in contrast. You can either get the colour matched at your local DIY shop or alternatively you can paint one specific area e.g. for a wall just paint one complete wall from corner to corner or for woodwork paint the entire length of skirting along one wall. The difference in colour will be disguised by how artificial and natural lighting falls on the different areas.

Eco redecorating - painting your home the greener way Walls & ceiling
When eco redecorating, the majority of natural or organic paint finishes will adhere to the walls and any pre existing wall paint finishes well. Consider this…..the underlying finish may be releasing VOCs through the eco paint you have applied to the interior walls. Some older interior paint finishes do not have fungicide additives included in the binding agents so the level of VOCs would be lower. The length of time the paint has been on the walls would also change the level of VOCs that are being released. In most cases old paint will be releasing low VOCs or paint that has been on the walls for years may not even be offgassing still.

To prevent the risk completely you would need to remove old wall and ceiling finishes before applying your eco alternative paints. Although this can take a lot of laborious hard work as old paint is difficult to get off! The danger with removing old finishes is that this could create a higher level of VOC emissions when you apply stripper to them which you breathe in. Alternatively by sanding old finishes you will inhale dust particles which contain VOCs.

The walls should be allowed to breath in older buildings such as cottages, historic and heritage buildings for structural longevity. In these cases it is better to do your best to remove the old paint finishes before applying eco alternatives that are micro porous.

Woodwork
It is easier to remove old paint from woodwork than walls & ceilings and ideally you should strip all finishes that are non micro porous, striping back to the bare timber beneath. There are a few ways to strip timber which are not as damaging as toxic paint strippers. The list below shows the most environmentally friendly ways with number 1 as the best solution and number 5 as the least favourable.

1. Washing soda: Sodium carbonate is a caustic and alkaline substance which when mixed into a paste with water is a safer alternatively to chemical wood strippers. Apply over the timber and leave for some hours before scraping off. Be sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid contact with your skin and wash down the timber afterwards.

2. Non toxic timber strippers: Made from corn or soya.

3. Sanding: Avoid inhaling dust and paint particles by wearing a mask and goggles.

4. Using a heat gun: The state of paint changes as it is heated, allowing you to easily scrape and peel away the old finish. This also increases the release and intensity of emissions which you breathe as you work.

5. Chemical timber strippers: Made with methylene chloride - a potential carcinogen and neurotoxin extremely hazardous to health.

If you choose to paint over the old finish, use sugar soap or an abrasive eco cleaning agent to clean away dirt and grime before sanding down the paint finish. The majority of woodwork finishes will adhere to traditional oil based woodwork finishes well. However some acrylic based woodwork finishes may be difficult to apply. Try sanding a sample area of woodwork and do a paint test over the old paint first.

Tips for repainting
The most important point, albeit a little selfish is to avoid doing it yourself or better still is to limit the amount of redecorating (and even eco redecorating) that you do.

♦ Old finish removal methods like wallpaper stripping and paint stripping. Heating wallpaper adhesive with a steam stripper increases the levels of dangerous chemicals being released as vapours into the air.

♦ The same when applying a stripping agent to paint, you have both the hazard to your health from the stripping agent and the paint you are stripping. All creating high levels of VOCs which you are breathing in as you redecorate.

♦ Surface preparation like sanding and filling. Dust and particles are easily inhaled whilst preparing surfaces and will contain some levels of toxins and VOCs, even the possibility of lead contamination in much older buildings (around the 1980s and prior).

♦ Even when using low or zero VOCs paint some chemical vapours are still released in larger amounts when the paint is in liquid form, as well as the release of solvents into the air when the paint is drying.

Part 3 of my eco redecorating guide continues here.......

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