Biological, bio-based, ecological, natural … Many qualifiers come to define certain paintings, but what about?
The areas of decoration and interior design are not spared by the Green wave that has swept several years ago. Indeed, ethics and ecology are now essential and all sectors offer an increasingly wide offer of organic products. What is an organic paint? How is it made? What are the regulations? Answers.
Before becoming a beautiful flat color on the wall, the paint is a mixture of several elements. A paint consists of a resin transparent, which gives the basic qualities, of solvent which make it possible to make the applicable painting (this liquid evaporates to drying and can be an oil derivative such as White Spirit or even water), of pigments which give the color, ofadjuvants bringing certain properties (anti rust, etc.) and loads, also called Mating agentswhich finalize the aspect of the product (mat, satin, shiny).
This term is not really suitable and has been used a lot for marketing reasons. A painting is distinguished from another by the origin of its components and can thus be defined from organic sourced, that is to say that its resin is made from components from the vegeta worldL (fiber, plants …) or lime, linseed oil, clay, not oil or petroleum chemistry.
The standards that govern manufacturing are written by AFNOR, a French normalization association, which notably issues the NF brand, French standard, and are numerous. But what is important to check are VOCs, volatile organic compounds. Indeed, when the solvents of the paintings evaporate, compounds pass through the ambient and pollute air. The paintings are therefore classified from A+ (low emissions) to C (strong emissions), always within the framework of what standards authorize.
Inevitably, speaking of “healthy” products, we tend to think of the little ones. Biosourced painting is therefore very suitable for a child’s room but also to all rooms from the inside, from living room to bedroom.
With this type of biosourced resin, there is a small limit to obtain products that are very brilliant. Regarding colors, the possibilities are endless. However, as we are told at clay, there is a certain limit concerning the laundry character of the paint or its use on floors or outdoors.
Regarding a buoyant market, but less developed for example than that of food, “organic” paintings are still a little more expensive than average prices. But in an eco-responsible logic, we take into account the advantages of the biosourcé, the non-harmful character of painting, the low VOCs and the good quality of the product, which makes it possible to last over time and therefore to be economical in the long term.
It is tempting and quite possible to make a natural and ecological painting. With milk, pigments, chalk or potatoes, many recipes (on the internet, offered by specialized blogs or books) allow you to develop homemade paintings. It’s up to you to test them!
(Thanks to clay for his advice)
