Comments on: how green is benjamin moore's new aura paint?

By: Dallas Painter

Dallas Painter — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 20:35:23 +0000

I have been painting houses for a long time and I always prefer using traditional paints. They smell for a couple of days, then smell goes away and paint lasts a long time. Zero Voc paints smell less, but they are not so durable. And as far as all good stuff they put on the side of the can, it is not regulated and what they claim is not always true for the actual qualities of the paint usually has.

By: Jez Rourke

Jez Rourke — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 07:12:14 +0000

I’ve had some experience with Eco Spec, which I do love. I’m a seriously chemically sensitive person. Having said that, I’ve painted every room in my house with it myself over the years more than once. I had an issue with my bedroom when I painted it, but I’ve come to believe it was my fault and the nature of the paint.

I believe I painted that room in the late spring, i put the paint on really heavy. It smelled for months. I called BM and spoke to a chemist I believe who asked me if it smelled like paint. I replied no, it did not smell like paint but it smelled like something…. He asked “anti freeze” Yes! that’s exactly what it smelled like.

He explained to me that this paint (I assume all no VOC paints) are unlike traditional paints in that they don’t have hardeners in them, so the paint has to dry naturally. So it takes longer to cure. He said he imagined that in New York it was very humid that time of year (which it was) which further kept the paint from curing. Also, unlike tradtional paints that use chemcials for such things it has a drop of an anti freeze in it so that it doesn’t freeze in the can.

He was very nice and really took a lot of time with me to help me understand. His suggesting was of course AIR which I thought I had plenty of…. my windows were open full time. At his suggesting I got some fans to blow across the walls. Of course it eventually cured and stopped smelling. I see it as kind of a trade off…. you can’t think of these paints the same way as traditional paints. They’re not. The rooms I had painted that had access to full blown ice cold air conditioning and open windows did not have this problem. I assume, less humidity etc.

Take that into consideration and work with it. As chemically sensitive as I am I could paint up until 2AM and go to sleep in the same room without a problem. I appreciate the safety of eco spec. I wouldn’t consider painting with anything else.

By: Painter

Painter — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:21:58 +0000

This product is the most expensive eco-paint on the market. Doesn’t seem worth it to me. I use Z-Coat from general paint. seems very solid.

By: RUSSELL

RUSSELL — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:31:54 +0000

I have major issues with Benjamin Moore’s Natura paint. I painted 13 months ago, and I am STILL waiting for the outgassing to stop (which is insane considering that this paint is marketed as Zero VOC). We have to air out the house more than once a day with strong fans and all windows open for several hours a day. Even though I have found dozens of similar complaints with some people going as far as replacing the sheet rock, or moving out of their homes, Benjamin Moore claims to know nothing about the problem. I suspect, since some people are happy with their Natura paint, that Benjamin Moore has had some bad paint batches. Believe me, this is 100 times stronger (even a bit fishy smelling) than regular paint, but the fact that it doesn’t seem to ever completely outgas is what is most annoying.

By: D'Lynne

D'Lynne — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:41:52 +0000

Was talked into the benefits of AURA by Benj. Moore dealer. Bought 2 colors…Glazed Pear for main walls….Orange Mumba for accents walls. DISASTER>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The orange is peeling off in long 2 inch wide rubbery strips…consistency of a rubber band. The Pear shows marks and weeks later when I moved the shower curtain rod, it took off a chunk of paint 4 x 4. Went back to BM dealer…they say its ME! Funny how I’ve painted a thousand thinks with regular BM paint. The manager told me he has never had a complaint with Aura…everyone loves it. I demanded replacement with regular BM paint. I have to scrape and re-do the bathroom! Also…was told it may not work putting regular over AURA. Was anyone told when they bought AURA that it may be difficult to paint over at a later date??????? They offered to send a rep. from Benj. Moore to my house….can’t imagine he/she will tell me the paint is sub-par! I have told everyone I know….DON’T BUY AURA!!!!!!!

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:31:29 +0000

I have been told that Aura is low VOC, not zero VOC. There are actually two product lines from Benjamin Moore that are more environmentally “green”: Natura and EcoSpec. Natura uses a zero VOC colorant unlike other low/zero VOC options and therefore does not increase the VOC when tinted at the store. I have tried Natura and think that it actually hides better than the Regal wall paint

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:33:22 +0000

I’ve had the same problem with the Eco-spec product, the tackiness! My GOD the tackiness! It should be used as adhesive not paint. We used the products, (both the paint and primer) on some built in shelves and it doesn’t seem to cure, the Rep insists that it will but its been close to two months…so here’s my solution, instead of ripping everything out, I suggest waiting untill you are sure the paint is fully dry (as dry as it will get) and spray over it with a water bourne acrylic clear coat. I’ve experimented with this in my shop and it seems to take care of the problem, period. It does change the sheen, and you’ll have to find someone with experience spraying lacquers, (its not so easy people) These water bourne lacquers can stink up the house, but there is a product out there called agualente made by ML Campbell that has low VOC. I’m impressed with it, the smell isn’t terrible. As far as bubbling and such we’ve experienced no problems with it. I actually think that as such it gives you excellent cover, sprays decent ect But come on Ben Moore, what is up with the super glue properties? Obviously my solution is limited to use on woodwork, walls and such might want to be approached a little differently, but I’m sure a solution could be found as long as the PAINT WAS APPLLIED CORRECTLY, so many times I’ve seen walls painted without primer, or using the wrong primer, drywall dust everywhere, the mud not dry enough ect, here is where you might run into problems of bubbling. Paint is a touchy subject and can get very time consuming if its applied on the wrong substrate. Usually solutions can be found as long as the homeowner, contractor, and sub-contractors work together without freaking out.

good luck to all

Side note: Remember even trees emit VOC’s! Check out this little tid bit:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_18_165/ai_n6110279

By: Keli

Keli — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:23:17 +0000

We encountered the same problem with the ECO SPEC primer…sticky, tacky to the touch, bubbles and peels like a bad sunburn. Anything set against the wall and pulled away pulls the top coat of paint off with it. We have people and pets in our household that cannot handle toxic stuff…that’s why we went with the ECO SPEC primer. Very disappointing. My general contractor blames the painter. I’m sure it’s the primer, not the painter.

By: henry

henry — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:27:04 +0000

if i’m not mistaken the eco-spec line came out before the aura line. also sounds like something to take up with that particular store.

By: Bev

Bev — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:21:31 +0000

Please reply if you have info on sticky tacky Ecospec Semi Gloss
Bev