The word ‘Eco’ makes a direct reference to the character and quality of the paints recommended here - be they totally biodegradable or the  safe paints from the 'Environmental Choice Tick' manufacturers.  The manufacture of these paints, from the raw/base materials that enter the factories and right throughout the production process is an 'Ecological/Environmental Friendly' designed technology that gives the customer a paint finish to be lived with proudly, naturally.

Interior or exterior, there is a biodegradable paint for most surfaces with the same guarantee of finish that conventional paint companies offer.  All types of finishes are included, from Germany there are fantastic looking enamel lacquer finishes and wall paints that are a joy to use with a finish that carries on pleasing. And there are special paint effects that leave one breathless from the Italian master effects company Oikos.  Textured finishes, limes washes, cement base paints, these paints are generations ahead in regard to the longevity of the paint co looking quite natural, always.  Up to the minute colour ranges - timeless colours that can only come from natural sources.

If you are about to build your dream home then the expense has to be worth it in every detail.  e.g. The main point (or one of them) about building a new dream home means we can put the rooms where we want them - in the order that will fit comfortably into our lives while living there.  And a major detail in the finishing details of the Architectural Plan is choosing colours for interior/exterior painting.  And if you are building sustainable, then it is only natural that since the majority of your every living day has paint colour in it in some shape, way or form, then it maybe good to have an Eco Friendly Paint that reflects a healthy living environment and ages so well that repainting is half the cost to regaining a new surface.  

Because of current world events and related environmental concerns about Nature, all sorts of things are been said about biodegradable paints – a lot of positives and a lot of negatives, for and against, the debate goes on. One of the things said by those who are not up with modern natural paint technology refers to the failure of a paint product that hasn’t got a high amount of chemicals in it to make it stick, last, shine - that sort of thing. 

Sure, for conventional paints - produced in factories using products made mainly from man/made/created resources, and then water added, they definitely need a bit of synthetic help to work.  But at the end of their life, (after five years or less, dependent on the quality/circumstances of manufacturer/quality of resources etc) what’s left is a cracked or peeling paint coating that takes a lot of effort and cost to put right/smooth over before more of "probably" the same product is put back on.  I'm not necessarily saying you're guilty of  buying cheap paints but "buyer beware" is the caution given to the bargin hunter.  Quality buying has an "inherent guarantee" of sorts. That's where companies such as Resene, although it's premium buying there, have the stuff guarantees are made of in the paint industry.

It’s a repetition thing really, we grow up with using synthetic paints so they become the norm, we have forgotten (or never learned) about the real thing with biodegradable paint products.  Silicate paints are amazing with a natural finish "look" that appeals instantly, inside or outside, they penetrate the surface of the plastered wall and will last as long as the wall itself but that is only a small part of that range of biodegradable paints. For more info on that - go to www.biopaints.com 

So, a popular consensus was that for paints to last a long time they have to have solvents, chemicals etc in them.  Well, someone should have told that to the Egyptians.  Archaeologists are constantly digging up graves that are thousands of year’s old revealing drawings and paintings where the colours are still easily visible of the primary/secondary/complementary colours mixed from natural pigments/resins of that time.  Now this point which I mentioned many years ago on my original web site has been rewritten on another paint distributors web page which is O.K. because as they say copying is the best form of flattery. 

But seriously though, paint companies with the Environmental Choice Tick like Resene are producing safe paints that if they do end up in a tomb somewhere then I bet in two thousand years time when it is dug up they'll be saying how amazing the colours are, because that is the quality of the paint you get from these people these days! 

In saying that, it is pointed out that we have modern living conditions which are vastly different from two thousand years ago let alone even a hundred years ago, this is where synthetic paints such as epoxies are very useful for some commercial areas like factories, hospitals, commercial kitchens etc.  But we’re not talking here about using two pack urethanes in your lounge that’s for sure.  But an eco friendly paint that emits no invisible gases and is low maintenance can be an appealing thought.
  
The make up/composition of today’s paints, as we understand them, is either acrylic or oil/solvent based and  there are the 'two packs' such as the urethanes for example, but these are getting replaced gradually with acrylic bases that are more friendly towards the environment.  For the most part, we use acrylics in living areas, oil paints in wet/service areas and solvent paints in commercial situations. 

Natural paints are available for these areas also, but since been reduced to a niche market these past 60 years or so, natural paint distributors do not have the ‘in-your-face’ marketing that we are used to seeing around the place as with the major paint companies.  Really though, it should be round the other way, for a healthy living or working atmosphere, pleasing looks and easy maintenance reasons, biodegradable paints should be the major market player, if only because they are better for us to live with.

The paints developed by Resene are a credit to them, mainly in-regard to the costs they have put into tecnology/research to bring about a safe user product that is vastly different and superior from paints made in the not too distant past. The finish that comes with these paints is professional and easy to achieve, plus they dry well and have a natural look that at times is very hard to tell apart from a biodegradable paint coating!