2009 VOC requirements

[Chris Ricker]

I was speaking with my finish monger today, he told me of the new rules concerning VOC's ( Volatile Organic Compounds)which will be in effect for 2009. VOC's are the compounds which aid in leveling and drying of varnish, paint and other oil based products.
If I understood him correctly, the EPA is lowering the amount of allowable VOC's released into the air, not the VOC's in the product. So, there are certain products which are not allowed to be sold in gallons anymore for fear of releasing too many VOC's if the entire gallon is used at the same time, but the same product is still allowed to be sold in quarts.
This may seem confusing, and it is to me, but what concerns me is that some smaller companies who make excellent products may be force out of business due to not being able to sell in bulk(gallons) any more. I have used a certain varnish, Van-O_Var, made by the Vanguard Co. in Marietta, Ohio for years with very good results. now I'm being told that the Co. may go out of business due to these rule changes.
Has anyone heard of these changes? if so I guess I'll have to find another varnish.

[Steve Schoene]

This is not an EPA rule change, it is being done at the state level working around the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO). Similar rules have already gone into effect in other areas (I live in the OTC area Ozone Transportion Commission area.) In varnish the VOC limit will drop from 450g/L to 350 g/L, with an exception for small containers, and a three year sell through exceptiion allowing non-complying products to still be sold for three years if the date of manufacture was before the effective date. There should be a lot of products that meet these limits.

Frankly I don't really see how shifting to small containers should be all that onerous a change. I'd bet there are dramatically more quart containers of varnish sold than gallons sold. Not selling in quarts is just forfeiting a large chunk of the market already.

Here is a pretty good web site outlining the VOC rules for LADCO and other areas from Pittsburgh Paints. http://corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/PA...ions/ohil.html

[glenn bradley]

The BORGs in SoCal have stopped carrying many finishes and replaced them with water borne products. My lumber yard will no longer have BB ply as it doesn't meet the new requirements, etc.

[Steve Schoene]

In the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) area of southern California the rules are much tighter that anywhere else in the US, and as far as I know, there isn't the small container exception like there is in the rest of the US.

[Jim Becker]

Yup, not new. The Lenmar varnish that the floor guys that did our addition used is no longer available in gallons...they did 2200+ square feet of flooring using quarts. The manufacturer does have a product in gallons, but the contractor doesn't like it... That said, the fumes from the stuff they used was unreal...I had to move our birds to my shop to protect them and went to work from Starbucks for two days, myself.

The net effect of the changes in VOC requirements is certainly bolstering the manufacturers who concentrate on water borne products...and the result is that those products are getting pretty darn good in many respects. Other than shellac, I don't use any oil based products (outside of some wipe-on for turnings) in my woodworking and would never spray solvent based lacquer anyway. (I'm not setup to do that safely in any way)

[Daniel Berlin]

Yup, not new. The Lenmar varnish that the floor guys that did our addition used is no longer available in gallons...they did 2200+ square feet of flooring using quarts. The manufacturer does have a product in gallons, but the contractor doesn't like it... That said, the fumes from the stuff they used was unreal...I had to move our birds to my shop to protect them and went to work from Starbucks for two days, myself.

The net effect of the changes in VOC requirements is certainly bolstering the manufacturers who concentrate on water borne products...and the result is that those products are getting pretty darn good in many respects. Other than shellac, I don't use any oil based products (outside of some wipe-on for turnings) in my woodworking and would never spray solvent based lacquer anyway. (I'm not setup to do that safely in any way)

I don't even use alcohol based shellac anymore, since target makes a waterborne dispersion (they use glycol ether to dissolve it, rather than denatured alcohol).

[Jim Becker]

I don't even use alcohol based shellac anymore, since target makes a waterborne dispersion (they use glycol ether to dissolve it, rather than denatured alcohol).

Yes, they do. I just don't like it. Personal preference. But anything else I spray is from Target. In fact, I got a box with two gallons of USL off the Big Brown Truck today!

[Chris Ricker]

Thanks for the link Steve, there is a lot of good info there. I guess that after the holidays I'll be looking for a new, safer finish while my current one is being outdated.
I'm really not complaining, I certainly understand that if a product is unhealthy and unsafe it should be restricted. I'm just disappointed that I will have to find a new finish after I adjusted to the old one.

Everything is a process I guess, and change is inevitable!

[Steve Schoene]

The amount of VOCs that comes from furniture finishing is pretty much trival in the overall scheme of things.

[Jim Becker]

The amount of VOCs that comes from furniture finishing is pretty much trival in the overall scheme of things.

Overall, absolutely. But to the individual doing the application...it's pretty significant. Aside from the nice results I get, I'm more enamored with the fact that the water borne products I use are a lot safer for "me"...

[Chris Ricker]

well maybe I'll be able to use my spray rig indoors for once

Any particular brands you would recommend? (spray or brush)

Thanks

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Yah the rules are clear. You need to have a product that you can feed to infants exclusively as their sole source of nutrients and not only must it not cause any ill effects but, the infants must thrive on it.
If it doesn't pass this test you face life in prison and fines of up to a brazillion dollars per ounce.

[Rod Sheridan]

Yah the rules are clear. You need to have a product that you can feed to infants exclusively as their sole source of nutrients and not only must it not cause any ill effects but, the infants must thrive on it.
If it doesn't pass this test you face life in prison and fines of up to a brazillion dollars per ounce.

Glad to hear that you're taking this well Cliff........Rod.

[Chris Ricker]

I haven't used milk paint in a while, I'll try it on my cat first.