Although this is billed as
the “regular newsletter of the Traditional Paint Forum”
its recent appearances have been anything but regular. The last
issue was in November 2002 and this issue follows after the
latest edition of Traditional Paint News and the recent very
successful conference at the Brighton Pavilion in February 2004.
COMMITTEE CHANGES
There have been a few changes within the committee. Una Richards
has finally been allowed to retire after continuous service
since the founding of the Forum, first as Secretary and latterly
as Chairman. She has kindly agreed to allow her name and address
to continue to be used as the main contact point for the Forum
until other arrangements are made. Alan Gardiner, who has organised
several very successful conferences, has stepped down as Secretary
due to pressure of work but has agreed to stay on the Committee
as Editor. The Forum owes a great debt of gratitude to both
of them for their dedication, hard work and enthusiasm. They
have been replaced by Colin Mitchell-Rose as Chairman and Saskia
Paterson as Secretary.
The Committee has also appointed a new Membership Secretary,
Aisling McMahon, to maintain records and see t
o subscriptions.
These will now be collected annually and run from January to
December.
Members of the Committee are : -
NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Colin Mitchell-Rose was with Craig & Rose, the paint
makers, for over 30 years and has recently retired to spend
more time on historical paint research. He lives in Edinburgh
and was a founder member of the Forum.
Saskia Paterson started work in the clothing trade before
joining her parents’ firm of Huning Decorations a few years
ago. She lives in London.
Aisling McMahon works for the Office of Public Works
in Ireland and is doing an M Litt on architectural paint in
Ireland. She is involved with the recently formed Irish Paint
Forum.
BRIGHTON CONFERENCE
The eighth TPF conference was held on February 26th & 27th
2004 in the popular “Conference” venue of Brighton.
The conference theme was “Influences of the Oriental”
and where better to hold it than in the exotic surroundings
of the Royal Pavilion? Our hosts from Brighton & Hove Council
gave most generously of their time and facilities and a wide
range of excellent speakers covered not just technical aspects
of paint, lacquer and wallpapers but also gave a glimpse of
the ideas and historical context behind Orientalism. We hope
to publish the papers given at the conference in the next edition
of Traditional Paint News.
CONFERENCE 2005
Next year’s Conference will be held in London on Friday
11th and Saturday 12th March 2005. Please see the enclosed flier
for more details.
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
(VOCS)
In April 2004, the EU published a directive limiting the emissions
of VOCs from various types of decorative paints. These are to
come in over two phases, January 2007 and January 2010. VOCs
are Volatile Organic Compounds which can most simply be thought
of as the solvents, such as white spirit, used in oil based
paints. There are also very small amounts of VOCs used in emulsion
paints to help with film formation. These VOCs cause low level
ozone formation which can lead to ill-health to humans and damage
to vegetation and crops. To enable consumers to make an informed
choice, all paint tins carry a label on the back stating the
VOC content range of the paint.
Although paints are not the
largest source of VOCs, (transport produces much greater quantities)
the EU has targeted them as an easily controllable source. The
EU produces 3.3m tonnes of paints annually of which 1/3 are
solvent based and 2/3 are water based. These produce over 0.5m
tonnes of VOCs. The UK uses proportionally less solvent based
paints but still emits 40,000 tonnes of VOCs annually.
The approach of the EU is
to legislate to reduce the VOC content of various types of paints
used in the decorative sector which are sold in the EU. This
can be done by: -
°
|
Using paint
with a higher solids content that contains proportionally
less solvent. |
°
|
Replacing the VOC solvent
with a non VOC solvent – usually water, to make an
emulsion paint |
Unfortunately, neither of
these approaches provides a complete answer and the EU has recognised
that certain paints, such as gloss paint and specialist primers,
cannot be modified in this way without a severe loss to their
performance which could lead to a greater environmental impact.
Different levels of VOC have been set for solvent based and
water based paints. Often the level for the solvent paints is
set so low that they are effectively banned and the water based
one is the only alternative.
For the majority of decorative
paints, this will speed up the move from traditional oil based
paints to modern water based ones which is already taking place.
Areas of particular concern affecting historic buildings include:
-
Flat Oil paint and Eggshell Oil
paints will be effectively banned from use on walls. They may
however still be used on “trim” areas such as woodwork.
This is because the volume used on these areas is much smaller
than on walls.
Oil Gloss paints will
continue to be allowed for painting “trim” areas but
manufacturers will probably come under pressure to reformulate
them in the near future.
Many oil based varnishes
will not meet the new criteria. Either high solids versions
or water borne ones will have to be used.
There is still a question
mark over oil and water based Scumble Glazes that are used in
Graining and other paint effects as there is an argument that
they are not covered by the legislation as they are sold as
intermediates that are modified by the painter before being
used.
Traditional White Lead
paints will not be affected as they have such a high solids
content that they contain very little solvents (typically less
that 10% compared with 50% for modern gloss paint). They will
continue to be controlled by present regulations.
A complete list of what
types of paints are affected and the dates the new limits will
come into effect will be published when the new regulations
are confirmed by the UK Parliament sometime in the next few
months. In the meantime the EU directive does include a derogation
for the continued use of these materials “for the restoration
and maintenance of buildings ---- designated by competent authorities
as being of particular historic or cultural value”. DEFRA
is to organise industry and heritage representation to define
which buildings will qualify. It is hoped that this will ensure
the continued availability of these materials for use on conservation
projects. But ultimately the real test will be whether there
are any paint manufacturers left making these paints for a diminishing
market. Perhaps if the net was widened to include all listed
buildings, the market might be large enough to encourage the
manufactures?
COLIN MITCHELL-ROSE
THE TRADITIONAL PAINT FORUM
C/o Hon.Secretary: Una Richards, The National Trust for Scotland,
28 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4ET
Please note: Each issue of SMUDGE is written,
in turn, by a member of the Traditional Paint Forum, subject
to the control of the Committee. The information is provided
in good faith. It is not necessarily the view of other members
of the Forum; it is offered only as a contribution to the ongoing
debate.
