New Regulation in the NE

[CLASSICPW 14]

I Walked into Sherwin Williams today to pick up some color charts and the girl behind the counter handed me a flyer: VOC update. Apparently as of Jan 1st 2005 no more oil based products will be sold for interior and exterior. I checked elsewhere and I can no longer get Cabots, Sikkens and anything else, just waterborne products. This applies to New York, PA, Delaware, MD, DC, Jersey and the surrounding northern VA suburbs. Once the stock they have is gone, that's it. There are a few exemptions, but none that apply to deck resto. Sucks, I hate using waterborne products in the heat, it dries too fast.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

That's insanity. Can you post a copy of the flyer? That has to be a Sherwin WIlliams thing - our local supplier is well stocked in both Cabot and Sikkens.

Cabot has a new waterbourne product - SPF. It's also applied wet.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Call me and I'll put you in touch with the Sikkens rep so you can get it from the horse's mouth, and also get a supplier near you that has it. It sounds more like Sherwin Williams has elected to not carry those items than anything else. Some water based products have higher VOC's than some oils do....

Beth

[John Doherty 126]

Interesting

http://www.depesf.state.pa.us/news/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=455402

[Celeste 341]

This thread was on another bbs discussing it.........there is a website link in it that may shed some light as well.

http://www.deckcare.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2057&highlight=VOC

Celeste

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Maybe Russ will chime in here. It's up his alley.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I just spoke to the Maryland rep for Sikkens, you absolutely can get the products in MD, Sherwin Williams doesn't carry them, never has. They are aware of the VOC issues, and the way it works is that they are allowed to sell anything that was made in 2004, for the duration of its shelf life. They are stockpiled in each color, availability will not be a problem for Sikkens in MD. Also they will have a lower VOC line next year, so you won't miss the product. These are not going away, although they will be tweaked.

Beth

p.s. seems like many will now have acrylic in them, which will add to our stripping challenges I am willing to bet.

[CLASSICPW 14]

It's so funny how much the counter people know. I just set up an account at a local place that sells Cabots and Sikkens called Budeke's. She pretty much told me the same thing that the Sherwin Williams girl did.( the 2 shops are also a stone's throw from one another) Rod, I have been referred to a Sikkens salesman, I registered as a contracter this winter and I plan on using Sikkens on about 90% of my jobs this year. Beth, did you get my email?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Let me look and I'll call you.

Beth

[Russell Cissell 65]

New Coatings VOC Limits Go Into Effect in Mid-Atlantic

WASHINGTON—New volatile organic compound (VOC) limits on architectural and industrial maintenance coatings were scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1 in six Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia. Lower-VOC coatings over the next several months will replace inventories manufactured prior to Jan. 1, which are exempt from the new limits due to a “sell-through” provision in the regulations.

The region, one of the most densely populated and developed parts of the country, represents a significant market for architectural coatings.

The six states, members of the 12-state Ozone Transport Commission (OTC), are imposing VOC limits as low as 100 grams per liter, effective Jan. 1. The states are New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C., with several counties in northern Virginia also joining the group in enacting a VOC rule. Some of the OTC’s six other member states in New England are expected to approve VOC rules, but none were finalized in time to go into effect Jan. 1.

The National Paint & Coatings Association (NPCA), Washington, D.C., is pursuing legal challenges to the new VOC rules in Delaware and New York, with lawsuits that contend the rules present unreasonable technological requirements that could adversely affect coatings performance. A court in Delaware has ruled against the association’s challenge, but the NPCA has appealed to the state’s Supreme Court, where a decision is pending. Legal challenges to the new VOC rules also are being pursued by The Sherwin-Williams Co.

Key VOC limits imposed in the six Mid-Atlantic states on Jan. 1 include 100 grams per liter (g/L) for flat interior and exterior coatings, 150 g/L for non-flat interior and exterior coatings, 250 g/L for non-flat high-gloss coatings, 340 g/L for industrial maintenance coatings, and 200 g/L for primers and undercoaters.

A range of VOC limits will go into effect for nearly 50 other categories of coatings. Among the limits viewed as problematic is a 250 g/L standard for clear, semitransparent and opaque stains, industry representatives said.

Coatings manufacturers said they were prepared for the compliance challenge posed by the new regulations, but cautioned that coatings users will see a difference in cost.

“They (coatings products) will be more expensive as a result of increased R&D costs,” said John Schutz, president and CEO of coatings and wood-finishes manufacturer Samuel Cabot Inc., Newburyport, MA. Schutz, current chairman of the NPCA’s Architectural Coatings Committee, said customers will begin to see the effects of higher prices as inventories of pre-Jan. 1 products are depleted.

Shutz said that while coatings producers have succeeded in formulating products that will comply with the VOC limits and meet performance demands, coatings users should read product directions carefully to ensure successful application. He also said some coatings makers are likely to abandon certain product lines in response to the new regulations.

Schutz said the industry has made great strides in producing water-based coatings that equal or exceed the performance of solvent-based products.

Peter Flood, chairman and CEO of coatings manufacturer The Flood Co. and chairman of an NPCA policy committee that has been formed to address a growing array of architectural-coatings VOC issues, agreed that coatings suppliers will be able to offer products that comply with the new VOC rule in the Mid-Atlantic states. But he said some concern exists in the industry that regulations will go further, possibly duplicating the technology-forcing VOC limits adopted by California regulators.

Flood also echoed Shutz’s comments that coatings users will see higher prices, and also agreed that some coatings manufacturers will discontinue certain product lines rather than incur hefty financial outlays for reformulation.

The NPCA is recommending that companies and other interested parties obtain copies of regulations enacted by each of the states that have enacted rules, due to differences in the provisions. More information also is available from the Ozone Transport Commission. The commission’s website is located at www.otcair.org.

AIA-NIBS Agreement Forges Start to a Network of Building-enclosure Councils

The first local chapter of a planned network of building-enclosure councils was launched recently in Pittsburgh following an agreement announced by the leadership of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).

[Pams Pressure & Clean 64]

It has been my understanding that Ready Seal is already in compliance with the new VOC laws (except perhaps in California, where everything is banned :) ) with no reformulation necessary...

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Cujo -

Compliance standards in the above 6 states are TOUGHER now than in California. I would not be so sure, unless you know what the VOC content is. I too thought California was the strictest. It's not.

Beth