Natural paints are products of their ingredients. They are all different and have a range of characteristics that distinguish them from each other. This is completely different from conventional modern paints which are designed to work in a similar way to each other.
So some natural paints work well with lime plasters, others have no VOCs, some use linseed oil, some soya oil and others no oils at all. This alters how long they take to dry, how well they cover, what type of finish they create etc.
One thing that natural paints have had problems doing in creating a scrub-able surface. Most people don’t scrub their walls down, but for those with particularly artistic young children, or very happy dogs who like going for walks in the park in the rain etc it might be a necessary task.
EarthBorn produce a wall glaze that will sit over the top of their clay and emulsion paints that will produce a wipe-able surface, so this is one option. However Auro have created a scrub-able satin paint, the 324 range. This is a very ‘green’ product that is made from high quality raw materials that are all responsibly sourced. So this is another option, but it is an expensive one. The third option is the Green Paints Emulsion range. This has just been reformulated to be a scrub-able paint. It has a soya oil base that has been responsibly sourced, but cannot be guaranteed GM free. However it is the price of a normal natural paint, so it may well be the answer for people needing to clean their walls, whilst maintaining their sustainable credentials.
