A new year with new paint

As 2010 rolls in new regulations take affect to regulate the paint retail business.
The paint companies have started to roll out their lines of green paint, namely paint with low VOC's (volatile organic compounds).
These paints have a much shorter open time (working time) and really are still at a stage where improvement is needed. Some of the immediate things painters notice is the way these paints will clog up brushes and will dry on your roll if you don't cover it when you go for coffee.
A small spritzer is a good thing to keep around, I often spray my roller tray if I'm leaving it for more than a few minutes. Also I keep a roll of cling film to wrap my brush at lunch time and put some across my roller tray to prevent that thin skin from forming and later transfered to the wall.
The new paints are a result of legislation in California that trickles around to the rest of us some time later. I personally liked the alkyde modified exterior paints that Benjamin Moore made for decades, and will be sad to see them go.
I've got news for you folks, 100% acrylic is not all it's cracked up to be, acrylic softens in water and is not as good as their modified cousins.
Have a good 2010 painting and stay safe. Ken Wells http://www.mercuryminc.net/