Chalk paint can be a great way to revive old furniture or give your furniture a fresh look. Not all chalk paints are created equally though. Let’s take a look at three non-toxic chalk paint brands, and the safest wax to finish and protect your pieces.
The biggest appeal of chalk paint is that sanding is usually not required. It’s known for its ability to cover blemishes and imperfections, and anyone can use it. Chalk paint offers an ultra-matte finish that gives a cool, somewhat vintage vibe.
Is Chalk Paint Safe?
Not even chalk paint is 100% safe, but overall, chalk paint is less toxic than typical paint. Chalk paint is made of calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide white pigment and diiron trioxide among other ingredients that are often not fully disclosed.
Most chalk paint is naturally low VOC and low odor. Chalk paint can be a fairly safe option for furniture, cabinets, and I’ve even seen it used on walls for certain projects. When you make your own chalk paint then it is only as safe as the paint you choose to use and the mixture you order. Since you are doing the mixing, the inhalation risk is greater, so double check that ingredient list.
You always want to choose the lowest VOC paint you can find for the project. No VOC wall paint is pretty easy to find now, but it’s a little harder for say traditional cabinet paint. As far as chalk paint goes, there a quite a few no VOC options available. The finishes can be tricky, but we’ll cover that too.
What are VOCs?
VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. According to the EPA, VOCs are compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility. These are often man-made chemicals that are used and produced in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals and refrigerants.
VOCs are 2-5 times higher indoors than outdoors regardless of where you live (city vs. rural area). According to the EWG, VOCs are linked to a number of short-term conditions like dizziness, headaches and fatigue as well as long-term conditions like kidney, liver or nervous system damage.
Common paint additives and preservatives can also disrupt hormones, cause cancer and trigger asthma. This applies to all paint not specifically chalk paint.
For more specifics on the toxins found in paint and a list of zero VOC (and beyond paints) for the home, see my post, Baby Safe Paint.
Two Types of Testing for Paint
EPA Method 24
This is a common and only EPA accepted method for testing paints, finishes and similar. This method of testing is known to contain some errors and blind spots. It excludes a number of harmful compounds. Because of this, ASTM D6886 and other methods are being explored.
ASTM D6886
This method can be used measure the VOCS that are exempt in the EPA Method 24. content. Some of these VOCs are acetone, methyl acetate, t-butyl acetate and p-chlorobenzotrifluoride. The ASTM is an international organization that sets safety standards in various industries. You will often see toy companies advertise that their product meets the ASTM safety standards.
Which Chalk Paint Brands are Really Non-Toxic?
Chalk Mountain Furniture Paint, Retique It Chalk Furniture Paint by Renaissance and Country Chic Chalk Style Paint are some of the most non-toxic chalk paints available at this time.
I almost always discover a new brand when I write a blog post, and this post is no different. Let’s take a look at the details of these three brands.
Chalk Mountain Furniture Paint
Chalk Mountain paint a couple years back when I was wanting to paint an entertainment center. My experience was great. Fumes were not an issue, and the paint went on smooth and still looks perfect two years later. Chalk Mountain Paint is no VOC and low odor. It is also slightly more affordable than the other options we’ll discuss.
Chalk Mountain also offers all natural waxes to finish the pieces made right here in the USA. The waxes are made with only natural ingredients. Like the paint they are low odor, zero VOC and do not contain harsh chemicals or additives. Due to the lack of additives, dry time is two to three days.
Retique It Chalk Furniture Paint by Renaissance
Renaissance Retique It Chalk Furniture Paint has zero VOCs and zero emissions. It is hypoallergenic, made in the USA and promises “virtually no odor.” They do not have their own website where you can request additional information, but you could always try reaching out via Amazon to inquire about any specific ingredients.
The color pictured above is tranquility, which I absolutely love! This paint runs about a dollar per ounce so choose your color wisely!
Country Chic Chalk Style Paint
Country Chic Chalk Style Paint is the nice surprise I stumbled upon when researching for this blog post. The company tests their paint according to the ASTM D6886 standard. The results are reported at <1 VOCs making it an ultra-low VOC paint.
The company also sought out independent testing via the strict European Toy Safety Standards (BS EN 71-3). This standard restricts the release of lead and eighteen other toxic chemicals, such as arsenic, cadmium and mercury, which aside from lead, are commonly found in paints.
Their All-In-One Decor Paint was tested and found to comply with the Toy Safety Standard (BS EN 71-3). This means that their paint is proven safe for use on children’s toys and furniture. This seems like the perfect paint to use for the vintage wooden rocking horse to go in the nursery.
The great and unique thing about Country Chic is that they supply their full testing results on their website. The level of transparency is refreshing! This paint is slightly pricier than the first two, but that explains the company’s ability to pay for quality safety testing.
Are Popular Chalk Paint Brands Toxic?
Paint is generally toxic by nature, but most of us want or need to paint from time to time. Here is what we know about the household brands of chalk paint.
Annie Sloan
Annie Sloan chalk paint claims to be low VOC and low odor. Their website shares that it contains 2.2g/l or 0.13% VOCs. Annie Sloan paints contain crystalline silica, a known human carcinogen, so the paint comes with a Prop 65 warning. They are a little vague about their ingredients, so this is all of the information available online. I am a details person, so I’d love to know more about their ingredients.
Rust-Oleum Chalked Ultra Matte Paint
This brand does not make any eco-friendly or even low VOC claims, so I assume it’s not. It also contains crystalline silica, so the label also includes Prop 65 Warning, which means it contains ingredients known to the state of California to cause cancer. The label also states that 22% of the mixture consists of ingredient(s) of unknown acute toxicity.
These are paints, so it’s not exactly surprising they contain toxins, but with so many awesome, ridiculously safe chalk paints out there, I would likely pass on both of these household names. Some things don’t work well without the toxic ingredients, but between personal experience and online reviews, I don’t think chalk paint is one of those things at least under typical use.
Safest Waxes for Non-Toxic Chalk Paint
Daddy Van’s offers a great non-toxic furniture wax that is zero odor and zero VOC. Daddy Van’s is a USDA certified 100% biobased furniture polish/protectant that is made in Asheville, NC. It is a blend of food safe beeswax, carnauba wax and olive oil. I used this for my last chalk painting project, and I would definitely buy it again. The company utilizes third party testing to ensure the safety of their product.
Chalk Mountain offers a similar all-natural furniture wax made of tree nut oil, Brazilian carnauba, beeswax and other vegetable waxes. It is no VOC and very low odor. They have quite the selection of tints for their wax, and like Daddy Van’s, they are made in the USA. I don’t know about you, but when you can eat it, I feel like that’s a pretty good confirmation of safety!
Precautions to Take When Using Chalk Paint
You should always paint outside or in a ventilated garage when possible. It is a good idea to let furniture off gas before bringing it inside when you can. If you need to paint inside, leave windows open for as long as possible to help with off gassing. Some toxins you smell but some you don’t assume the toxins are gone when the odor is gone.
It may be helpful to paint in spring or fall or whatever season offers the most comfortable temperatures based on your region. While paint off gases for months and even years, the bulk of toxins are from the wet paint when it is being applied. If you are preparing for a baby, paint furniture and/or walls as far ahead of time as you can.
Takeaways
I hope this post proved there are several safe and non-toxic chalk paint brands out there … likely several more that I don’t know about yet. You don’t have to settle for questionable ingredients that you have to worry about. And as for waxes, well, there are two that are so safe you can eat them!
As always, thanks for stopping by and trusting me to share information with you!
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