Interior paints

Our new tests reveal surprises about what paint makers claim and what you get

One-coat hiding

Olympic Premium and Benjamin Moore Aura have lower VOC levels than other tested paints and did a good job in this hiding test.
Photograph by Michael Smith

Green is hot for paint companies, and we're not talking about color. "Good for your family, better for our world," proclaims the Freshaire Choice label. "0% Toxic. 100% Smart," Mythic Paint says. "An ideal choice for rooms such as nurseries," Sherwin-Williams suggests.

Allowable levels of VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, for paints and products such as aerosol air fresheners, carpets, and furniture have been toughened because VOCs contribute to ozone and smog formation and are linked to respiratory illnesses and memory impairment. And claims by many manufacturers have grown bolder as they market to an audience more familiar with and perhaps more receptive to buying green goods.

So we shook things up in this report on water-based interior paints by measuring the VOC content of finishes that makers maintain have no VOCs and several high scorers that are marketed with no special claims. We detected VOCs in every paint, though none exceeded any applicable government limits, and some paints had lower levels than others.