Master Painters Institute's New "Extreme Green" Standard

The Master Painters Institute (MPI) recently added to its Green Performance paint standards, GPS-1 and GPS-2, with the addition of the Extreme Green (X-Green) standard.

For years MPI has been known for its coating performance requirements, which test for viscosity, drying time, hiding power, scrubbability, and other factors, and cover a wide range of coating products and gloss levels. But its emissions and environmental standards have been less rigorous: some standard MPI-listed latex paints have volatile organic compound (VOC) levels greater than 150 grams per liter (g/l).

GPS-2, published in 2007, lowered the VOC levels to less than 50 g/l and imposed chemical component restrictions for heavy metals, formaldehyde, and other compounds—though trace amounts below 5 parts per million are still allowed.