Mythic Paint — Zero VOC, 1200+ Colours, Great Price!

 

A few weeks ago our family was on holiday near Huntsville, Ontario. While there, I dropped in to visit Jonathan and Celine MacKay, owners of Sustain Eco Store and Pure Green Magazine. When I asked about any new products they were carrying, Celine told me that they’ve brought in Mythic Paint.

Mythic was developed at the University of Southern Mississippi. It is non-toxic and zero VOC (volatile organic compounds), even when tinted. One of the dirty little secrets of some paint companies is that their paints are  zero-VOC only until they are tinted.

Volatile organic compounds are bad for our health — in addition to the immediate paint smell you get when you breathe in, paints can off-gas for another 6 years, putting all kinds of toxic, carcinogenic chemicals into our indoor air ready for us to breathe. VOCs are also bad for the environment, and the paint industry estimates that VOCs from paint manufacturing may be contributing up to 10% of chemicals responsible for ozone depletion and climate change.

Mythic paints are different than traditionally manufactured paints because they avoid using the toxic solvents usually needed to dissolve paint and colour tints (hence the absence of VOCs). However, performance and coverage are considered as good if not better than traditionally made paint. It has performed very well in scrub tests too.

But maybe what I like best about this paint is the price. Mythic Classic sells for $42.99-$54.99 per gallon. That is an incredible bargain, considering I just spent $85+ on one gallon of a competitor’s zero VOC paint.

Mythic sells three different lines through Sustain:

Mythic Classic: Homeowner, do it yourself paint for anyone to apply. Coverage is approximately 400 sq. feet. Available in three different sheens: flat, eggshell and semi-gloss. Sustain Eco Store Prices: Flat $44.99, Eggshell $46.99, and Semi-gloss $54.99. All prices are per gallon.

Mythic Pro: excellent coverage, made for professional painters. Available in flat, eggshell and semi-gloss. Price $32.99 – $42.99. All prices are per gallon.

Mythic Black Label: an all-in-one paint and primer. Made for drywall and first-time applications on new material. Available finishes are matte, satin and semi-gloss. Price: $58.99-$60.99 per gallon.

Note: all prices quoted are current prices (2011) at Sustain Eco Store. Prices vary by vendor.

Mythic is available in more than 1200 colours and the palettes are divided into different categories and available on their website (although I’d recommend seeing the real thing because digital colour and real colour will vary by computer). Finally, Mythic has a “room visualizer” where you can “paint” a ceiling, trim and wall from the colours available in their palette. It’s kind of fun. You get to put all kinds of colours together you wouldn’t do in real life; for instance, I paired “plenty of sunshine” (orange) as a ceiling colour with a trim of “island magic” (turquoise) and “Sunburst Nose” (deep pink). Let’s just say if you walked into a room like that you’d wonder if I was colour blind!

(Update April 6, 2016 — Mythic website and Mythic room visualizer don’t seem to be available. I have contacted the company for updated information but so far have had no response. Visit Southern Diversified products for more information.)

For more information on Mythic, contact Celine and Jonathan McKay at Sustain at info@sustainmuskoka.ca or  705-787-0362.

Sustain Eco Store

8 Crescent Road

Huntsville, ON

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