03 augusti 2009

Ironlak..Styrofoam and the health of our product! Ha.haa



An important message from your friends at Ironlak.

Recently another paint brand launched a study (aka shameless smear campaign) on the effects of spray paint brands. We especially enjoyed the part where they stated, "that their products pose no health hazard to the user"; IT IS SPRAY PAINT!!! What, do they have vitamin C in there or something?

Normally we like to shut up let our paint do the talking, but given the level of misinformation and malicious propaganda being put out by our competitors, we felt the need to set the record straight. The facts are; inhaling spray paint fumes is NOT good for you and you should wear a mask and gloves no matter what cool paint brand you are using!

-Ironlak has developed a paint formula that IS less harmful than other brands. In fact our MIR value (For VOC’s) was so low that we were asked to recheck the quantities of solvents in our product by the regulatory company who assisted C.A.R.B. in setting up MIR/VOC legislation in the USA, as it was "unusually low" for an aerosol product.

-Ironlak (AVT Paints) has been registered with REACH in Europe since Nov
2008 and has provided full product disclosure. Ironlak is 100% compliant with the strict new European chemicals laws. For the USA our products are fully CARB & CPSA compliant, and fall well below the MIR values for VOCs required for the categories Ironlak fits into (1.40 MIR Limit).

-The factory where Ironlak is made is ISO 9001 certified.

-We use only quality ingredients in Ironlak. Our pigments are world-class and produced in Europe and Japan by leading pigment manufacturers. Our pigments are ground four times (Wow! Amazing!). We operate on lower profit margins to keep the retail price down. Ironlak was started so that writers could afford quality paint. We don't boast about the technicality of our paint/valve because we don't need to, the proof is in the pieces. If the paint covers better than any other brand, it doesn’t matter what fancy nickname we gave our valve system.

-We use a modified acrylic resin, we looked at using a nitro combi alkyd but the results of our research showed that the acrylic performs better in a variety of weather conditions, has better adhesion and flexibility.

-AVT/ Ironlak products are lead free, duh.

If you want to know more about what's in your favourite paint brand, ask them for their MSDS (material safety data sheet) or search for it in Google. Here's ours: www.ironlak.com/msds. Feel free to compare this with any other brand.

And, back to the styrofoam; it’s all in the drying time. The brand that conducted the above study uses a higher level of acetone than we do which has a higher evaporation rate causing evaporation before it has a chance to eat the foam. Many of the solvents that Ironlak uses are also found in the other brand, however Ironlak contains less acetone, taking slightly longer to dry thereby allowing more contact time with the foam.

Ironlak was created for writers by writers, and is owned by a writer. We actually care about graffiti, and actively support those who do. Ask any of the artists that we sponsor, they are in this for more than free paint. We feel like there is plenty of room for competition between brands without resorting to false claims and childish scare tactics trying to fool customers. A healthy productive competition between brands will lead to better products for the consumer at fair price. We are all for this, what are they so worried about??


One love.

Ironlak Family.

Links:
Ironlak: www.ironlak.com
Ironlak MSDS: http://www.ironlak.com/msds/
Californian Air Resources Board (CARB): http://www.arb.ca.gov/homepage.htm
European Chemicals Agency / REACH: http://echa.europa.eu/reach_en.asp