New paint off gassing problem.

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purpleberry

purpleberry

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My friend painted a new room with exterior low voc paint. The plants that went in have been going down hill, Looks like fertilizer deficiency's, new growth starting to curl leaves real bad. Ive never seen plants look so bad. I pretty sure its the environment and not a fertilizer issue. Im also pretty sure it isn't ant type of pest problem, since the plants came from a clean room and nothing else left behind has any issues.
So ive concluded for now that its the paint, I could smell it every time I walked in. Ive since read don't use exterior paint inside. Paint rep says it could off gas for any where from 2 weeks to months. I need advise on fixing this. Has anyone had this problem with new paint in a room??
Do you think a zero voc interior paint will seal the off gassing, Or will it off gas threw the new paint?
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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I cant say what your problem is,off gassing is a tricky subject and sometimes its hard to prove/know either way,time seems to be the only real cure.If you want some help hurrying the process along and getting rid of the fumes/smell try putting some 5 gallon buckets of water in the middle of the room,this will apparently help absorb the solvent vapors much more quickly.
http://lifehacker.com/remove-fresh-paint-fumes-with-buckets-of-water-1606788006
http://www.jackspaint.co.za/blog/site/how-to-get-rid-of-paint-smells/
If your buddies room is totally sealed off gassing could be the problem,if its vented i doubt it.If he is sealed and running a CO2 burner that can also cause issues,lotsa variables,good luck!
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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Im sure it couldnt hurt but it might fubar the filter and the solvents would still be contained in the room unless you removed the filter from the room,the carbon might neutralize the solvents though,not sure.
 
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Billyboat

Billyboat

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I've painted rooms with plants in them and never had a problem, these were sealed rooms with several can150s running the entire time and all still works and the plants never skipped a beat.
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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Good to know billy,you must have brushed/rolled those rooms,NFW i would do that with filters running but i spray with an airless!
 
LittleDabbie

LittleDabbie

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yes its sealed room, and plants were moved in before the paint even dried, its been 2 weeks.
Do you think charcoal filters will absorb vocs?


Oddly enuff my hightimes nov issue came today, and there was an article about marijuana / plants in general and how they absorb everything in the room!! I would bet the farm that paint is killing the plants.. There imho fucked at this point..

They were talking about using marijuana at chernobyl to clean up the radiation and again using it at fukashima *sp* to clean up radiation there as well since the plants will abosrb everything from the ground / air ect ect ect there perfect for clean up projects..

So yeah those plants are now full of whatever the paint was giving off and i wouldn't wanna light a match near one of those lol poof! jk prolly wouldn't go up in smoke but im sure the nugs would taste like shit in the end if the plant even made it that far.

Bummer dood :\
 
LittleDabbie

LittleDabbie

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Im back ;)

I stole this off wiki.. But this is what the Ok it was an AD for a seed bank but whatever it still makes a valid point about accumulator plants.

Dynamic accumulators are plants that gather certain micronutrients, macronutrients, or minerals and store them in their leaves. These plants can be used either for detoxifying soil or for gathering a certain nutrient or mineral from an area. For instance, clovers will mine great quantities of nitrogen out of the air via a symbiotic relationship with bacteria. These bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into a form available to the clover, and exchange this nitrogen for exudates/sugars given by the clover. When the clover dies or is cut down, the green matter breaks down and releases the nitrogen into the soil.
 
purpleberry

purpleberry

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Thanks for the help. I think they are doing better with fresh air. we aired it out and added filters. I brought in a test plant to see how it does. Lesson learned on that one. Don't use exterior paint inside, make sure you use zero voc paint.
 
Ambre

Ambre

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I was doing some reading on off-gassing problems a while ago. A grower who owns a paint store recommended using a zero VOC primer and paint to seal the nasty paint - he recommended Ben Franklin brand as the one that has worked best for him.
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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Im pretty convinced the kilz Low Voc primer is the best for grow rooms,they even have a zero Voc now but ive never used that one.Reflectivity wise the kilz flat primer cant be beat either,alot of people forget that the flat paints are much better at reflection than semi gloss or gloss so why even paint over the primer?I spray 2 or 3 nice coats of kilz and the rooms are super bright,i hate to even cover it up with orcafilm.
 
Ambre

Ambre

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I use Kilz myself. The reason for painting over the Kilz is because primer is not intended to be a top layer. It is very "chalky" because it is designed to be an undercoat for paint to adhere to it, it isn't designed to be exposed permanently. I used to think the same & didn't paint over the Kilz, but I've learned better.

The guy who owned the paint store (mentioned above) did not like Kilz, but this was before they came out with the low and no VOC formulations.
 
dabs4life

dabs4life

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kilz ftw also.

and kilz brand is just awesome. ive seen some pretty bad stuff be painted over with kilz.
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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Paint store guys dont like kilz because they sell it at home depot cheaper,lol.I cover mine with orcafilm anyways but Ive never had any problem with straight kilz,no topcoat,works like a charm.
 
J

Jalisco Kid

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I use a matte finish,the base white color Behr exterior that is a primer also. Never had a problem. But my tanks take a while to plumb as some know so it is a min. of 3-4 days before the lights come on. I would think if the problem is the same through out the room ,it would not be from off gassing. If it were just the plants along the outside by the walls I might think that. JK
 
purpleberry

purpleberry

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These are in 25g pots of ready grow, They where in 1g and have tripled in size but continue to look like this.
Feed with dechlorinated water starting at 100ppm
Calmag 5ml
Canna A&B 12ml each
PH6 PPM 1000
I did a test on the run off of fresh soil from the bag, it was 500ppm
I brought in a fresh plant and within 2 day the leaves started to curl down
20140902 175123
20140902 175057 1
 
Ambre

Ambre

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Those plants look like the ones I had in the original Hydro Huts - the ones that were eventually proved to kill cannabis by off-gassing. I still have 2 killer Hydro Huts in the garage if anyone wants them, LOL!

Can you try moving the plants out of the room into another area to see if that helps them to recover? That will help to confirm that the problem is environmental, not water/ferts/pH/etc
 
fishwhistle

fishwhistle

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I have seen plants that look like that before and i think some fresh air would help the problem,are you still totally sealed and using CO2?burner or bottle?Burners can cause similar issues in smaller sealed rooms.I think @delae632 had some sealed room issues awhile back,maybe he will chime in now that we can see some pics of the damage,definitely think you need some air exchange in that room though.Agree with amber about getting a few plants out of there to confirm its enviromental and not something else,you should see a change rapidly if its enviro.
 
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