Paints on the tack welds - HVAC ducts

Yes, I would agree.

I agree with John-David that this ductwork touch-up paint IS subject to IEQc4.2 requirements even if used only in small quantities. If the paint exceeds IEQc4.2 VOC limits, your sheet metal contractor must report quantities for a VOC budget to support his argument that the overage in negligible. However, I would be careful about using the Zinc-Rich IM Primer designation. This is a subcategory of Industrial Maintenance (IM) Coatings, which SCAQMD defines as coatings designed to resist extreme environmental conditions. Therefore, for corrosion resistance under normal interior conditions, Green Seal’s GC-03 250g/L VOC limit for Anti-Corrosive Paints may be more appropriate for galvanizing repair paints like this one. Maybe I am overcautious, but when I have used Zinc-Rich IM Primers with 340g/L VOC, I have used VOC budgets to show compliance with the more stringent 250g/L standard. Where I live, using Zinc-Rich IM Primers is often no longer even an option. Recent local regulations restrict anything designated as an IM Coatings to exterior and industrial applications, prohibiting their use on residential and nonindustrial interiors. Therefore, here, we MUST use products designated simply as “Anti-Corrosive” or “Anti-Rust.” Compliant zinc “galvanizing” paints are available in the US market to meet current, more stringent VOC rules in California and elsewhere.

After I posted my previous comment, I thought of one last thing. On most projects that I have worked with, ductwork has been fabricated off-site and installed on-site using mechanical connections. Welding and touch-up painting occurred elsewhere. Since IEQc4.2 only addresses coatings applied on-site, so as long as your duct fabricator touches-up tack welds off-site, the paint used does not have to meet LEED VOC limits. Therefore, be sure to ask where the painting will occur. This can save many headaches. Çok şans!