I've built a pantry for my wife and the only finish I used on the interior (red oak plywood) was clear Watco. It looked great, but the odor makes it unusable -- packaged goods absorb the smell. After two months, applied a coat of wipe on polyurethane, but that has not helped. The only thing I can think of now is to apply a coat of paste wax. Any and all ideas will be appreciated.
Watco will cure over time. You can try adding a small amount of heat to the pantry, such a 100-watt light bulb, to speed the cure. Oil finishes have a slow drying rate. Shellac or polyurethane might have been a better choice.
I have applied gallons of watco finishes over the years. The stuff takes forever to dry. And it stinks. I always leave it outside or in the garage for a week or two before bringing it in the house. In any kind of application where smell may be a factor, wipe it on and wipe it off immediately.
Also, plywood sucks the watco right up. I built some shelves for the kitchen out of pine and used watco on them. But they stayed outside for six weeks before I brought them into the house. And they still smelled a little. But time will eventually take care of it. Heat helps. It takes forever to cure if cold or wet outside.
My wife has the super nose in the family. (She says I need a bath) What I do is put the project on the back porch. And when she says it is OK to bring it in the house, I do. I don't dare bring it in the house before it passes her sniff test. I learned that lesson a long time ago.
Shellac has well known barrier-coat properties. Give it a try.
I use shellac on interiors like that. Very little odor that dissipates quickly. You can try a coat or two now. If you can remove the doors and set them in the sun for a couple of days that may help too.
I use Natural Magic Odor Absorbing Gel. I have been using this product for several years, 5+. Just open the container and set it near the area that you want to smell better. A little air flow helps and 1 container lasts about 3 months. Get it at Lowe's and Home Depot, Office Depot. Many scents.
On Mon, 8 Feb 2010 16:24:02 -0700, the infamous "Herb Robinson" scrawled the following:
Don't wax it. Try a few more coats of that plastic.
The only finishes for interiors are shellac and lacquer, and lacquer has the least amount of smell. That's why most woodworking is left unfinished inside.
Watco is like skunk. You may be able to get rid of most of the smell, but it'll always be there to remind you.
Try sandblasting. (only half kidding)
-- In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it. They must not do too much of it. And they must have a sense of success in it. -- John Ruskin, Pre-Raphaelitism, 1850
I've used the lava rock odor-eaters from Lee Valley to remove the smell of gasoline from inside our van.
I know it's the wrong season, but I like to put my projects outside in the summer heat to ventilate and cure the finishes more quickly.
So if it was summer would you tear out the pantry to let it cure outside? ;~)
Just slide back the retractable roof.
On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:35:31 -0600, the infamous Dave Balderstone scrawled the following:
Volcanic rock made in Canadia by Canadans? Whoa! I'd never have thought that possible. (I'll leave it to you to figure out to which aspect of that I was referring. ;)
-- It's a great life...once you weaken. --author James Hogan
I figure it's the "thought" part...
On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:41:40 -0800, the infamous "CW" scrawled the following:
Now there's a house selling point: Pantry with retractable Moon roof!
I was watching an old episode of something on the Fine Living Channel once a lifetime ago. It showed a guy who had created a retractable room. It made 3 walls and the roof of his bedroom roll out of the way so the bedroom floor was exposed. He liked sleeping under the stars. The thing was on tracks and took about 3 minutes to move out. Weird but cool.
-- It's a great life...once you weaken. --author James Hogan
"Dave Balderstone" wrote in message news:150220101243180278%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca...
Something to consider is renting or buying an ozone generator. I've used one for years to remove odor from the house when returning from a trip, after painting or even to control (at least I think it does) mold and mildew. The O3 dissipates rapidly and the odor is gone.
----------------------------------- Yes it does mold and mildew, but one caveat.
It also does a job on rubber, especially hoses.
Lew
I understand and agree. However, when I've "nuked" the house with ozone, such as while we're gone on a trip, I used a timer to do it for just a couple of days, leaving plenty of time for it to decay into o2 before we returned. I never discovered any damage to anything and attributed it to the brief exposure. However, it sure did a number on odors and the mold/mildew that might have been lurking in corners.
BTW, I also have a little O3 generator with a pump that I got on eBay. The pump forces the ozone out a carbonating stone and you can create ozonated water. The stuff is great for washing vegetables and even removing any fishy odor from seafood.
-------------------------------- Very common trick to clean out the cabin of a sailboat.
It is accepted that any rubber items left on board will be trashed, so you replace them as a matter of practice, which includes hatch seals as well as hoses.
A damaged raw water inlet hose can spoil your day.
As far as a house is concerned, you are talking about magnitudes of volume difference; however, anything rubber left in the house should be suspect.
Lew
On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:43:18 -0600, the infamous Dave Balderstone scrawled the following:
Yew wood.
-- It's a great life...once you weaken. --author James Hogan
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