I have more trouble with paint fumes than most people.
I slept in a room for 5 hours where paint had already dried 24 hours, and my eyes were burning and didn’t feel quite right.
So, I’d like to ‘muffle’ the fumes. I want them to be contained. What would be a good solution for someone who is extra-sensitive to fumes and related things.
My first thought is vaseline because it won’t harm the wood (might actually make it last longer), but I’m then wondering if you guys have any other ideas because I have a feeling I won’t like those vaseline fumes either. I am looking for a better solution.
Are you thinking to smear vaseline on the wood before you paint over it? Or over the paint? Either way, I can’t imagine that ending well.
One approach would be to keep the windows wide open for a few days. In other words, containing those fumes is exactly what you DON’T want to do. If it’s too cold for that… Next time, paint in the summer. And couch surf at your best buddy’s house for the duration.
Consider also what kind of paint you use. I’m guessing that water-based paint would be relatively non-odious. Did you use some other kind?
First, your wall would be slimy for a long long time.
I think vaseline would also soften the paint. Compare with spreading oil over asphalt.
If the paint is oil based, spreading another oil based goop all over it would soften or dissolve the paint. So it would never really dry, or not for a long long time. I’m guessing that you are referring to some sort of oil based paint.
Painting contractor here.
I’m assuming it’s water-based paint - I can’t imagine anyone using oil-based paint on walls any more.
Smearing Vaseline on it would be a horrible idea. If possible, open windows and use fans to air the room out. Paint stops outgassing fairly quickly and water-based paint is fully cured in about a month. (Oil-based paint is cured within a day - it dries from the inside out in about 8 hours under ideal conditions, where water-based paint forms a dry film in an hour or so, then slowly dries down to the substrate.)
In the future, use zero- or low-VOC paint. They’re becoming common and are good products. I use them all the time.
Yes, but presumably lower-VOC paint won’t bother you as much.
I’ve done this for 35 years, and way back people would complain a lot about the smell when I was painting their homes. I’d get “OMG, how can you breathe in here” all the time. Nowadays, I don’t get complaints. Many people remark on how much the place doesn’t smell like paint and I think it’s because it really doesn’t smell that bad any more. Paint technology has come a long way!
Mind you I’m sort of immune to the smell of paint and solvent.
Nothing, anything you could cover the paint with would only prolong the drying time. The only thing you can do is speed it up. Moving more air through the room is your best bet. Close the door, crack a window and turn on a fan.
There is no product you can cover the paint with that will “seal in” the smell.*
Even if you were, say, to go over the walls with a clear acrylic varnish, that would in itself have fumes, and would only retard the drying of the paint - unless you coat the walls with an impermeable coating then the paint will continue to outgas; all you’ll do is slow the process.
Open windows/use fans.
Put an air purifier in the room.
Or a portable dehumidifer, which will speed up curing if it’s somewhat humid where you live.
Wear a dust mask, medical mask or some sort of respirator while sleeping until the smell goes away.
Sleep in another room for a few days until the smell is bearable.
I’ve read that putting a pan of dry coffee grounds, or baking soda, in the room will “absorb” the smell. Don’t know if that would actually work, though.
*Theoretically, you could seal the walls with pigmented shellac, which does a very good job of sealing things like cigarette smoke, cat urine on subfloors, etc. Then repaint with a very high-quality low-VOC paint.
But that seems like an unecessarily complicated and spendy procedure, and you’d still have to put up with some fumes for another day or two.
I’m curious - what product was used on your walls? I mean, I do this for a living and have not personally had a single complaint about paint odor in many, many years. Unless I’m using solvent-based primer or paint, which stinks but the smell dissipates pretty quickly.
As others have said, you can’t stop the gas from coming out of the paint as it dries and you wouldn’t want to if you could. So your best bet is to speed up the process. Crank up the heat and keep the air moving in the room and being ventilated outside - so space heater, fans, and open windows.
You might not be smelling the paint anymore, but rather the fume odors lingering in your furniture, curtains, carpet, clothing in the closet…
Air out the room. If weather allows, open windows and point fans to blow out.Central A/C or heat might help, too. It dries out the air, which might help with water based or water borne paints, and it filters the air somewhat.
What was painted? Woodwork? Walls? Everything?
Lacquers and alkyds (what I tend to use on woods) can still be pretty smelly to sensitive people. New latexes (walls, ceilings), not so much.
Yep yep. I’ve been using Sherwin-Williams Emerald lately and like it a lot. They even changed their colorants, so that unlike the earlier generation of low VOC paints, the added colorants are also pretty eco-friendly.
There’s also water-based paint you can use right down to 35 degrees, and paint that forms a film so quickly that it won’t be affected if it rains heavily 30 minutes after application. These are fairly new, I think.
Just about every paint manufacturer has a line of “eco friendly”, low-odor paint nowadays. If the OP isn’t in the US I’m sure it’s the same in most parts of the world.
The OP mentions wood so maybe the trim was painted with an alkyd?
Man, not many people use alkyd on repaints any more…I miss it. But the newer paints and alkyd modified acrylics are very nice, and just more convenient (and pleasant for the building or homeowner).
Remember this thread is really meant to answer a particular question as a first priority. Not to resolve a real life scenario.
Let me post this again:
**What is the best thing that I can cover the dried painted wood with to eliminate any sort of gas/odor immediately that could be removed or would evaporate at a later date and not cause significant harm to the paint? **
Let’s assume this isn’t a real situation for a minute and just talk about the science here please.
The OP mentions wood so maybe the trim was painted with an alkyd?