How do you deal with off-gassing from finishes

I’ve noticed the odor from General Finishes, and from Target.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Frank Pratt

Something to consider; if applying finishes in the garage are smelling up the house, then you have some work to do on sealing & weather stripping to keep that from happening. A garage is not supposed to communicate any finish smells, or carbon monoxide, into the house. I frequently apply solvent based finishes & rattle can paint in my garage/shop & can never smell it in the house. It can certainly be done.

---

I agree that some investigation might be in order as to why there is exchange going on between your garage and house.

As to alternative finishes, in addition to the other suggestions, if you are hand applying, you might consider Osmo finish. From Fine Woodworking's article:

Quote:

---

My business partner and I run a sustainable lumber company and make custom furniture from these trees (see my trestle table on pp. 30–37). In the spirit of how we harvest and use the wood, we want our finish to be easy to use, durable, non-toxic, and easy on the environment. Osmo Polyx-Oil is all those things. Made from natural vegetable oils and waxes, it does not off-gas or smell bad. It’s durable, easy to apply, and easy to repair.

---

Link to the complete article:

https://www.finewoodworking.com/proj...-use-non-toxic

I have been experimenting with Osmo recently and I can tell you it is quite a beautiful penetrating oil finish, and that the odor is very subdued compared to other wood finishes.

Another less durable option someone mentioned is shellac. Mostly because it dries so quickly. I use Sealcoat, cut 25%-50% from the can. You can use 99% Isopropyl alcohol instead of Denatured alcohol to make the odor less obnoxious. Either way, odor will not last very long with a shellac application. This might be an option for work that will not see abuse, spills, etc.

Edwin, have you done any chemical durability testing of Osmo? I'd like to see how it holds up to water, alcohol, and ammonia containing cleaners like 409 or Windex. Any info you have is appreciated. Thanks.

John

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by John TenEyck

Edwin, have you done any chemical durability testing of Osmo? I'd like to see how it holds up to water, alcohol, and ammonia containing cleaners like 409 or Windex. Any info you have is appreciated. Thanks.

John

---

Hi John,

I'm in the process of familiarizing myself with Osmo. It's a very interesting product, and artisan woodworkers have promoted application methods that differ from the instructions on the can. The method described in the Fine Woodworking article is an example, and it will give a noticeably different result than following the simple instructions on the can. Another woodworker touts a method using a power buffer with a white pad to basically drive the finish into the wood. So I'm still experimenting with application methods, but I plan to try some chemical and water durability tests and I'll report back once I've done so.

Thanks everyone! I think a HPLV sprayer and waterbased finishes are in my future :)

Hi Edwin, Thanks and I look forward to hearing how this holds up,it looks very intriguing.
Brian

Thanks Edwin. I look forward to your review.

John

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jamie Buxton

I’ve noticed the odor from General Finishes, and from Target.

---

WB products vary just like solvent based ones. Some GF waterbornes have a pretty noticeable odor, others almost none. EnduroVar has a noticeable smell but Clear Poly has almost none. TC's EM-8000CV has almost no odor.

To the OP, as was mentioned you need heat no matter what finish you use, with the exception of shellac and wax. Switching to WB is a good move to reduce smell but most of them need at least 60F to cure properly. The good news is you can brush some of them with excellent results which means you can do it in the house if you have a space to use. GF's High Performance and EnduroVar brush great with a foam brush, and you can add a few percent of Extender if needed in really low humidity to help them flow out. If you brush them on the health risks are very low, no worse than painting the walls or trim.

John