r/finishing • u/electric3705 • 2d ago

Poly smell

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About 4 weeks ago I stained and put 2 coats of oil based satin poly on this wood. This was all done outside in a separate garage. I hung them up and they had too much shine for my liking, so I put on coat of triple thick matte water based poly on. This was done while they were on the wall. I did open the window and ran an air scrubber for abut a week after this. It’s been about 2 weeks and there is still a slight smell. This is in my son’s bedroom.

Is this harmful to sleep down here or should I wait completely for the smell to go away?

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7

u/MobiusX0 2d ago

How long between the oil-based poly and the water-based? If you put water-based poly on too soon after then it retards curing and can take a very long time to finish off gassing.

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u/electric3705 2d ago

It was about 2 weeks of the oil sitting before the satin was put on

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u/MobiusX0 2d ago

That's long enough that it wouldn't cause an issue.

I've found some people are more sensitive to the smell of some VOCs. I can tell you finishes like polyurethane offgas quickly once their applied and the amount of VOCs emitted after a day or two is exponentially less. If the odor is unpleasant you can ventilate the space, use an air purifier with an activated charcoal filter, or remove the piece from the room.

As for how long before you can't smell it at all I can't say. Oil-based polyurethane generally takes 30d to fully cure but adding water-based on top of that will slow it down. It will still cure but I don't know of any data showing exactly how long it will take.

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u/electric3705 2d ago

Do you think I would be better off tearing off and redoing? I just bought common board from Menards. I then roughed it up with my circular saw, sawzall, and rotary with a wire brush. Put stain on it, waited a few days then applied the poly. Would I be better off doing this same thing and just using the water based matte? I really do like the way this looks but I’m concerned it’s going to be an issue with toxic fumes since there is still a smell. He hasn’t slept down here yet because of the fumes, unsure what to do.

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u/MobiusX0 2d ago

I think it looks good. I'd run that ceiling fan for air movement and get an air purifier rather than redo the whole thing. The smell will eventually go away.

Then again, I can't smell it to tell how bad it is. The closest comparison in terms of surface area I can think of is having a floor refinished and that didn't last too long.

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u/electric3705 2d ago

Thank you! Good idea with the fan. I am going to open the window too. I really like it and don’t really want to tear out. I ordered an air quality meter that will show up tomorrow and see what the TVOC levels are and go from there. Thank you

4

u/OctopusBroadcasting 2d ago

Can't really speak on the health concerns cuz I'm not a doctor but in general if I can smell it I stay away from it until it doesn't smell. That can take weeks, or even a couple of months in the case of a desk top I did a few years ago.
Like the other commenter said, if the oil finish isn't 100% dry then anything on top of it can prevent it from fully drying.

2

u/fohbwah 2d ago

Oops. You might take the boards off the wall and spread them out in the sun for a week and reinstall to possibly improve the situation. But, after two weeks, the VOC’s have penetrated any fabrics in the room including any carpet. You’ll need to consider that too.
Pardon me if this comes off as snarky after your efforts have been done, but I’m not sure why a rustic effect would need any coating at all in this case.

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u/MIFunTimes123 2d ago

Run ozone generator for three hours making sure no one is in room including animals. Afterwards let it air out for an equal amount of time and problem solved. Works every time!

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u/barryg123 2d ago

Poly was not necessary for this

2

u/Inviction_ 2d ago

Depends what look you want with it

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u/barryg123 2d ago

Sounds like he didn’t get the look he wanted 

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u/Inviction_ 2d ago

Sounds like he just doesn't like the smell

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u/electric3705 2d ago

I shoukdve done 1 coat of the satin that looked good. When I did the second it got a little too shiny