# odor from dried paint



## jsb (Mar 17, 2008)

Has anybody experienced long-term lingering odors from dried paint? I've been doing some kitchen cabinets with Ace paints new Alkatex cabinet door and trim paint. The paint seems to work fine, but to me it seems like it has a lingering odor that lasts longer than normal. Even some stuff I painted several weeks ago still has an odor.

Is it possible it will never go away? Or is it just a long cure time? Anybody else have experiences with this problem?


----------



## msmil (May 6, 2007)

I've had it happen one time where the smell lasted about 4 weeks. It was almost like a clay type smell. The applications were one coat of 100% acrylic primer tinted to the top coat which was two coats of a vinyl acrylic paint. Both tinted to a dark yellow almost gold like color. Specs for both say 7 days curing time. The primer and paint had been used for many years without a "residual smell" problem before. It only happened this one time and it was the only time I ever used that color!
Could the tinting have anything to do with it? Nah?
Could the primer being tinted have anything to do with it? Nah!
Even thou the smell went away I cannot get a definite answer on this topic.


----------



## sage (Apr 29, 2007)

Could it be some sort of a chemical reaction with the wall and or the pervious wall paint? Or was it a bad can of paint?
Interesting topic.
Sage


----------



## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

Why do you people care about paint odors, you are painters - right? Heck I had a buddy that wanted to flip a home - we repainted the whole thing - but he left it mothballed for a whole year afterwards. When I walked in to help him move in permanently - it still smelled of latex paint like the day I left it one year earlier - nothing you can do, but ordinary living and opening windows to refresh air. Not to mention that Ace paint is an alkyd resin - so you are basically smelling oil paint minus the turps. So more interestingly - how does that new paint perform? I ran today to Ace to check it out - but they didn't have any. I actually loved their interior semigloss oil trim paint - it worked very well and was every bit as good as impervo oil.


----------



## Pete's Painting (Mar 5, 2008)

Met a painter down south that told me you can add vanilla extract to the paint and it hides the smell. 
He also claims that you can add HI-C mix to paint, to tint it when in a jam. And that he doesn't use drop cloths when on hard wood floors, simply mops up afterwards. You had to see this guy, I laughed at him for an hour.


----------



## timhag (Sep 30, 2007)

Pete's Painting said:


> He also claims that you can add HI-C mix to paint, to tint it when in a jam. .


We use Gatorade, works better than HI-C.


----------



## Pete's Painting (Mar 5, 2008)

I wonder if he added a whole crate of HI-C mix to 25 gallons of paint, if every insect/critter in town would show up and try to eat the house?


----------



## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

Pete's Painting said:


> ...you can add vanilla extract to the paint and it hides the smell.


Yeah that never got that one...just made it smell like someone was baking paint cookies

Kinda like that pine scented bathroom spray
Doesn't make the poop smell go away, just sorta mixes with it
Makes it smell like a bear took a dump in the pine forest
I don't really get it


----------



## Faron79 (Dec 11, 2007)

*The New ACE paint...*

Evenin' all!
The new ACE Cabinet, Door & Trim paint is some neat stuff! I thought it had very little odor.
It's VOC-level is VERY LOW, 50 g/l. It was rolled out last November to be VOC-legal everywhere...even the strict S.C.A.D. & NE States.

It's actually a Hybrid Latex & Alkyd resin.

ACE, as of a year+ ago, has discontinued almost EVERY Oil they make. We've had some Interior Oils for 2 years now unsold....!!

Seperately, colorants DO add more VOC's to the mix, and they each have their own smell.

Faron


----------



## jsb (Mar 17, 2008)

I have to admit I'm sensitive to odors after fifteen years of painting. Can't stand chemical smells--I ask my wife to never wear perfume. She's not to thrilled about it. 

Anyway, regarding the Ace paint, it seems to dry to a nice hard finish. Surprisingly hard for being water clean up. They claim it will "smooth out" better than most paints, and I suppose it's okay but not amazing on the parts I had to brush/roll. It looks nice, though.

But the strangest thing kept happening when I sprayed the cabinet doors. I had them laid flat. I would spray on one coat (this was after priming with oil KILZ) and it would look gorgeous. Then I would spray a second coat (which I thought it needed because the cabinets were dark brown before and I'm painting them white) and I'd get thousands of these tiny pinholes in the paint. Almost invisible but you can see them if you stick your nose close. From a foot back, they look great, and I just left good enough alone. It is strange how this happened so consistently, though. I was letting the paint sit for 24 hours before second coat (says to on the can), being very careful about dust, etc.

Anyway, I like the paint but I still can't stand the "gassing off" smell. It's just not a nice smell. I trust it will go away eventually.


----------



## Pete's Painting (Mar 5, 2008)

slickshift said:


> Yeah that never got that one...just made it smell like someone was baking paint cookies
> 
> Kinda like that pine scented bathroom spray
> Doesn't make the poop smell go away, just sorta mixes with it
> ...


There's nothin like the smell of grandmas paint cookies on a cold winter night.


----------



## bbalfe (Apr 23, 2011)

*Ace Alkatex*

I have not had a problem with lingering odors with the Ace Alkatex paint but I have had problems with it drying VERY slowly. I did a picture frame and an old oak mirror frame. The picture frame took about 48 hours to get dry enough to recoat but the oak mirror frame is still slightly tacky after a week. The wood was old and had an old finish (varnish or lacquer probably but very old) so maybe that is part of the problem, but I have never had a paint take this long to dry. Any suggestions?


----------



## bigjeffie61520 (Oct 3, 2009)

jsb said:


> I have to admit I'm sensitive to odors after fifteen years of painting. Can't stand chemical smells--I ask my wife to never wear perfume. She's not to thrilled about it.
> 
> Anyway, regarding the Ace paint, it seems to dry to a nice hard finish. Surprisingly hard for being water clean up. They claim it will "smooth out" better than most paints, and I suppose it's okay but not amazing on the parts I had to brush/roll. It looks nice, though.
> 
> ...


oil kilz gave me the worst odor problem i ever had.
thank god for nice customers
never again


----------



## Connecticut Painters (Nov 24, 2009)

I know this thread has been answered many times already and there are some very good replies above, here are my $0.02.
All paints release fumes for months to come, it continues to cure itself and harden even years after initial application. One very important thing to remember is to never use exterior paint inside (doesn't apply to the initial poster but for those who stumble on this thread later) it will release toxic fumes for a long time.
Things that help with paint odor are: additives to the paint before application, keep doors and windows open as much as you can, turn on ventilator where possible, have a fan blow air out of the window, use air purifier (if there is anything I forgot please chime in).
Additional information related to interior and exterior painting please visit my blog here


----------



## Contractor Jeff (Apr 8, 2011)

People can always resort to adding a little vanilla extract to the paint.


----------

