# Shellac (Zinsser SealCoat) for sealing in odor?



## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

My wife found a chest of drawers on Craigslist that had the retro design elements she wanted our daughter's bedroom to have. We are planning on painting the entire dresser, but have been struggling to get rid of the musty smell that permeates the dresser before embarking on the stripping and priming journey. After a bit of talking and brainstorming, she suggested that:

I pull the trigger and buy a spray gun, so that I can (re)finish the project in a more reasonable amount of time
Coat the entire dresser (inside and out) with a odor blocking primer so that we can nip the problem in the bud

Now first off, I'd like to celebrate with the LJ community, the fact that my wife is telling me to buy a tool (*clap clap*). Second (on a more serious note), I wanted to hear about some sort of topcoat that can seal in the odor. We have been looking at Zinsser BIN primer as a possible primer for this job, given that it is advertised as being able to seal in odors. I'm not too crazy about the prospect of buying a primer for just one job and started wondering. Given that Zinsser BIN is a shellac-based primer, is it shellac that gives the primer the odor blocking capacity? And if so, would maybe SealCoat (which I currently have on hand) be a viable alternative for sealing in odor in preparation for a prime (with Zinsser 123) and paint finish?


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## WoodenSoldier (May 3, 2010)

I did the exact same thing over the summer. I bought a pine dresser on craigslist that smelled like it had been used as an ash tray. I thought the smell would go away on its own if I left it to air out for a few days but it didn't change so I sprayed inside and out with Bullseye shellac and then painted over it. Smells fine now, if not a little sweet from the shellac.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Should work. I have used shellac to seal in odor with success.
And it serves well as a barrier layer between otherwise incompatible finishes.

An alternate solution is ozone treatment.
Companies who salvage and recover fire and flood damaged property use this process.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Yep, it'll work.
BIN is pretty much shellac with white pigment added, so sealcoat will work fine.

Kudos on the spray gun go-ahead. Any models in particular have your interest?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I have used Seal Coat on drawers (for antiques-not my underwear) with good success.
Bill


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## WibblyPig (Jun 8, 2009)

My wife's old boss's house caught on fire and to seal in the smoke smell, they had guys go up with 5 gallon pump sprayers filled with Zinsser BIN (alcohol based). They just pumped it up and doused everything up in the attic. He said that when he went up there, he couldn't smell a thing and it was all nice and white.

If you're painting it anyways, I'd probably just use the BIN - it will give you a white primer base and cleanup is going to be the same.


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## TedW (May 6, 2012)

I use BIN to seal smoke odor and smoke stains when painting apartments. Even the fussiest new tenants never guess that a smoker had lived there previously.


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## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

Nitewalker - I haven't settled on the HVLP to get yet, but I am thinking on the low end, either the Harbor Freight or Rockler HVLP, and on the mid range, possibly the Earlex Spray Station HV5500. I'll probably start another thread about it when I've finished the repair work.

For anyone who has advocated for BIN, I totally see your point on using a product that can knock out two birds (sealing odor and priming) with one stone. I'm not too keen on spending 20-$40 to buy BIN primer just for this (type of) project vs. spending the same money for SealCoat (which I use quite regularly), followed by primer I have on hand and need to use up. We have a huge problem of half-used cans of paint/finish that I don't want to add to.

I guess my question is better phrased as, *does BIN primer have an odor blocking advantage over SealCoat?*


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

I don't think so, they both work equally well for that purpose. Another thing to keep in mind is that BIN (to me, at least) is less easy to spray. The pigment (again, IME) tends to clog the nozzle, and it's very hard to keep in suspension while your spraying. I suspect others have had a lot more luck with it than I, but I doubt I'll try spraying BIN again.


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

Pax - you could have the dresser treated with ozone. If you call Servpro or a similar company that specializes in smoke and odor clean up/control after a fire, they would likely be able to set the dresser in an ozone chamber for a couple of days. Newer ozone generators do a helluva good job getting rid of odor.

I mentioned Serpro only because there's one in just about every city.


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## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

Hmm, interesting idea. I'm not sure if I want to spend the money on treating the odor for a CL dresser but will pocket the idea for any future odor removal


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Yes, the sealcoat will definitely work. It even has instruction on the can for using as an odor sealer. I think it's just apply two coats.

@Fred: I usually thin the BIN a bit before spraying. That helps with clogging.


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## mlv (Jun 22, 2015)

I have an odor issue after drywalls were replaced in my master bedroom. My suspicion is that the odor is coming from the Glidden Low odor 0 VOC paint. Drywall was bought in the HD, mud was applied and sanded after it was dry. Then texture was applied (orange peel). After it was dry the painter used KILZ 2 (from HD) and painted in couple of days. After 2.5 weeks of ventillation I still can move into the bedroom… I am thinking to hire a different painter and apply new texture, use PVA primer on the top after it is dry and then apply some Behra Ultra or may be SW, whichever is not explicitly saying 0 VOC, which turns to be something not exactly odorless. Please advise.


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## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

Since an old thread of mine was revived, for anyone who is interested, I did go with the full on shellac sealing (BIN on the outside, Sealcoat on the inside). Worked like a charm. Here's the completed project.

My daughter has only tried to climb up the dresser twice to reach the toys up top.



> I have an odor issue after drywalls were replaced in my master bedroom. My suspicion is that the odor is coming from the Glidden Low odor 0 VOC paint. Drywall was bought in the HD, mud was applied and sanded after it was dry. Then texture was applied (orange peel). After it was dry the painter used KILZ 2 (from HD) and painted in couple of days. After 2.5 weeks of ventillation I still can move into the bedroom… I am thinking to hire a different painter and apply new texture, use PVA primer on the top after it is dry and then apply some Behra Ultra or may be SW, whichever is not explicitly saying 0 VOC, which turns to be something not exactly odorless. Please advise.
> 
> - mlv


Don't know what the situation there is, if there's still some off-gassing or slow curing of your paint/primer. I usually work with acrylic (General Finishes) or latex (mostly Valspar, some Sherwin Williams) paint. Has the manufacturer said anything about it?


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