How to Mitigate Oil Based Primer Smell?

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NJJoe
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Post by NJJoe » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 10:48 am

Im turning over a rental unit in a multi-family house. A room has fresh drywall up so when the building tenants left for the day, I started priming the walls with oil based primer. Even though it had been hours since the application, when the tenants came home I got some complaints about the oil smell.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of the smell sooner? I am keeping the heat on to dry the primer. I have another room that needs to be done in the future so thinking about putting a window fan and exhausting the air outwards.

Are there any sort of air cleaners or purifiers that are specifically designed to reduce the VOCs that oil based primer puts out? Something that I can rent would be optimal, don't really want to buy another piece of equipment since I don't prime fresh drywall that often...

-Joe

 
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Post by McGiever » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 10:51 am

I know, no help, but why oil base over interior paper drywall???

 
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 10:55 am

A small fan in the window blowing out should help, at the very lease it should keep the room negative compared to the others and contain the fumes.

I also wondered why you were using this type of primer on fresh drywall. It is useful to cover smoking residue, or stains, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.


 
NJJoe
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Post by NJJoe » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 10:59 am

I have a whole bunch of leftover primer from another job and want to use it up rather than go out and buy more. You saying for fresh drywall, oil is not needed?

Regardless I'll be in the same situation in a month because all the hardwood floors will be re-polyurethaned and I'll have to deal with the oil smell problem again.

 
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Post by NJJoe » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 11:01 am

I called an equipment rental place around me (Sunbelt Rentals) and they mentioned that have an air scrubber that can run all day and cycles air past activated carbon filters. Would this work against reducing the smell?

 
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Post by titleist1 » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 11:17 am

I think renting an Ozone scrubber would do it, worked for cat smell in a property we bought once but I have never done it for oil based paint.

There is water based polyurethane that is supposed to be smell free.


 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 11:25 am

The only oxidizer better than ozone is fluorine gas. Doubt you would want to use that one. ;) They rent ozone machines. I actually made one with an old burner transformer, some glass jars and a piece of stainless steel screen. Worked great in a moldy basement. The light show was an added bonus. :)

 
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Post by McGiever » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 11:29 am

Yes, to charcoal scrubber as an option...charcoal has tremendus surface area that attract.

Free paint aint free now. Waterbased Latex and Stains works in and out if labeld as such nowdays. :idea:

 
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Post by NJJoe » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 11:37 am

titleist1 wrote:There is water based polyurethane that is supposed to be smell free.


True, but my flooring guy is a little old school and wont use that. He swears by oil based poly and his floor refinishing results are somewhat spectacular...
coaledsweat wrote:The only oxidizer better than ozone is fluorine gas. Doubt you would want to use that one. ;) They rent ozone machines. I actually made one with an old burner transformer, some glass jars and a piece of stainless steel screen. Worked great in a moldy basement. The light show was an added bonus. :)
I looked at an ozone generator but they cautioned that it can only be used in a building that is not occupied. Plus ozone has its own smell. Maybe not as bad as oil VOCs but Im hesitant to run an ozone machine in the same building where I have tenants and especially when specifically cautioned against doing so.

I am curious about how your made a home made ozone generator though :up:

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Jan. 02, 2017 12:14 pm

You should not be in a room with ozone in any real concentration. Your throat will close up and you will cease to exist. The concentrations from a small generator will not be a big problem, it will irritate your throat before it becomes a problem. The smell is like after a thunderstorm and dissapates rapidly. Ozone is the trivalent form of oxygen.

Here are a few, mine is a biggie.

https://www.google.com/search?q=home+made+ozonator&oq=home+m ... 31&xxri=15

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