Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Almost two weeks and those new painted cage stands are STILL stinking up my cellar(they look good though). That oil base paint is some obnoxiuos stuff! I think I'm going to get a hand truck and cart them out to the garage and wheel them out on sunny days to air out better? Why would anyone even use that kind of stuff these days? The odor will eventually go away right? LOL

Chris , How long do you think I should air out the cellar before putting the guys back in their cages? Any need to wash down the cages or just put them back when it doesn't smell anymore? I appreciate your opinions. I don't want to be overboard worrisome ,it's just that I've spent so much time and effort on my animals I don't want to screw up. LOL Thanks,
Bob.

Bob,

Like I think I mentioned last time the solvent concentration has likely been changed in modern oil-based paints. In fact since we last exchanged messages I think I read something that confirmed that.

So, ironically, the decrease in the amount of solvent has actually made these products offgass longer since a thicker film tends to develop which retards offgassging from the center of the layer(s) of paint.

I would keep them out of the sun. You don't want the paint exposed to UVR unless it specifically was an exterior product.

The odor should go away eventually but solvent based varnishes are known to offgass for years.

Since these are cage stands I think a small amount of odor will be okay but only you can decide what you are comfortable with.

If you have empty plastic cages and racks sitting in the room I would remove them. I just don't know to what extent the plastic will absorb some of the solvent fumes.

nm

Hello Bob,
Ventilation and moving air is key in reducing the offgas time. Elevated temps (meaning above room temp) helps a little.

I had a linen closet in the house painted with oil-based paint, and it smelled for about 3 months easily. So patience is a virtue in this case.

A trick I used when I painted cages on the inside was to wait about a week to let the paint harden and then fill the cage with Care-Fresh. That stuff seemed to draw the odor from the cage into the substrate. Seemed to reduce offgas time. Of course, you're not talking about cages, so this is of no use to your cage stands.

More off-topic stuff -
BTW, I found some maple-veneered particleboard cabinet kits at Home Depot. I bought a 3ft wide x 18"high x 12"deep one and made a cage out of it. So simple and it looks so nice. All I had to do was add glass track and a painted piece of 1x3 MDF as a removable/replaceable/disposable litter dam, plus the heater of course. Probably won't last forever, but for the inexpensive price and ease of contruction, I'm hooked. Cage building just got 300% faster for me.

Thanks also Mark. I am sick over this. I hope I have not inadvertently screwed up my cages that I left down there for the past week and a half ( I have had a dehumidifier going and MANY fans as well as opening the windows when it's not real humid). I guess I should just chill, get a hand truck to move the cages out of the basement and into the garage and leave them there indefinitely till they don't stink anymore and just ventilate the cellar as best as possible till all traces of odor disappear.( this was supposed to be a way of sending some work to a freind who needed it and a way to better organize my smaller collection...oh well...Dopey me, I never anticipated he would use oil base paint..Arggggg....)
Thanks Guys,
Bob.

The cage stands...not me. Sorry for getting flustered.I'm going to give them a while longer and then return the guys to their rightful homes. Thanks Guys,
Bob.