# Odor Helmsman Spar Varnish



## 4givndude (Apr 16, 2010)

Ok here is my dilemma, I built a beautiful Coffee container out of Kentucky coffee wood to store coffee beans for my wife who is known as the local "coffee officianatto". (ok enough about "coffee" already) My problem is I wanted to seal the inside good to hold the coffee flavor in so I used Minwax Helmsman Spar Varnish on the inside and outside, well now I have this god awful odor. I tried leaving the lid open for a month or more and its still there :furious:!!
Any advice would be appreciated, I am open to stripping it down to bare wood and using something else if needed. At this point any solution will be considered.:furious: :furious:
Thanks, Ernie


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

For whatever reason, that smell will almost never go away from the inside of a container. Try using some lemon oil wax, http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/s...afe_Finishes___Lemon_Oil_Wax___lemon_wax?Args=. This is the only finish I use on my turned boxes because of the smell factor.


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## fromtheforty (Jan 15, 2011)

Try dewaxed shellac. If I am not mistaken serveral of the odor sealing paint primers are shellac based.

Geoff


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

fromtheforty said:


> Try dewaxed shellac.
> 
> Geoff


That may be a quick fix, and Seal Coat would work. If it were mine, I would strip the finish off. Spar varnish doesn't dry very hard, and has a degree of elasticity to weather outdoor conditions. It's not really suggested for indoor furniture type use.

Adding shellac to the varnish may help cut the odor, but shellac doesn't dry very hard either. You may have some beans stickin' to the inside...maybe not.












 







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## 4givndude (Apr 16, 2010)

Thanks for the input, sounds like I'll be stripping and resealing. Darn just wish I would've done my research the first time! !! I guess its another lesson in read the directions huh?


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## Blur (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm going to second Cabinetman on this one, I think he hit the nail on the head. Spar varnish is a long oil varnish meaning it has a higher oil to resin content than other varnishes. That makes it more flexible to deal with seasonal changes in wood's size and shape, but makes it softer. And, the smell would probably never fully leave a box like you're describing. :/

If it were me, I'd strip it down to bare wood, and use a water based polyurethane to seal the inside of the box. You'll have to dewhisker the wood fist because all water based finishes have a tendency to raise the grain of wood, but the upside is worth the extra work. The water based poly is very low oder to start with because of the low solvent content, dries very hard, can build up as thick a coat as you need, and is a great sealant. Others may have other suggestions, but that's how I'd go about it. Good luck!


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