Q: I am chemically sensitive and am renting a house where some perfume has embedded itself into the wood doors of a closet. I am looking for a clear sealer with no vocs and no fungicides or harsh chemicals to use to seal the odor in.
A: The very best odor sealer is shellac or dewaxed shellac, which is sold as Zinsser SealCoat. One coat should seal in the odor. The good news is that it is not likely to pose any problems for you and your chemical sensitivity. Shellac resin itself is completely edible and the only solvent it contains is ethanol, the same grain alcohol that you consume in beer, wine and liquor. There are no fungicides or harsh chemicals added to it. However, you mentioned VOCs, and alcohol itself is a VOC.
Personally, I suspect that you may be confusing VOCs with HAPs, or hazardous air pollutants. Alcohol is a VOC, but not a HAP. Its fumes will not harm you unless you breathe in an excessive amount, at which point you will be drunk, just as if you drink an excessive amount.
Bear in mind that VOCs in normal doses do not necessarily affect us humans; some, but not all, can affect the environment, but that’s not the same thing. Fortunately, alcohol has extremely little effect even on the environment, so as VOCs go, it is certainly one of the most benign if you are concerned about your impact on the planet.
For what it is worth, I have never come across a single chemical sensitive person with a sensitivity to either shellac or grain alcohol. This is a very good thing, since shellac is widely used to coat vitamins, pharmaceuticals and candy, and alcohol is produced by our own bodies while digesting certain foods, such as rice. Thus, it’s just about a dead certainty that somewhere along the way, you have consumed both without incident.
Michael Dresdner
straight talk about wood finishing
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