My new van is home!

[Qxxx]

Light colored is very good, as it makes the inside of the van seem a lot less like a closet.

 

[Cammalu]

It would look good with those turquoise drawers


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[Cammalu]

Qxxx you hardly need any paint. You can go to the craft section of Walmart and pick up a bottle. You dilute it so much I doubt you’d smell anything. You could even use milk paint. I haven’t done it in a long time but I bet I used about 10-20 parts water to one of paint.

 

[GypsyJan]

If you add a few drops of vanilla (not imitation) to the paint, it won't smell.

 

[Lmpaden]

Yes I intend to give the wood a finish once I get to AZ. It's too cold now in MN to do it. I'm considering a mixture of dark stain on framing portions and a previously used paint technique. I'll provide a picture under another post.

 

[Lmpaden]

Here is the finish I'm considering.

 

[crofter]

That's dark but if you like it that's all that matters. I used oil base polyurethane on the floor and cabinets. It is waterproof and I don't have to worry about mold when there are spills. There is a longer dry time with it though, and smelly for a week or two.    -crofter

 

[maki2]

Right now, I'm a bit leery of any sort of wood finishing chemicals, as I'm about to head to AZ to live in the van for the next 3 months, and any VOCs would destroy my sinuses. It's hard to find a non-allergenic option.

I can see that you don't yet have any background knowledge of what VOC means and what allergies are.

The definition of an allergy is an over reaction to a harmless substance. There is no way to predict what harmless substance you might react to.

But many times what people experience is not an allergy but instead sensitivity to a chemical. An allergic reaction is not the same thing as having developed a reaction to a particular chemical. Not just chemicals in industry, a person can also develop sensitivity to natural chemicals over time through exposure. For instance the smell of the plant with yellow flower known as "Scotch Broom" that bothers a lot of people is not an allergic reaction, it is a chemical sensitivity. The same thing is true of many of the perfumes that are used in laundry detergents, air fresheners and such.

VOC reaction can be a chemical sensitivity reaction as well but it has other health issues associated with it. VOC stands for volatile organic compound. You can read about what it is here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound

Avoiding VOCs in a finish is dead simple, just buy water based products that have no VOCs in them. Every paint and hardware store sells water based finishes so you will have no trouble finding a suitable finish be it paint or a water based "varnish".

There is yet another category you can look for that will keep you from having issues, that is a product that not only has no VOCs but is also formulated to be very low odor. So I would recommend that you head to a local paint store or the paint department in a Home Center store and ask for a water based, low odor paint or clear finish, you can also get water based stains if you need that option. It will like say low odor right on the display.

Knowing the "keywords" that describe what you want to find makes shopping much easier. In your case it is "low odor water based"

 

[Qxxx]

Thank you for the seminar. When my sinuses and asthma are killing me in the tiny space in the van this winter, you can be certain I'll be thinking about the meaning of "harmless substance".

 

[maki2]

I get some painful sinus issues with low humidity. Too dry of air can really aggravate the sinus tissues leading to sinus pressure and bad headaches too. So having a heater that creates some humidity is rather handy for preventing too dry of air.

At the thrift store came across a little 5V usb powered "swamp cooler" called Artic Air. Just the right size for a small space and it is no a big energy hog.

Even though I am in Seattle at the moment and it is known for being wet I am using an electric cube heater which I find it dries out the air so much my sinuses suffer as well as my bronchials. The Artic Air has come in very handy as a cool mist humidifier to give me some relief when I start noticing sinus issues. Of course I don't have it blowing directly on me as that wet, unheated, breeze is quite chilly. A long hot, steamy shower would be better but that is not always an option for van dwellers.

 

[Lmpaden]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback and new info. One never knows when it may come in handy.

I'm actually thinking of a turquoise wash followed by a whitewash and then some sanding. The piece I posted and alluded to earlier, had originally been stained, then painted over with black. I sanded it down, leaving some of both and then did the tourouise wash and sanded again. The picture is really darker than it actually is.

Check out and share my finished project at:
https://livethedreamlucie.home.blog/

 

[Qxxx]

Good luck with the build. Paint washes are something I'm not familiar with, so be nice to hear how they turn out.