Mystery odor in the armoire...

[Jesse Cloud]

I came up short for answers when a friend wrote about a problem with a smelly antique - hope someone out there can help...

"Anyway, the armoire has a faux painted finish that they call grain painting. Looks real nice. The thing is quite old and built of various very wide boards (14” +) with square nails. There was some mustiness from water damage to the back so I decided to shellac it to seal in any odors. While I was at it, I coated the entire piece just to seal any old dirt and questionable paint. Now, I finally get to my mystery. Since I coated it with shellac, the interior (was painted with some sort of fairly smooth gray paint (enamel, milk paint?) the thing has a nasty odor. I think this is coming from inside so wonder if the shellac is somehow reacting with the gray paint. I didn’t notice any odor before painting, but maybe was distracted by the moldy odor on the back (now gone).

Any ideas what might be causing this odor or how to get rid of it? The only parts that I could not shellac are board edges (but joints) like the divider between the two sides of the armoire.
Thanks in advance for any ideas."

[Jim Becker]

The shellac should be sealing any odors in so my first inclination is that there is something else causing the issue. Shellac is about the best moisture and odor barrier going...