Why does nobody talk about wood stove seasoning for the first heat of fall?

Last October I fired up the stove for the first cold snap and the whole house smelled like burnt oil for two days. Turns out I never let the fresh coat of stove paint cure properly back in August, and that first burn just baked it all off. Has anyone else dealt with that rookie mistake or do I just have a weirdly sensitive nose?

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perry.karen22d ago

Honestly, that burnt oil smell is no joke. I read somewhere that you're supposed to do a few low, slow burns to cure the paint, not just let it sit and hope for the best. Tbh, I did the same thing my first year, fired it up hot and the whole living room smelled like a mechanic's shop for a week. I ended up opening every window and running a fan, but the smell stuck to the curtains. Now I always do a couple of small fires in late September, just to bake the paint on gently before it actually matters.