I just built a new ladder to go with a new stand and painted it yesterday. Obviously the smell of spray paint fumes on it is pretty strong. I plan on taking out and setting it up with a new stand tomorrow (saturday). My question is how long do you think I need to leave it before I hunt out of it or do you think the deer will not associate the smell with human odor and will still come within range?

I know I've seen deer walk right by a truck that a hunter parked and left only minutes before and did not seem alerted at all. Do you think the smell of paint would be similar to fertilizers and other chemicals deer smell often? I've seen deer in another stand that had been painted only a week before I sat in it and they were not alarmed.

Anybody have any experiences where they've painted a stand, blind, etc and then hunted in it?