Paint still sticky after a week?!


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Old 07-03-10, 09:24 PM
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Paint still sticky after a week?!

My wife painted some plain wood bookshelves for my son's room. Two coats of primer (Olympic low VOC white) and then covered with two coats of Behr Three Cheers for Pooh (red color). It sat in the garage all week long and it feels dry to the touch, so she put it in his room today. Problem is, it feels and sounds as though everything is sticking to it. She put a little cardboard case that holds a series of books on top, and it sound and feels as though it is sticking to the bookshelf.

Is it possible that the paint never cured fully due to humidity from sitting in the garage? I don't want stuff to get stuck to it and ruin something or the bookshelf (plus I don't want it sticking to the carpet!).

Any thoughts on why this is happening?

Thanks,
Neil
 
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Old 07-04-10, 03:49 AM
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The humidity may have slowed down the curing process some but it should be fully cured in a weeks time. Extra pigment does take a little longer to dry.

I'm not real familiar with Behr's product line but in general the cheaper latex enamels don't dry to as hard a film as the better quality enamels do.

You might give it another week before putting it to use but if it's still sticky at that time, your best bet would be to sand it lightly and apply another coat of red but this time either use an oil base enamel or a better brand/quality of latex enamel [from a paint store not a paint dept]
 
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Old 07-04-10, 06:18 AM
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Thanks for the reply. I think I might set it inthe sun for an hour or so to try and fully dry it. I know you aren't supposed to paint in the sun, but this is already painted and just needs to fully cure, so I am thinking it should be alright.

-Neil
 
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Old 07-04-10, 01:01 PM
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I wish you luck
the sun won't hurt the paint any, the worst it can do is help it fade some but I doubt that will be an issue. The main reason for not painting in the full sun is to prevent the paint from drying to fast and not getting a good bond with the substrate. Some of the cheaper latex enamels never dry to a hard film - I hope that's not the case but I wouldn't bet on it.
 
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Old 07-05-10, 07:57 AM
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Did your wife let the paint dry thoroughly between coats? I know that when the humidity is high, it seems to take forever for paint to dry. I learned the hard way - thought it was dry, painted the finish coat, and when it was dry to the touch, moved the dresser into a room. Paint was not cured, and as soon as I put something on the dresser, it stuck to it......had to totally redo the piece... : (
 
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Old 07-06-10, 01:07 PM
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So what should the next step be? I took everything off the shelves, put it in the sun for a few hours (forgot to tell the wife to bring it in while I was out ), and it is now sitting in our dining room. Feels dry to the touch, but I haven't done the "cardboard" test.

The "cardboard" test is when I noticed the issue as I was moving a set of books we had bought him that comes in a nice little printed cardboard holder. It seemed to be sticking to the top shelf. Maybe I will give it the "test" tonight and hope it doesn't stick!

Would a coat of polyurethane help seal the paint? Or if the paint hasn't cured cause more harm than good? Or maybe the poly won't cure either....

Thanks,
Neil
 
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Old 07-06-10, 04:57 PM
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If you go the Urethane route, you'll want to make sure you get a Polyacrylic since you used a latex paint. The oil-based version will do next to nothing if applied on top of the latex finish. Would it solve your problem - I'm not 100% sure. If it is a curing issue then it should be fine (lightly sand prior to applying).
 
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Old 07-07-10, 03:52 AM
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Oil base poly should correct the sticking problem but it will alter the color of the paint [oil poly can deepen the color and will amber it some, more as it ages] I've not used enough waterbased poly to know for sure if it would fix the stickiness. A coat of oil base enamel [same color] would also work.
 
 

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