Sticky varnish / lacquer?

[TomVDJ]

I need some advice from the community here. I have a great looking Jurassic Park, raptor resonating chamber. It's painted and varnished. When I moved, it was packed in bubblewrap and left in a box for almost two years now. Yesterday, I took it out again, and noticed that the varnish had become sticky, as if the varnish didn't dry out yet (before I packed it, everything was fine). Some questions:

Could this be of being in bubblewrap so long?
I have put it on display now. Will the varnish "dry" again?
If it doesn't dry, how can I fix this? Spraying som clear lacquer on it to seal verything off? Or do I risk that the old and new varnish will give some reaction, ruining the complete prop?

All advice is very welcome!

 

[paddyfritz]

I have had varnish do this on wood. I removed it with alcohol and refinished it. I cant tell you what the alcohol may do to paint or the material the item is made from.

 

[joberg]

Try to rub, with a Q-Tip some oil on a small part of your prop. Is your varnish oil based or water based? Térébentine est aussi une solution (essaye sur une petite partie de ton modèle). Good luck, bonne chance.

 

[TomVDJ]

I have no idea what kind of varnish it is (didn't make the prop myself). I'd like to keep the paintjob, so removing everything with alcohol is not really an option. I'd just like to "fixate" the lacquer. The prop won't be handled too much, so there's not really a need for varnish...

Would it help to leave the prop in the sunlight on a warm day? I don't minde a little decoloration of the prop. It has an aged / boney appearance, so not a big deal if it becomes a bit more yellow or brown... Maybe the warmth of the sun will make the varnish to become hard again (to "cure" it on some way...)? In any case, it's just out of the plastic it was wrapped in. I'll leave it in the open for a week or a month and see how that turns out. Maybe the outer coat just becomes hard again... who knows...

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

I had a very similar issue shipping a helmet I finished to a customer. The clear layer softened and the bubble wrap actually stuck in places leaving some indents.

Doing some tests, I found that it only happened with a certain brand of cheap bubble wrap, and I couldn't get it to happen with any other bubble wrap I had. It was very weird.


I had to take the helmet back and lightly wetsand the clear down, and then reapply the clear. If you're careful enough with your wetsanding you shouldn't even come close to the paint later.

 

[TomVDJ]

Strange... There is no visible damage to the finishing, since the resonating chamber has a weathered look anyway... Do you think the lacquer will harden again if I leave it out there?

 

[Rogviler]

I'll bet it's a chemical in the wrap that leached into the top coat. Think of how finicky it can be to find a paint that's compatible with vinyl and nylon, and how even if you prime it with the correct paint the chemicals in the material can still migrate up through it and have an effect years later. In this case I think the outer layer is going to be toast, since the chemicals have already mixed together, and no amount of drying will cure it.

-Rog

 

[E Williams]

I'll bet it's a chemical in the wrap that leached into the top coat. Think of how finicky it can be to find a paint that's compatible with vinyl and nylon, and how even if you prime it with the correct paint the chemicals in the material can still migrate up through it and have an effect years later. In this case I think the outer layer is going to be toast, since the chemicals have already mixed together, and no amount of drying will cure it.

-Rog

I agree - it was almost certainly the bubble wrap which softened the finish. If the tacky spots are only where the bubbles were in contact with the prop (as in, you see a bubble pattern) that was definitely it. I've had the same thing occur a couple of times with bubble wrap softening Krylon gloss enamel paint (in one case it occurred in only the 3 days an item was being shipped) and wouldn't be surprised if other types of paint/varnish were susceptible as well.

You might be able to gently wipe away the tacky spots with isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth. If you are careful and lucky you might be able to just take the varnish off in those spots without harming the underlying paint (assuming the paint was unaffected by the bubble wrap). Afterwards let it sit for a week or two afterwards before trying to varnish again.

 

[TomVDJ]

Mmm, let's say I'll try with leaving it out in the open air for a few weeks first. Luckily it's not a terribly expensive prop. Lesson leard this week: bubblewrap can actually harm your props, instead of protecting them... Who would have guessed...

 

[Rogviler]

If it was a super precious piece then I would highly recommend getting the sticky stuff off now, since as I said it definitely keeps leeching if it's plastic chemicals. Go right ahead if you want to let it sit since it's not. I've already made my prediction. I may regret having not bet money on it, but then again maybe I wont.

Do let us know though.

-Rog

 

[TomVDJ]

I'l sure let know what happens to it when it just sits on the shelf. Right now I have the impression that it becomes slightly better, but it can be that this is just in my mind ;-). It's out for only two days now, so I'll give it at least a week before I "evaluate the situation" . Thanks guys for all the opinions and comments. I think you guys are right that it was the bubble wrap itself that caused the problem, since I can't think of any other reason...

Made me unpack a few other props that are still in bubble wrap. One of them being Rylo's nightvision goggles :unsure. Luckily, nothing else was affected, but I wrapped everything in a few sheets of paper before butting it in bubblewrap again, just to make sure. If the nighvision goggles would have been affected, that would have been a disaster, since this really is a unique prop!

 

[TomVDJ]

For those interested: I left the resonating chamber on display for almost a week now, and the stickiness is clearly less. Not completely gone yet, but much, much less than in the beginning. I guess whatever chemical went from the bubblewrap into the lacquer, it is vaporating again now that it's out of the bubblewrap, and the lacquer is getting its hardness back... If it cures at this rate, I think within 14 days, the piece will have hardened out again. It's also pretty hot here at this moment (+25° Celcius), which might contribute to the hardening of the lacquer.

Anyway, I'll keep you guys posted. More news within a week or two .