What do you do about paint that wont dry?

[jason1976]

Ok, so I spray painted a resin prop with "Krylon Textured Metallic" (black with little metallic flakes.) Over a month ago. (could be closer to a month ,and a half.)

Well it's still tacky. It's not like drooping, sagging, peeling, running, or anything, it's just tacky. Kind of like one of those things your role on your close to get lent off.

Is there anything I can do for it? If I heat it up, the resin will just put off oils that would make the whole problem worse.

Any help would be great.

 

[sycor]

Could you try a clear coat?

 

[zorg]

i would just strip it and start again. maybe try a different paint.

did you prime it?

z

 

[Gigatron]

Strip it off and start again.

After you've gotten the paint off, wash the thing in Simple Green or E-Z Off Oven cleaner. Then a wash in some nice, warm, soapy water and let air dry.

Then prime it with krylon sandable primer. Let that cure overnight. Then take your top coat and shake the bejeezus out of the can for a full 5 minutes. Then spray your top color in light mists until you get full coverage.

Non drying paint happens for 2 reasons (when working with a resin prop) - the resin never fully cured and is weeping and it's interfering with the paint, or the paint is old (been on the shelf a while) and the activator seperated from the carrier. So you sprayed the color and carrier, but the stuff that causes it to dry, never mixed in well enough.

-Fred

 

[jason1976]

Well this was a pretty reasonably priced prop at first, but I've repainted it with airbrush paints a number of times already, and had to keep clearing that off, and cleaning it with acitone, and then with soapy water, and rinsing very well, before, I did this new paint. I just couldn't get the paint the way I wanted it, and it is finally perfect, I don't want to clear it all off, and start the nightmare all over again.

I don't really remember, but yes I think I primed it, but it's "Krylon Fusion" so that shouldn't mater, because it's for plastics, and I've never needed to prime with it before.

My girlfriend said to try clear coating it, but I'm afraid that, that will just kill the metallic look, and it could make the stick worse. If I did do that, what kind of clear should I use?

 

[Noeland]

Maybe it looks perfect, but it isn't perfect if it's tacky, ya know? That's a chemical reaction that will just carry over to the clearcoat paint, then you'll have a tacky clearcoat.

Maybe try getting another reasonaly priced prop, and starting from scratch?

Or, just put the thing behind glass and leave it.

I mean hey, they had some still tacky star trek props that had been packed up for years. It's not going to ever cure properly.

 

[motman241]

Krylon Fusion is a chemical world all unto its own. It is a really great paint, but most people don't realize, Fusion must cure for AT LEAST a week. Even then, some paints just do not play well with others. If the paint is tacky, putting more on it will not fix it.

Gigatron said it best - there's usually only two areas for problems in your spot - the resin or the paint. It very well might be with the Fusion paint, but it might also very well be that your resin did not fully get a chance to "dry itself" of the chemicals you used to clean it previously.

Your options now are to leave it tacky, or start over.

 

[Romans Empire]

I’ve had the same problem with metallic gold paint.

I think it has something to do with the “metallic” part of the paint. I use to make a V1 Xena Chakram and could never get the paint to dry. And like you I would wait for weeks.

Anyhow, the first fix was clear coat. Krylon clear works great, and the chakram kept it’s metallic look. Although at certain angles the glossy look was obvious.

The second fix was air-brushing over two or three days. I would apply one VERY light coat every 12-15 hours. By the third coat the second coat was dried very nicely. With this method I was able to avoid using clear coat.

So try the clear coat and see if the glossy look (from certain angles) doesn’t bug you. If it does then just start over. You want/have to try something, so you may not be able to avoid starting over anyhow.

Good luck!!!

 

[Romans Empire]

One more thing!

Since the paint is still moist. You HAVE to apply the clear coat very CAREFULLY or your metallic black will begin to run. Apply a few light coats of clear over an hour or two.

 

[jason1976]

ARG! Ok, well, it's mostly a display piece so I could just leave it. I mean It's really not that tacky. You can pick it up, and play with it for like a minute, or so, before it feels tacky, so............

On, the other hand, I do like the prop, and it wont hurt to try the clear this weekend, and if that doesn't work. Um, well, I guess start over, but I've been working on this very, very, very, simple propl for months, I'm really sick of the time, effort, and expense I'm putting in to it, to not be done yet. Non of my proops ever turn out the way I want them to look, and this one finilly has, and now, I may have to strip it all down, and start all over. Ok, Ok, Ok. just had to get that out, after, months of paint trouble.

I'm great at sanding, filing, filling, shaping, and even priming, but I suck at painting, and I've been doing it for years now, so there really isn't any excuse at this point.

 

[GF]

A Clearcoat will seal everything up, might not have the same effect as your original paint finish. For metalic colors it's best to use duplicor automotive spray cans, and always use self etching primer first.

I had a bas experience with cheap Krylon primer and paints, they are not durable paints, they dry fast and apply nicely but as far as adherence they suck.

GFollano

 

[darthgordon]

A clear coat doesn't sound like a good idea to me either, any solvent in the paint could evaporate and get trapped under the clear. I personally don't like canned clear coat anyway b/c I've found it to be less durable than you would get at an autobody shop. It seems to get marks easily.

However, someone has already said that they've worked with Krylon and the clear coat worked. So it may work for you.

 

[dropshipbob]

Try an acrylic clear coat. It's drying isn't dependent on weather or not the preceding paint is or isn't tacky.

But it WILL kill a metalic paint job (make it dull). But it will seal in the tackiness.

 

[Gigatron]

Putting a gloss coat on it isn't going to actually solve the problem. There's a chemical reason it isn't drying. A gloos coat, even if it does dry, is only going to seal the problem on the inside - temporarily. It's like getting your arm chooped off and then using band-aids to hold it in place - "meh, it's attached, that's good enough".

Here's the thing, I've been painting with spraycans for 2 decades (yes, I'm that old), in every type of weather condition you can think of. If there's a problem that can be encountered, I've seen and dealt with it.

You can half-ass the solution for a couple of months, or you can do it right, now.

First, what's the relative humidity and temperature where you paint? Paint does not like humidity over 30%. It also doesn't do well in temperatures under 62*F or over 80*F.

Next, you have to eliminate where the problem is originating. The only way to do that is to thouroughly clean the piece and let dry. Simple Green will break down the paints and residual resin oils. Once you've let it dry, wait a week and see if there are any oily/greasy deposits on the piece.
If there are, the resin's weeping. You can try a low heat, long term re-cure (200* oven for a few hours), or you can coat the piece in extra-thin cyanoacrylate (crazy glue). The CA will fill all the micro pores and keep it from weeping.
If there isn't, the problem is in the paint. You either need to shake this one for a solid 5 minutes, or preferably, buy a new can.

But that's just my experience, do with it what you will.

-Fred

 

[Darth Detroit]

Putting a gloss coat on it isn't going to actually solve the problem. There's a chemical reason it isn't drying. A gloos coat, even if it does dry, is only going to seal the problem on the inside - temporarily. It's like getting your arm chooped off and then using band-aids to hold it in place - "meh, it's attached, that's good enough".

Here's the thing, I've been painting with spraycans for 2 decades (yes, I'm that old), in every type of weather condition you can think of. If there's a problem that can be encountered, I've seen and dealt with it.

You can half-ass the solution for a couple of months, or you can do it right, now.

First, what's the relative humidity and temperature where you paint? Paint does not like humidity over 30%. It also doesn't do well in temperatures under 62*F or over 80*F.

Next, you have to eliminate where the problem is originating. The only way to do that is to thouroughly clean the piece and let dry. Simple Green will break down the paints and residual resin oils. Once you've let it dry, wait a week and see if there are any oily/greasy deposits on the piece.
If there are, the resin's weeping. You can try a low heat, long term re-cure (200* oven for a few hours), or you can coat the piece in extra-thin cyanoacrylate (crazy glue). The CA will fill all the micro pores and keep it from weeping.
If there isn't, the problem is in the paint. You either need to shake this one for a solid 5 minutes, or preferably, buy a new can.

But that's just my experience, do with it what you will.

-Fred

What he said.:thumbsup
There are too many vairables to why it went wrong. Besides, if youthrow on some clear coat, it may not be compatible with any of the existing paint, and now you have ANOTHER problem. Strip it down, and start over. thats what I would do.

 

[Clutch]

Try shaking it in a bag of cornstarch and letting is sit for about a week in it. It might leech the oils out. Don't know what it'll do for the sparkly finish though. You'd probably have to wash it down with water once you were finished with the cornstarch.

 

[Darth Clouds]

If you used a primer coat, it could be one of the reasons that your top coat will not try and remain tacky, because of the different paint base between the primer and top coat.

I faced the same problem of paint that won't dry. I read somewhere on the 1/6 modelling boards on painting of vinyl heads; I forgotten the sequence of application of paint of different bases, enamels, acrylic and lacquer that will have such consequences... maybe this is the reason.

Food for thought if you are using different paints for different coats.

 

[Wolfie]

I had the stock of an MG34 do that with my woodstain. Someone recommended this, so I took a very very very light dry brushing of a similar brown cheapy walmart apple barrel paint to it. It dried the very next day non-tacky.

I know they make some metalic colors...

 

[jason1976]

Well thanks for all the advice gain, I know your all right, I really do need to start over, bnut I really am SICK of this project, and I'm just not willing to put that kind of work in it.

I like the cone starch Idea, I've been thinking that some kind of powder might work too.

I've been doing this for a wile, and wall I don't usually get great results really always have cleaned all my part very, very, well, often many times before painting. I shake the cans like crazy, for at lest 3 minutes. I try to use light coats, and I let them dray for a very, long time. (as in weeks)

The fact is I live in ohio. It's always either way too cold, or hot, and always way too humid. There are about hand full of days, a year. (I kid you not) that are truly Ideal to the guidelines on the cans, and I was "lucky" enough to paint this prop on one of those rare, and precious days, only to have it turn out like this. I guess you just can't paint in ohio with out a shop to do it in.

 

[101radioman]

I used the black metalic Fusion paint on the Pulse rifle I pictured in a thread a few days ago, and I also used it on an MG34 I got from Clutch here.

I had the same problem it just felt tacky even after a couple weeks, I left it and when I was done with the othe parts I clear coated with Armory semi gloss after that dried I didn't have the tacky feeling after.