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Paint feels tacky - What am I missing?

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WunderCade:
np....but i'd rethink using enamel in the future, steer clear of it. Most good brand (not BEHR) water-based paints these days are good enough to have a nice durable finish without the headaches of enamel. You can even finish it off with a good clear coat if you wanted.


--- Quote from: Lakersfan on August 19, 2007, 02:20:31 pm ---Wow, thanks for replies, guys! I appreciate you taking the time to try and give me a hand.

A few of the answers to the questions you asked:
I looked at the paint can and it says 100% acrylic latex, semi-gloss enamel. And yes, it remains tacky. We last painted it Friday morning and today (Sunday morning) it still felt a bit tacky (maybe a tad better). So I took a dry towel to it and rubbed it and it scruffs all up. If its just a matter of waiting for it to fully cure, I'm down for that. But I'd hate to wait a month and have it feel the same way. It's not peeling, nor does it really feel like it would if I tried, although I'm only guessing as I don't want to try to peel it if I don't have to...

Thanks again!

--- End quote ---

Lakersfan:
Thanks, you guys have relieved me a bit. I went out this afternoon to feel it and it did feel less tacky. So I think time is the key here. Next time I'll steer clear of the enamel...

Once it cures, will it be a little better with the easy scuffing that occurs now as well?

ARTIFACT:
the easy scuffing part is where I thought you had smoothed the primer coats too much before painting - at least it's what happened to me

f4phantomii:
I'm assuming the Behr paint is latex or latex-acrylic.  It's good stuff, by the way.

Some paints will dry, but take several days to actually harden up completely.

For example, some polyurethane based paints can take up to 10 days to fully harden even though they are tack-free within a few hours.  You can actually dig in a fingernail and the paint feels soft even though it isn't sticky.

Latex and latex-acrylics aren't that bad, but if it's humid (and it is here!) it may take a couple of days to fully dry out, especially if you are using a brush or a roller that lays on a thick coat.

I know it's hard to be patient, but I'd recommend giving it several days to dry well in between coats.  If possible, leave it in the sunlight for several hours at a time.

No problem sanding the primer and in-between final coats.....I do it all the time.....down to 400 grit.  Give it an excellent, soft feel.

If you are using a flat paint, I'd recommend thinning it out a little with water.  In particular, the Behr paint is pretty thick as they try to give you a "one coat" paint.  Yeah, it's easy, but doesn't usually yield the result you desire...especially if you are going to the trouble to sand between coats.

If you want that professionally finished look, you can't beat a spray finish.  I spray everything that I paint now.  A $70 air compressor and a $20 HVLP spray gun work fine for small projects.  Nothing else looks as good.  It takes practice...don't expect to be an expert the first time.  But I had a buddy spray his boat without any prior experience and it turned out awesome.  He followed my advice and painted several practice scrap pieces of wood until he got the spray gun set just right and the paint thinned just right.  In particular, the paint viscosity is key.

Lakersfan:
Thanks. Well I work a ton of hours this week so I expect to get a lot of dry time in.  ;)

Another question: the paint isn't really appearing how I thought it should. You can see roller paths (if that makes sense) from using the roller, even though we are trying our best to roll smoothly and evenly. It's a high quality foam roller that we're using. I know we're painting everything because after sanding you can see a slight haze that makes it easy to see where you need to paint. Is it just because it's a tad thicker in some places and once it completely dries, it'll go away?

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