# Paint does not dry, and stays tacky?!



## MikeMaMan (Jul 1, 2014)

Hey guys. I am in need of some help. Basically here is the story.
I build a speaker cabinets from MDF. And used the "BnQ Colours undercoat and primer". It dries nice and feels ok. But after this i used the Plastikote matt spray, and it did not dry it stays tacky for a long time. So i decided to try another paint, thinking spray is not compatible, and bought Dulux Quick Dry Satinwood black paint. But i encountered same problem. It says on the tin "touch dry in 30 min" but even after few hours i can still leave marks on the surface if i press harder. Basically even after more that 12 hours i rested speaker cabinet on the shirt, and it left the marks on the surface. Could you please advice me on what to do? Is this the primer fault?
Thank you. Mike.


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## Homerepairguy (Aug 1, 2010)

MikeMaMan said:


> Hey guys. I am in need of some help. Basically here is the story.
> I build a speaker cabinets from MDF. And used the "BnQ Colours undercoat and primer". It dries nice and feels ok. But after this i used the Plastikote matt spray, and it did not dry it stays tacky for a long time. So i decided to try another paint, thinking spray is not compatible, and bought Dulux Quick Dry Satinwood black paint. But i encountered same problem. It says on the tin "touch dry in 30 min" but even after few hours i can still leave marks on the surface if i press harder. Basically even after more that 12 hours i rested speaker cabinet on the shirt, and it left the marks on the surface. Could you please advice me on what to do? Is this the primer fault?
> Thank you. Mike.


I would try a test on a scrap piece of MDF. Apply the same undercoat and primer. Then apply the Dulux quick dry satinwood black paint. (This omits the matt spray)

Also try only the primer and the Dulux on another scrap piece.

Also try only the matt spray directly on a bare scrap of MDF. And try the Dulux directly on another bare scrap of MDF.

IOW, testing various combinations to see what is causing the never dries hard problem.

HRG


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## MikeMaMan (Jul 1, 2014)

Homerepairguy said:


> I would try a test on a scrap piece of MDF. Apply the same undercoat and primer. Then apply the Dulux quick dry satinwood black paint. (This omits the matt spray)
> 
> Also try only the primer and the Dulux on another scrap piece.
> 
> ...


I have done that.
Spray on bare mdf feels slightly wet but not tacky.
Quick dry on bare mdf feels much better as well. But does not feel as dry as the primer. I was hoping what every other paint i use will be as dry as the primer. Especially then it says Touch Dry in 30 min on the tin.
Oh yes, and since Plastikote didn't i washed of from few sides of the speaker. so with Dulux i painted over spayed and just primed surface and the result is the same. Tacky.
So what are my options? I got 4 ready to be painted black speaker cabinets. And obviously paint doesn't go well together. I kind of like the result color of black satinwood i got. But how long will it stay tacky. Or can i paint some clear coat on top of it which will dry? Or will it dry? 
Confused.


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## ront02769 (Nov 28, 2008)

Whatever happens, do NOT paint over a wet/tacky surface. Nothing good will come of it! Any chance to sand and re prime with plasticote primer? Ron


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## MikeMaMan (Jul 1, 2014)

ront02769 said:


> Whatever happens, do NOT paint over a wet/tacky surface. Nothing good will come of it! Any chance to sand and re prime with plasticote primer? Ron


All i did is fallowed the instructions on the tin. Primer was well dry. I decided not to use Plastikote spray. So i guess you suggesting to use primer made by same company as finish? It is Dulux in my case. Would using Dulux Primer as recommended on the tin help? If i prime already primed surface? I really don't want to buy more paint


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## billkitch (Jul 4, 2014)

I agree with ront, you could done the same as he said.


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## spraygunn (Nov 14, 2010)

I used to work with an old European painter that seemed to have a cure for everything. We were talking one day about paint that wouldn’t dry and he said to wipe it down with vinegar. I don’t know what the vinegar does but it seems to help a little. Worth a try.


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## Constergp (Jul 7, 2014)

We are using a latex satin paint on kitchen cabinets and it is not drying enough to even flip them and paint other side. It has been 58 hrs and still tacky to flip. Would the vinegar help with this or do you have another suggestion? Thanks


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## Danahy (Feb 23, 2014)

Constergp said:


> We are using a latex satin paint on kitchen cabinets and it is not drying enough to even flip them and paint other side. It has been 58 hrs and still tacky to flip. Would the vinegar help with this or do you have another suggestion? Thanks


What brand and line of paint are you using?


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## Constergp (Jul 7, 2014)

Glidden satin latex paint


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## Constergp (Jul 7, 2014)

Glidden satin in latex paint. We sanded, cleaned with TSP and also wiped downed with acetone. Looks great and applied easily. Just can't flip without sticking. Need to paint flip side


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## spraygunn (Nov 14, 2010)

*The vinegar probably won’t do much good. At the time I discussed with my associate we were using strictly oil base products. I don’t know what affect it would have with latex coatings.
*


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Constergp said:


> Glidden satin in latex paint. We sanded, cleaned with TSP and also wiped downed with acetone. Looks great and applied easily. Just can't flip without sticking. Need to paint flip side


 
right there is most likely the problem


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

Not to be pedantic, but for future reference..... Paint does 2 things. First it dries, then it cures. Unless your surface is really wet (that sounds impossible) and the humidity in your house is 99% (that sounds impossible), then it's not a drying problem. Your paint is drying. Since it is water based paint, the basic physics of the situation means that your paint is going to dry, no matter what.

What's probably helping is something is wrong somewhere and the paint is not curing properly. That is much more difficult to figure out, but I think you gave the clue.

I don't know specifically what acetone does to latex paint, but I have read that some painters use acetone to test if an existing paint job is latex or oil. If the paint does not soften, it's oil. If it does, it's latex. That should tell you something bad right there. So I agree with chrisn that that's most likely the issue.

It sounds to me like you have to scrape it _all_ off and restart.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Well, at long last we agree about something :laughing:


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## Will22 (Feb 1, 2011)

what acetone does to latex paint

It will soften it up, make it gummy.


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