Paint that won't "harden"..... viagra time???

I am improving my painting skills with some new HVLP guns and some Rust Oleum Enamel thinned out with mineral spirits.......

The parts are sitting for over a week but the paint still feels real soft. You can easily put a fingernail into it & leave a mark.

Do I need some hardener? Am I expecting too much from a $7 paint?

A soft paint like that will probably lift if I put some clear coat over it.

I don't want to spend the $$$ on a real paint until my gun handling skills are better.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

Try some heat lamps on it. What's the temperature where it's sitting ??

With no hardener in the paint, I think you'd have disaster if you tried to clear it, plus you have the fact that the base isn't cured yet, so the solvents left in the enamel wouldn't have a way out.

 

At night it gets cold, 40's, daytime it's around 75 degrees.

What about an oven? I have seen some MSDS sheets on paint that say 140 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

I think Rust Oleum will stay fairly soft for a while. Especially when thinned with mineral spirits. As long as it's not tacky it will harden as it cures. Might take a few weeks to a month for it to really get hard.
There's probably a "recoat window" with R.O. when you can recoat it without lifting. Should say on the can. I'm not sure about applying clearcoat.

 

The paint is laying down super glossy & smooth, if I could just get it to dry hard.


Anyone use the One Shot Hardener?

 

You are deal with Rust Oleum which is straight enamal, most auto paint is acylic enamal, or polyester, The R.O.when thinned down doesn't have the body as when it is out of the can, it will take w whil,e for it to dry as well. A.E. paint dries much faster because of the reduces used. So youself a favor and only spray the AE, you'll get better results. there is some cheaper brand out there to practice with.

 

I am looking at the Eastwood brand Urethane Enamel...... $100 for everything.

Sumo, what is the brand you are referring to?

 

Rust-o-le-o-le-o-le-um takes forever to dry. I have used it at my day job. It doesn't spray like automotive paint so its not really an accurate test of your skill. You just have to go for it. The only way you can screw up a paint job is by not putting enough material on. The rest is all book knowledge.

 

Iv'e had the same experience with rustoleum, it takes forever to dry.

 

Warm sun will help it cure out. You could also pick up a bake lamp and do 1 panel at a time for about 30 minutes. If you go the bake lamp route be careful to not get the panel too hot. I have also seen plastic parts melts when care is not used. You could take it to a shop that has an oven but that would kinda defeat the purpose of the low cost paint.

I would be reluctant to put any other paints over what you have until it is cured and hard. Have patience. Steve

 

****** is an option, or 14 cases of beer, thats how long it will take for that #@$% $ to dry. All you can do now is wait.

 

I always hear about how long rustoleum takes to dry but I've never had this problem.
I shoot and drive the next day. I use about 1/8 acetone.

 

And it is a ***** to sand.

 

Alkyd Enamels dry from the outside in.

Thinning with Mineral Spirits will make it dry slower,
and cold weather will make it dry slower.

 

And it is a ***** to sand.



she is a little gummy!!!!!

I may buy some of the Eastwood Paints and see how they flow...... $100 won't break the bank........


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Hey,

I wouldn't atempt to force dry Rustolum enamel that hasn't had a
hardner added to it. It will, in all likelyhood wrinkel. Old type enamels
dry from the outside in, through oxidation. If force dried, the top of
the layers of paint will contract, and thus wrinkel over the soft layers
underneath. High temps., in the shop are good, but I'd avoid any di-
rect sunlight, heat lamps or heat guns.
In the future, use either lacquer thinner or acetone for a quicker dry
time, with longer flash times between coats.
Old type enamels are good for learning triggering, reduction and what
you can and can't get away with, but they don't really handle like an
epoxy or urethane, and never like a lacquer would.
Good luck, and ware a good mask when spraying!

S****ey Devils C.C.

"Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"

 

Had the same problem with some paint this summer. Let the part sit out for a couple weeks, in the sun if possible, and it will cure. I know what you mean about it looking good. The bumper cover I painted, the part mentioned above, looked unreal and the part looked a mirror.

 

Had that problem with some old True-Value Rust-X, it took forever to dry. I just tried not to touch the soft spots, it looked like **** (on a beater) anyways.

 

I beg to differ...although, you can theoretically apply paint with a bug sprayer and get a decent paint job (seen it), if you like wet sanding and know how to rub it out w/ a wheel...

And it is a ***** to sand.

Have you heard of the "Omni" brand paint from an automotive paint store? Looks like PPG, smells like PPG, sprays about the same...but it's a lot cheaper...

 

rust paint never dries thats how it stops rust

 

I painted my bike with ppg omni and my blazer is painted with omni. Only problem I have had with it was that the paint on the replacement parts that were e-coated failed. But, that's after a couple of years in the Florida sun without any care or maintenance.

 

I like the heat lamp idea.

I once used a rattle can (not absolutely positive on the brand, but 75&#37; sure it was Rustoleum) to paint an engine bracket.
I was impatient to install it so i set it on the top of our steam heat "radiators" in the engine lab.
After a two or three hours it was dry and one of the hardest, strongest finishes of anything I'd ever painted.

 

one should always use a hardener in any paint,synthol,acrylic enamel. urethane, or any other. if for no other reason, the next guy who paints it will not have any troubles removing old paint or spraying over it with other paints as you could be the next guy!!!!!!!!!!

 

pimpin Paint brought up an important factor . Solvents have different volatility , meaning the ratethey vaporize in ambient conditions . Mineral spirits are low volatility as compared to paint thinner or especially to lacquer thinner which is extremely high . Lacquer may be incompatible with enamels however . In cold weather you should substantially cut enamels like Rustoleum with paint thinner (50%) and spray thin layers . Six or so instead of trying to put it on in 2 or three . This will allow the the reducer evaporate more quickly before being sealed in by the next coat . Allow a couple of minutes between THIN coats .Also warming the paint (and the part) before and during spraying will help .

 

I know a guy used mineral oil instead of spirits. The **** never did dry.
Dumb **** had to s****e it all off. Check the can.

 

Some good info in here........... it's like Wikipedia for gearheads.

I will check out the Omni brand.

The rust oleum label recommended the mineral spirits, but even after two weeks of drying time the paint still feels like that rubberized coating stuff.

You pay $7 for your paint you get $7 results.

 

Until I sold the equipment and inventory in the summer of '06, I operated a boat propeller repair shop. Often used RO rattle can paint on aluminum props after repair as it seemed to give better coverage and durability. But it did dry much more slowly than other rattle can paint I used.
The old "Damp Proof Red Primer" that did such a great job of stopping rust contained fish oil and was extremely slow drying. I understand it is no longer available. I dunno, lead content, maybe?
Recently I bought an auto body rotisserie that came in bare metal.
I washed the pieces thoroughly with purple cleaner, air dryed well and painted with RO aluminum paint. As I didn't want to deal with overspray inside the shop and the weather was turning too bad to do it outside, I painted the parts with a roller and a small brush! Didn't use any thinner, and the shop was cold, around 30*F @ night and 50*F during the day. Took only a couple of days for the paint to dry well enough to take the stuff down from the wires I had it hanging on and stack it in the corner for future use. No idea why yours is taking so long to dry. Is it possible the paint had been allowed to freeze before you used it? Always heard not to let paint be exposed to extreme cold while in the can, as it ****s it up.
Dave