Help with paint not curing. Experienced painter's opinions needed!

[Smite]

Hey all,

I'm doing a 75g penninsula build. I built my stand from poplar. I used Behr products, and sprayed them on with an airless sprayer, but they went on a little heavy.

First was a coat of Behr 436 primer that was called for by the Alkyd paint I used for bare wood application:

BEHR 1 Gal. White Acrylic Interior/Exterior Multi-Surface Stain-Blocking Primer and Sealer 43601 - The Home Depot

BEHR Multi-Surface Stain-Blocking Primer and Sealer is an interior/exterior water-based primer that can be used under any paint sheen. It contains rust-inhibitive properties that helps resist corrosion.

www.homedepot.com

Then I hit it with a coat of Behr Urethane Alkyd Semi Gloss enamel:

BEHR PREMIUM 1 gal. White Urethane Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel Interior/Exterior Paint 390001 - The Home Depot

BEHR PREMIUM Urethane Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel provides the performance and durability of a traditional oil-based paint with the ease of use and convenience of a water-based paint. This professional quality

www.homedepot.com

The next day I hit it with the second coat of Alkyd semi gloss probably about 12-14 hours later. I left it to dry most the day under an EZ up, about 80F outside.

A week later I mounted the doors, everything felt dry to the touch. Came out the next day and the doors were stuck a bit and some paint from teh door transfered to the stand when I finally popped it open. That was a week ago. Figured, I probably sprayed it on heavy and need to give it additional time to cure.

Its been about 2 weeks since I did the second coat. It is still not hard! I left a jager heater box on the shelf and it kinda stuck to it! I then pressed with my finger nail and it dented in.... I know it went on heavy, I used the spray tip guide for my Graco magnum sprayer and I think it was too heavy. I went through 1.5-1.75 gallons of the alkyd paint with the 2 coats.

Now I'm wondering how long I'm going to have to wait on this to cure. Is there another option or top coat that I could hit it with?

here is a link to my build thread if you want to reference pictures:

Build Thread - Smite's UNS 120s peninsula

This will be a down grade from my current 180 gallon system. My 180 has had its ups and downs, I built it tall for viewing but it ended up making cleaning and maintenance harder. My most successful tank was 100g, and a shallow footprint so I decided to go back in that direction. This time...

www.reef2reef.com

Any experience is greatly appreciated.

If this stuff just never hardens, does anyone know of a topcoat or clear coat I could apply? The stuffs still boarder line tacky so I'm thinking a top coat would bond to it.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[BackToTheReef]

Check to see what the "cure" time is on each product. A lot of times many products must dry completely before you recoat. Many of the products I used to rep for required a minimum of 24 hours between coats. (It's been a few years)

I tried to cheat and didn't wait that 24 hours and things ended up feeling tacky and if you sit something on it it will stick to this day.

You can also have products that don't mix and one will re wet the other but that isn't as common anymore.

 

[Smite]

Check to see what the "cure" time is on each product. A lot of times many products must dry completely before you recoat. Many of the products I used to rep for required a minimum of 24 hours between coats. (It's been a few years)

I tried to cheat and didn't wait that 24 hours and things ended up feeling tacky and if you sit something on it it will stick to this day.

You can also have products that don't mix and one will re wet the other but that isn't as common anymore.

Thanks for the quick response. I followed the directions on the labels. The primer I used was suggested by the behr paint for bare wood. The primer stated 3 hour dry time before applying topcoat, which I did. Now, were I'm not sure if I messed up, the ALKYD paint said recoat is 4-8 hours. I took this as it may take 4-8 hours to dry and be ready for the second coat so I thought I'd be fine over night. This is the only point where I'm wondering if I screwed the pooch.

 

[Mike33515]

Thanks for the quick response. I followed the directions on the labels. The primer I used was suggested by the behr paint for bare wood. The primer stated 3 hour dry time before applying topcoat, which I did. Now, were I'm not sure if I messed up, the ALKYD paint said recoat is 4-8 hours. I took this as it may take 4-8 hours to dry and be ready for the second coat so I thought I'd be fine over night. This is the only point where I'm wondering if I screwed the pooch.

Humidity could be the problem with the paint not drying.

 

[WIReefer]

Humidity could be the problem with the paint not drying.

I agree with this 80 might be a little warm.

 

[Tankkeepers]

Try using a hair dryer on it low setting far away so you dont catch it on fire or burn it should cook the mostier out of it iv done this before otherwise only alot of time like a year will cure it I still have a stand over a year old thats alittle tacky becouse of multiple coats to soon other option is to sand it down and then redo

 

[Smite]

I agree with this 80 might be a little warm.

It said 70-90F surface temp. It did get some direct sunlight at one point, couldnt cover everything under the ez up. What's the thought process behind the temp, hardens the outside layer too quickly?

Try using a hair dryer on it low setting far away so you dont catch it on fire or burn it should cook the mostier out of it iv done this before otherwise only alot of time like a year will cure it I still have a stand over a year old thats alittle tacky becouse of multiple coats to soon other option is to sand it down and then redo

I'll give this a go. My main concern is the ledge trim I made around the tank. It's a coffee or beer viewing ledge so I really want to make sure that's hardened before setup. Plus saltwater spills.

I do have a running QT in my garage, I wonder if thats causing some humidity. I'm in California so humidity isn't usually a huge issue even with heat.