A golden oldie topic..."paint won't dry"..fixed???

[big stinkie]

A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

Back in June or July, I had problems with metallic basecoat not setting up. Tried about everything I could, but it wouldn't work. See the link: Paint won't dry!

Anyway, just figured it was the heat and/or humidity, and hung up my paint guns till just recently when it became cool and less humid. Shot some metallic and guess what. IT WOULDN'T DRY! Couldn't believe it. So, I dropped back and gathered my composure to think. Think. Think. Think.

Don't know why, but I suddenly remembered reading something on this forum about proper ventilation and getting the fumes away from the freshly painted surface. At the time I used a large furnace fan to pull air from my shop, but it didn't create any truly noticeable draft. It sucked the dust out eventually, but it wasn't like standing in a wind tunnel either. Ran into the house and got a box fan...sat it on a couple of saw horses and aimed it at my paint station. Turned it on medium and squirted a thin coat of metallic. The darm stuff set up almost immediately. Squirted another very thin coat. It dried. Continued with coats every 15 minutes for a total of 4-5 coats. Lo and Behold, I think I found the cause. Now, if I put on a thicker layer it still takes forever to dry, but as long as I baby it along with very thin coats it works.

I can't wait to tell the local PPG guys. They were scratching their heads on that problem.

It may be common knowledge to most of you, but I learned a good lesson. "Get the fumes away from your work!"

Thanks for listening,

Andy

 

[rex]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

Son of a B,I've been waiting for this.I think airflow came up before but everyone thought you had enough,kiss my butt.Glad it got solved finally,I bet you have more grey hair than me now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif

 

[big stinkie]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

Me, too. I knew it had to be something simple.

Oh...my hair has been gray for about 10 years. I tell people it's actually white. White hair means your hair has simply changed color. Gray hair means yer getting old! I refuse to get old. Like the saying goes, "You can't keep from getting older, but you can always act immature."

 

[rex]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[DaveK]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

I remember that problem and it was bugging me that you parked it and we never found out what it was. I'm glad you found a cure but, I am still a little unsure about this solution. Yep... I have air movement when I'm painting a bike but, when I am painting a test panel, I might not turn anything on and it still dries instantly.

Maybe I need to just chew on this a little while.

DaveK

 

[big stinkie]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

Right. I'm not sure if I found the cure/problem, or just discovered a way to minimize the effects. I'll keep poking it with a stick until I find out exactly what it is. In the meantime, if it is working I'm gonna run with it. All the time, though, there's going to be that nagging feeling in the back of my mind whether this will be the time when the problem presents itself again.

Maybe I just need to put up a seperate building on my place and install a professional paint booth that has environmental contols. Yeah...I've got about as much chance of that happening as having Shania Twain show up at my front door dressed in a bikini.

Later,

Andy the Barber

 

[Bornhard]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

I remember this problem too!

One thing that I know and have read is not to spray your metallic bases on in thin coats, because the tiny metallic particals don't really set up as well as the do in a medium/wet coat.

I still think it's something with the way the paint you're buying is mixed improper, or someone is selling you a single stage paint & you think it's suppose to be a basecoat/clearcoat system.

One thing you can do is, find another paint jobber, even if they're in the next town and go buy a small quantity of the same paint you're getting locally. Do everything you normally do, but use the paint you're not buying locally. See what your results are. Also try some House Of Kolor, or other paint line and see how they're drying.

I work in some really hot and humid conditions here, South of Tampa FL and I haven't had any dry time problems. Matter of fact things usually dry in a minute or two. Now it's getting cooler I'm waiting 15-30 minutes before daring to mess with the painted surface.

 

[big stinkie]

Re: A golden oldie topic...\"paint won\'t dry\"..fixed???

I thought of that, too, but I took the paint to the PPG guys last summer and they mixed it up from my cans and sprayed it at their shop. Worked fine. Took it home and sprayed it myself not 30 minutes later and it stayed wet.

I'm pretty sure it isn't the paint or chemicals, but I'm not ruling it out completely. I'm gonna buy all new reducer and paint and see what happens.

I've noticed that the metallic I spray in thin coats doesn't have the best metallic look, like you mentioned, but at least it's dry. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif