# SW oil base enamel not drying



## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

I painted a set of french doors last night using interior SW alkyd enamel (think its its the Classic Pro XP). After 18 hrs, the paint still is not dry...upper 60's with 30-35% humidity. The paint had been sitting on the shelf for 6 months, but I mixed it well. 

Any idea what's going on? The coat is still wet!


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Try moving some warm air around them. Set up a space heater w/fan or a space heater and set a fan behind it on low. Every once in a while I run into the same problem and its worked for me. If it doesnt work, you've got a real chore ahead of you. Good Luck.


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

i agree some warm air flown around them should work ive also had this problem with sw A100.
whatever you dont dont top coat till it is dry thoroughly, learned that the hard way


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## hoya (Dec 16, 2008)

dido:thumbup: try a fan if you don't have a space heater......


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

I'd skip the fan if the paint is still tacky. The fan will add more dust to the finish. The space heater will work fine but don't burn it. You really don't want the paint temperature to exceed 120 degrees or so.


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

72chevy4x4 said:


> I painted a set of french doors last night using interior SW alkyd enamel (think its its the Classic Pro XP). After 18 hrs, the paint still is not dry...upper 60's with 30-35% humidity. The paint had been sitting on the shelf for 6 months, but I mixed it well.
> 
> Any idea what's going on? The coat is still wet!




Are you are using a dark color, or Semi~Gloss?
It sounds like the paint is still curing, and 24 hours is not an unreasonable amount of time for enamel to fully cure if the room is not 75 degrees.


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## AustinDB (Sep 11, 2006)

it's a semi-gloss. turned a spaced heater toward the doors to increase the heat, but ambient room temp is probably around 65 degrees. The immediate area where the small heater is blowing is finally tacky whereas the rest of the door is oily-that's after 28hrs. 

Should the temp be at a minimum in the 70's when using oil based paints? Think I've learned a lesson.


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

72chevy4x4 said:


> it's a semi-gloss. turned a spaced heater toward the doors to increase the heat, but ambient room temp is probably around 65 degrees. The immediate area where the small heater is blowing is finally tacky whereas the rest of the door is oily-that's after 28hrs.
> 
> Should the temp be at a minimum in the 70's when using oil based paints? Think I've learned a lesson.


You need a longer curing time for an alkyd semi gloss sheen.
If you brushed or rolled the paint on instead of spraying add more time for the paint to properly cure.
The higher the sheen the warmer it needs to be in the room so the mid 70's is what you need.


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

When I started out we only used oil base paints, for everything. the rule for oil paint was minum dry time 18 hours to 24 hours before you could touch any door or casing, or they would be ruined. and you have to sand them down and redo, then it took another 18 to 36 days for the paint to completely cure depending on the season when you painted them. Oil takes longer to dry that's why it holds up better then most Latex paints. But as time goes on the Government(EPA) will have away with all oils before to long.


www.frankawitz.net


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## Dmax Consulting (Jul 22, 2008)

I've had problems with ProClassic XP Alkyd before. Here's the deal with it. Proclassic XP is one of the only low VOC alkyd coatings on the market. The low-VOC resin package takes a lot longer to cure.

Here are some things that you need to remember with using this product:

Use Thin Coats (per manufacturer specs) - this speeds the cure/recoat time
Dark colors are even slower to dry - because of the ethlylene glycol colorants that SW uses, the more color the longer the drytime.


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## Damon T (Oct 13, 2008)

apply thin coats, and if possible use Naptha to thin. This will evaporate quicker than mineral spirits. May not be available in your area?


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## Dorman Painting (May 2, 2006)

Put some Japan drier in your oil and watch it dry, can't believe nobody has mentioned Japan drier.


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

i used japan dryer in A100 oil and it worked great:thumbsup:


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

Dorman Painting said:


> Put some Japan drier in your oil and watch it dry, can't believe nobody has mentioned Japan drier.


That's because nobody uses that stuff anymore, when I say "nobody" I mean anyone under the age of 60.


I use Naptha for drying alkyd based materials in a hurry.
In this case it turns out that it was a case of operator error.


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## world llc (Dec 9, 2008)

WisePainter said:


> That's because nobody uses that stuff anymore, when I say "nobody" I mean anyone under the age of 60.
> 
> 
> I use Naptha for drying alkyd based materials in a hurry.
> In this case it turns out that it was a case of operator error.


i think nobody mentioned japan dry cause the paint is already on the door :whistling

i like naptha alot, but only when spraying... i use turpentine when brushing/rolling to keep it workable longer. my old boss used to use the japan dry, but i hear bad stuff about it like sometimes it will dry too fast and caust the paint to prematurely fail...


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

world llc said:


> i think nobody mentioned japan dry cause the paint is already on the door :whistling
> 
> i like naptha alot, but only when spraying... i use *turpentine* when brushing/rolling to keep it workable longer. my old boss used to use the japan dry, but i hear bad stuff about it like sometimes it will dry too fast and caust the paint to prematurely fail...


_

another solvent used by those over 60..._



:shifty:


:laughing:


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## world llc (Dec 9, 2008)

WisePainter said:


> _
> 
> another solvent used by those over 60..._
> 
> ...


i had to get my glasses to read that tiny font


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## Dorman Painting (May 2, 2006)

Give me a break, I'm 33 and have used it for years because it works. This guy wouldn't be having these problems if he had used Japan drier.


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## Workaholic (Feb 3, 2007)

LOL i am 35 soon to be 36 and i like japan drier for oil. I also like naptha. Never have actually used any turpentine for an additive. That is old school right there.


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## world llc (Dec 9, 2008)

Workaholic said:


> LOL i am 35 soon to be 36 and i like japan drier for oil. I also like naptha. Never have actually used any turpentine for an additive. That is old school right there.


i'm 28 and i was taught at 18 to use turps

turpentine evaporates slow

mineral spirits evaporate about the same rate as what's in the oil

naptha evaporates quickly


i like turps cause i can have an open pot for a few hours and not have to clean my brush so often...


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