Paint not drying

Joined
30 Oct 2016
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Not sure what to do next. I had to plane the edges of a door recently that a cowboy builder had installed. I sanded, undercoated in my usual water based primer/undercoat and used the very last dregs of a crown non drip gloss. There was brown liquid in the bottom so I just mixed it together and used it up as I am needed a brush full. The paint had only been bought in the summer and kept in an understairs cupboard.

The problem is, I still can't shut the door 5 days later the paint is still tacky! Do I take it off with white spirit, risking damage to brand new carpet or will it go off eventually?

TIA
 
Hi there 5 days seems too long for paint to dry, me personally would take the paint off and do it again with some new paint, you can always get a roll of the sticky carpet protector so not to ruin the carpet, screwfix or B&Q sells it hope this helps.
Andy.
 
Thanks for your replies, as I am away for a few days next week I will leave it and see if its dry when I return. Does anyone know what the brown liquid is that was separated out at the bottom of the tin?
 
Its prob some sort of oil in the paint you might be better off buying some new paint.
Andy.
 
Is it warm enough in your house? Try sticking a warm air blower in the room for a while. If you have to strip some paint off or sand it down, the best way to protect your carpet is to remove the door and go work on it in the garden/garage/shed.

Nozzle
 
Slide a sheet of polythene under the door to protect the carpet
If its still tacky then I'd try scraping off what you can before using white spirit
In the good old days the brown liquid would be boiled linseed oil but who knows what "safe" concoctions they use nowadays.
 
The brown stuff will be the oil binder (linseed oil or similar). It was probably a bad idea to stir it in as the resulting mixture then had too much oil (sometimes it even says "do not stir" on the tin). It can take days and days for linseed oil to dry fully.
 
Thanks guys, still not dry but tacky now so I will leave it, however long it takes. Lesson learnt do not stir the brown stuff in, throw away, especially as there was only a tea spoon left.
 
Different time zone in Canada;), and a new member today. Welcome Carol.
 
I've stirred in the oil before and the paint has been OK . Probably depends how much oil there is to the amount of paint. In the OP's case, probably too much
 
Just buy some Terebene, mix it in with the existing oily paint and apply another coat.

http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/t/TEREBINE_DRIERS/

The Terebene is an oxidising agent that massively speeds up curing. I would expect that it will also help to cure the tacky stuff underneath it.

I appreciate that you only have a tiny amount left in your tin and that once you add a drop or two of the Terebene you will end up with a slightly blue liquid, it will dry the correct colour.

Alternatively, follow the advice given, increase warm air flow via a fan heater and it should be OK,
 
Back
Top