My Paint Won't Harden!

[muffin814]

Don,

Thanks for your prompt reply to my previous question.

I'm finishing a piece I made for my wife. It's poplar, so I painted it, rather than stained. I wanted to use my new hvlp sprayer, so I put 3 oz of paint conditioner and 3 oz of water in a 1 qt can and filled it with Valspar interior/exterior enamel, which is water-based.

It sprayed beautifully, but it's been several days, and the paint is still soft. Not tacky or sticky, but soft. When I tap it with a fingernail, my nail doesn't click. It sort of makes a dent in the paint.

Did I mix the paint incorrectly? Can this be fixed?

Thanks.

[Don]

Hey, 814. 6 ounces added to 26 ounces of enamel sounds like a lot of additive to me, that's almost 25%. (I would bet that your cup is only 32 ounces filled to the very top too) If you used a material like Floe-trol on your enamel I bet that is the problem. This material seems to work best for really thick paints like interior latex wall paints. Enamels are a bit sticky and don't like additives too much. When I want an true enamel, I usually stick with a best quality oil paint like Benjamin Moore's Impervo products.

Try this, take some unaltered paint and brush it on a test board and see what happens. If it dries acceptably then there's your answer. Also, how fresh is the paint? When using the HVLP sprayer, the book is one thing, but always start off with unaltered material and thin only until you get the spray pattern you want. Also, check your paint, many latex type paints will "clean-up" with soap and water, but thinning for spraying they suggest alchohol.

Let us know what you find out.

All the best, Don