Help, folks. I’d appreciate a hand from anyone who has experience with this problem.
I was applying Benjamin Moore soft gloss trim paint over primed exterior trim (partly pine, partly Azek) late in the day. The stuff is rated down to 35 degrees and it did not go below the 50s that night, but it got damper than I expected. Several days later, the paint is still tacky. It does not come off on your hand, but a finger pressed very hard and held for a minute will leave a fingerprint.
It’s a lot of surface, some overhead, and some curved. I’m not looking forward to stripping it, but I’d rather deal with it now if I must than have problems later.
Has this happened to anyone? Will the paint dry eventually? If I put a finish coat over this coat when it is still slightly tacky, will that top coat harden?
Thanks,
Michael
Replies
Primer oil or latex? How many coats of primer? Was it dry prior to applying paint?
Paint oil or latex? If latex, did it rain soon after application?
Last question, an obvious one, is the paint exterior grade?
Hi, Nick.
- Primer was acrylic (Benj Moore, I think) and had dried for 4 hrs in dry, warm (70 degree) weather. One coat. It semed normally dry to the touch.
- Paint was exterior grade acrylic (latex).
- It never rained that night. It just got humid that evening, say beginning an hour or so after the paint was applied. It may have gotten down to 50 degrees. There was no rain until the following evening.
Thanks for the quick reply.
If it was a dark color they can sometimes take weeks to dry completely, otherwise the weather probably is playing a part in this. I dont think you will have to scrape, it probably skinned over and the cold weather helped keep the innermost layer wet.
Not being a Ben Moore guy I can't comment on that particular product but there are paints that will retain some tack for what seems like an awful long time, and they're perfectly fine. Sherwin Williams Duration comes to mind. It skins in an hour, but it's tacky if you push real hard for weeks. It doesn't really get hard like you expect for a couple of months sometimes.
This could be a good thing. That kind of elasticity could be good in an exterior paint, and an elongated cure time can as well. Your best bet is to talk to the store that sold it to you about what to expect out of that product. I'd bet a nickle that you're wasting a good worry. Some are made that way, on purpose
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
Was the specific product you were using called "Moorglo"? That's their premium exterior acrylic latex topcoat, and I've had a fair bit of experience with it. If so, I wouldn't strip it--my guess is it will be fine. I made the mistake once of painting late in the day and having dew "ruin" my work--stuff was tacky the next day or two but eventually dried just fine. I put the second coat on and there were no problems.
If you want reassurance call Benjamin Moore (check the web site for the 800 number) and talk to a techie there.
For what it's worth, I strictly stop all painting within an hour or so of sundown. It's tempting to keep working, but it's a basic rule-of-thumb to give your work a chance to dry well before it gets wet. (And 50 degrees is the cutoff for temperature with Moorglo).
Don't fret!
It was Mooreglo, and a few days since my posting I can feel that it is getting less tacky. Thanks for the reassurance.
By the way, I checked my can and it says 35 degrees. I don't really believe it, especially after this.