slow drying acrylic paint

[charlie spencer]

I put 2 coats of fresh acrylic semi-gloss over a BIN shellac based primer and after 48 hours the paint is still soft. Suggestions?

[John Blazy]

Any way to add heat? In this humid weather, ambient heat mixed with moisture negates the heat. If portable, bring your pcs to a heated area, like a torpedo heater. If its fixed, like kitchen cabinets, you need to crank your A/C and blast heat onto it from a torpedo heater or plug in heaters. All layers should dry then.

[Jim Becker]

Aside from the possibility of a "defective" finish, I would also suspect high humidity, especially based on where you live. Water born products need the water to leave the finish so that the rest can cure fully and that may not be happening. Adding dry heat like John suggests would be worth trying. In addition, perhaps you can bring the project into conditioned space that's at a much lower ambient humidity level.

[charlie spencer]

two weeks and it is still not hard. I guess this means a do over

[Wayne Lomman]

Are you sure the primer is compatible with the top coat? Plenty will disagree I'm sure, but I wouldn't use a shellac product with anything synthetic other than nitro. Research your whole coating system before you start again. Cheers

[charlie spencer]

The primer label specifically says it is compatible

Are you sure the primer is compatible with the top coat? Plenty will disagree I'm sure, but I wouldn't use a shellac product with anything synthetic other than nitro. Research your whole coating system before you start again. Cheers

[charlie spencer]

thanks, I have to believe something. I will take your advice to heart