[KT Painting]

Hello.
I have recently just refinished some wrought iron patio furniture with pro industrial urethane alkyd enamel the oil based version. After 7 days the finish is still soft and very slightly tacky feeling. I can easily remove finish with my finger nail. I made sure to properly prep sand and clean all surfaces. The old finish had no peeling and there was no rust present. It was just sun faded. I did thin the product with xylene to about 10 or 15 percent to run it through a hvlp setup and made sure to put on 3 medium coats and allow 20 minutes between coats for flash time. I am not sure why the finish is still soft. Does this product take longer than 7 days to cure? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Joe67]

Can't comment on the specific product, but sounds like you might have just laid it on too thick? Not sure what a "medium" coat is in terms of mils, but if I'm in stuff like that I'm always doing light coats, and the last coat is dry to the touch before the next one goes.

 

[NACE]

Sounds like a VOC compliant alkyd. Dries slow. Xylene may have been too aggressive a solvent. Perhaps acetone may have evaporated quicker. Coatings thickness, surface and air temp, and where the patio furniture was painted and stored could contribute too. If its painted indoors, the solvent escaping takes longer. 20 minutes between coats with 10-15% Xylene may have softened each coat? If you are in a compliant area, if practical, buy quarts of alkyd enamel as quarts usually have a higher VOC content. Just some thoughts. It may cure out and harden over time.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

+1 on the solvent entrapment. That stuff has atleast an 8 - 16 hr. recoat time. Maybe it will eventually dry, maybe it won't..