Paint still tacky after a year?!

[darth_sidious]

Looking for some advice on a custom figure that I made over a year ago that still has tacky paint. I must have painted another layer without it fully drying, which is what led to the tacky feeling, but a year on and it still persists? Not sure if the storage location is too humid, making it worse, but thought I'd ask for some advice on the subject, as I'd like to treat any customs in my collection that are like this. Will something like a space heater work, slowly warming the figure / paint until it actually dries, or since there is moisture trapped under the paint, will it never fully cure?

 

[Jodo]

Yes, heating it up slightly in a dry room is pretty much your only option to reduce the tackiness of the paint. As you mentioned, it could be a second layer on top of of an undried coat, it may also be paint that wasn’t mixed well, or even oils from your hands you inadvertently added to the figure by touching it.

I have a dehumidifier in my basement, and it makes me wonder if that also wouldn’t help. You could warm the figure slightly with a heater and place a dehumidifier on the other side of the airflow. That might increase the likelihood of getting the paint to set.

If it’s limited to an arm or something small, you might also consider repainting it.

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Do you recall what kind of paint you used? Also was it painted over a "rubbery" type figure?

😉

 

[darth_sidious]

It seems to be Folk Art acrylic black paint that's causing the most issues, but not sure if it's the paint itself, or me adding water to thin it, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if the paint wasn't totally dry when I applied a second coat, as sometimes I rush to get a custom finished. I've applied it to hard and soft plastics alike, so I'm assuming it's the paint itself. I'm going through various customs from over the years, to see how widespread the issue is, and I've set a space heater about a foot away from a couple customs (for maybe 2 hours) to test if that will help fully cure the existing paint. Thus far, they seem the same, not horrible by any means, they aren't sticky to the touch, only mildly tacky, and if they're stored like that, they can stick to another loose figure, which is how I realized it was a problem. I'll be tossing this bottle of paint for starters.

 

[Jodo]

That’s probably a good start too, narrowing down if it was the paint itself!

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Here's an idea...

Take a broad brush and stroke the figure throughout with it. It might sound weird but I'd give it a try.

Then, take some Vallejo acrylic clear matte paint and apply a dry brush over the parts you're concerned with.

😉