"Enamel Paint drying time" Topic

So I'm using Testors hobby/model/craft spray paint, comes in a 3oz can, #1241 "Natural Wood" is the color.

Sprayed it onto a tank about two days ago. Did what it said and used a couple of thin coats "within three hours". But it is still a bit tacky. Not quite "fingerprint" tacky, but tackier than a flat would be. Also, it's still giving off the odor of fresh paint.

Do these enamels have a longer drying time? The can says "to avoid possible wrinkling, recoat within three hours or after 48 hours". Does that mean it takes longer than 48 hours to dry completely? The flats are dry to the touch in 15-30 minutes, so I'm just wondering. The house is quite dry due to the heat being on (hey, it's December in the Northern hemisphere) so I know it isn't due to the humidity.

At the moment, I'm trying to hasten the process by using a small space heater in the bathroom to make it very very very dry. So far it doesn't seem to be having much effect.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Typically, I find that I can spray the plastic body shell of a car model and it is dry enough in 4-6 hours to assemble and detail paint. Generally red, tellow, and white are the exceptions. But, even those are normally dry after 24 hours. I'm guessing that you have something else going on, bad can, bad mix (not shaken enough), too heavy a coat, maybe mold release is spraying a resin casting, high humidity. If it is getting better, then I'd just wait it out, otherwise you might be looking at a clean and re-spray.

No, enamels take a while to fully cure. Its essentially a 2-stage process: it will dry to the touch in a few hours. However, it will not fully cure for at least a few days. During that period, it will feel very slightly tacky, and will still smell of thinners. When using any sort of spraypaint with an organic vehicle, I usually let it cure for perhaps a week or so. Testors isn't quite that bad (usually good enough within around 3 days or so), but nonetheless I do'nt do anything else for a few days to make sure.

Damon.

alright, thakns for the tip. This is the first of several vehicles I'm doing, so I'm still open as to the color. Perhaps I'll switch to a military flat – I have them and they dry quickly.

Again, enamels don't really dry, they cure. The flats only appear to cure more quickly because of their texture. If you don't give them adequate time to cure and harden you're going to have problems with scratching and even rubbing off paint on corners and projecting bits for handling. Being a plastic modeler for many many years has taught me that the most important skill one must learn is the art of waiting.

Bottom line is that you should have other projects going that you can work on for a day or two while your newly painted model cures for a couple days.