Primer tacky after 48 hours, where did I go wrong?

14 years ago

Hello,

I have been reading for hours and hoping to find some help. Everyone here is so knowledgeable.

I am preparing my oak cabinets to paint. These doors appear to have a clear gloss on them. On one of the doors, I used Zinsser Paint Remover with Soyzol. I chose this due to the low odor. It appeared to remove the clear varnish/coating. I then sanded with a medium grit sandpaper sponge. I applied one thin layer of Cover Stain, waited 48 hours and it is still tacky. I can take the primer off with my fingernail.

On another door, I sanded and then primed. I have the same tacky result after applying the Cover Stain and waiting.

Where do I go from here? I assume I will have to start from scratch and that's ok.

Featured Answer

HU-240559665

last year

last modified: last year

I just noticed I was replying to a very, very old post, but figured I'd leave it in case anyone is still reading.

I had a bad experience with this zinsser oil based interior/exterior cover stain as well. I did not tint but it is tintable. I used it right after buying from depot and having it shaken for 5 min at the counter. I applied on an outside beam that was partially prepped with a wood hardener after removing dry rot, but the majority was just the previous paint that was in good shape. 2 days after painting, it's still slightly tacky. I called zinsser support and they said the only thing they could think of is if I had been applied on too hot of a day, saying it needs to be under 80F. It was topped out at just under 70 the day I painted, but the sun here does get hot in the South Bay below San Francisco, so maybe the surface was hotter?? I'll check today compared to air temp. If temperature wasn't the cause, then my experience seems similar to yours. In my case it would be a huge job to remove the product from the large outdoor beam so I'm looking for other solutions. I still need to add an epoxy pc woodie filler where I had removed and cleaned out dry rot before applying the cover stain (just used to make sure the pc woodie epoxy would stick and add an extra layer of protection against the weather to the entire beam...which I now wish I had skipped!) My current plan is to wait it out a week or 2 and hopefully dries (next week is supposed to be low 70's but the rest of this week is 80's. In the upper 80's the 2nd layer is even forming a few bubbles, so I've just been popping those to make sure it dries out beneath. It's only slightly tacky, but looking for no tackiness before I take the next step. If anyone has any tips or any idea if waiting longer will help, let me know please. Thanks! And for the next time, a better product to use than this zinsser oil based primer which was highly recommended by depot.

Comments (6)

PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
14 years ago
Shake or stir well your cover stain.
tryingtobehandy
Original Author
14 years ago
christophern,

Thank you. I did stir very well. I know I'm missing something.
Related Discussions
Deck still tacky after 2 weeks
Q
Comments (22)
Ok folks, so I am one of these guys who have had this tacky stain problem. I waited two weeks before I finally tried a few things. I attempted to stain again in hopes of emulsifying the original stain and then wiping to no avail, still tacky. I tried to pressure wash the tacky off and nothing, Finally, as a last resort, I tried one more thing. I purchased a bag of oil absorb. I spread it out amongst my porch which is about 240 square feet. I let it sit for about an hour. Then, I took a garage broom and gently pushed the oil absorb over the surface of the deck a few times. When I was finished, the dust from the oil absorb was adhered to the tacky spots. I gathered up the remaining granular and crushed it up as much as possible, attempting to get it as fine as possible. Then, I spread out the remainder equally over the surface of the porch deck once more. I waited 24 hours, then pressure washed off the entire thing with a medium spray tip on a 3000 psi pressure washer. All the excess tacky oil from the stain was absorbed into the speedy dry. I blew it off the deck and followed it up with a good 24 hour air dry. I was back sitting on my porch the following night. It worked great. I hope this helps someone else out there. Questions, try me at benryan76@gmail.com Good luck folks!
...See More
so I go from no glasses - to bifocals in one hour
Q
Comments (11)
Welllllllll I see a nurse Practitioner and I have never ever been as happy with my health care...For the first time in my life I feel I'm a partner in my own health care...I see someone that isn't embarrassed to whip out a computer and check the drug she is getting ready to prescribe me...Gosh her ego doesn't keep her from listening to what I have to say..somewhere along the line, no one told her that her patients were supposed to bow down and kiss her feet before she could discuss my health with me....OK i know this has nothing to do with the subject at hand but the comparison was made and I'm so tickled with my health care provider I'll stand up and fight for her...She is the best I have ever had ..so dont be so quick to rule out an alternative person...If that's what you choose, so be it but you can't make a blanket statement about every Optometrist or Optomologist etc etc etc This post was edited by ruthieg__tx on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 16:58
...See More
Help! Where did the tile backsplash go so wrong?
Q
Comments (47)
I am glad to see you back Frieda. Don"t even worry about deleting the posts or explaining everything again. But I did want to mention something I forgot to say earlier. You may have already addressed it. But, I noticed when you had the other photos posted, there were two very dark brownish black hexagons right next to each other. While he is at fixing all the other crooked tiles, please consider having him replace those 2 tiles. You can get two tiles that are more the grey color to blend with rest from an extra sheet. Those 2 black ones really stood out because the rest were the greyish tones on that whole run. All I kept thinking was that it looked like a big blob of black "mud" (or something else that I would not want in my kitchen) was flung onto the back splash. Maybe put something in front of it? Sorry, if it does not bother you, just ignore me. ;-) Best wishes sent your way and please do a reveal when everything is fixed. It really is a gorgeous tile with your countertop!!! I am dying to see the whole kitchen with all the other finishes you chose with it.
...See More
Black swallowtail cats: the first 48 hours
Q
Comments (11)
TY, jane__ny. I've read horror stories from other folks, too, who purchased an emergency pot of milkweed for their 4-5th instar cats, only to find them all dead the next day. I can't even imagine. The two little guys seem to be doing fine now (moving, nibbling, growing...dropping poop-lets!). At least now I know what to expect in the early days with SWTs. ^^^ ~ 1/4" -- click to enlarge. I'm going to get some dill seeds germinating, in anticipation for feeding the next wave. At least I'll be assured of the plant source. :) The 1/2" cat I brought home earlier this week has almost tripled in size (yay! simply beautiful) and I'm snipping branches off the main plant several times daily.
...See More
sombreuil_mongrel
14 years ago
Is it an oil primer? Could be that the room is below the optimal drying temperature. If it's tinted oil primer, well, there;s the problem. It may take a week to harden as the tint really slows the dry time.
I don't think the stripper you used is impeding, because you say you sanded it. If when you sanded it it felt like you were sanding putty, maybe there's cause for alarm. If there was stripping chemical left in the wood, or some rinsing step was skipped, there's the chance the primer cannot dry.
Casey
tryingtobehandy
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you for your replies. I was inside my home, temp around 69 - 70 degrees. Cover Stain is an oil primer and it is tinted. When I sanded after applying the stripper it appeared as though the varnish was off and sanded well. The wood still felt "shiney" but it appeared that the gloss was removed.

I attempted to sand the primer after realizing it had not dried and it came off gooey and stuck to the sand paper. I was able to remove the majority of it. I want to try again, but really want to get it right this time.
loomis
14 years ago
I've used this primer many times and found that, despite being an oil primer, it dries quickly. I, too, was priming dark oak cabinets.

Just one question, did you thoroughly wash your kitchen cabinets before priming? (I assume it's the kitchen cabinets that you're painting.) Paint doesn't stick to grease.

If your cabinets are squeaky clean and free of grease then I'd wonder whether you have a bum can of paint, perhaps one lacking adequate drier.

How long have you had this primer and where did you buy it? If it's old, perhaps that could be the problem? Possibly someone else could offer some suggestions here.

As far as using a paint remover, that's really not necessary. Just make sure your cabinets are clean and just scuff sand them to rough up the finish. When I washed my cabinets, I used a Scotchbrite sponge, and the scratchy surface actually did a good job of preparing the surface and only a light sanding was needed after that.

This is not a fun job, but the end result will be well worth it.

Primer tacky after 48 hours, where did I go wrong?

HU-240559665

Comments (6)

Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting

tryingtobehandy
Original Author

Related Discussions

sombreuil_mongrel

tryingtobehandy
Original Author

loomis

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Primer tacky after 48 hours, where did I go wrong?

HU-240559665

Comments (6)

Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting

tryingtobehandyOriginal Author

Related Discussions

sombreuil_mongrel

tryingtobehandyOriginal Author

loomis

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

tryingtobehandy
Original Author

tryingtobehandy
Original Author