since nobody has responded, your best bet might be to call a bm store on the west coast (they should still be open) and ask for their advice.
i once called a home depot in san diego to help me install a faucet that came without the directions.
good luck! i hope you get your answer!
suzanne

Thanks for the response, suzanne.

I went to my neighbors and borrowed a small space heater and it is making a difference. I think it was just to chilly down in the basement.

Tomorrow morning I will tackle that last coat and hope it all turns out great.

Why not? Our whole house is painted in oil. Not trying to be "mean", but why in the world does it make any difference to you whether I use oil or latex? That is totally irrelevant to my question.

Actually SWTH...
Your question of "film-tackiness" IS directly related to your use of Oil.
In a cooler, less-ventilated lower-level, an Oil can take a long time to cure.

Another ding against Oils (besides the horrendous VOC's), is that they yellow...Latexes don't.
As I mentioned, many paint companies have, or soon are, discontinuing most all of their Oils.
...Just the new reality I guess...!

Faron

My house has all oil trim too. That's what the painter used and I didn't know otherwise. Yes, it yellows. Does it still give off VOC's no matter how much time has passed? If you cover it with latex, does the oil stop emitting VOC's? What's the best way to switch to latex? I don't even want to think about the amount of work that will take. One good thing about oil - it's hard as rock and cleans up great.

The VOC's are only a concern during application and drying of the paint, not after it is dry. Switching to latex these days is actually a lot easier than people seem to think. All you have to do is sand the trim really well and prime. You can even skip the primer if you are sure the trim is very dull and clean and ready for the new paint.

Any time you use oil based paint, it must be 70 degrees or higher. Oil based paint takes a long time to dry and even longer to cure. I am curious how humid or damp the room is because the humidity and moisture will affect the drying time. Keep the room warm until the paint cures. Get your second coat on once it is dry enough. Don't wait a week to put your second coat on as the paint will be fairly cured and the surface will have to much sheen to accept the second coat.

Got the second coat on the next morning. It was a matter of it being too cool. Once I got the heater in there it didn't take long. All tacky-ness was gone and I sanded inbetween each coat. Looks awesome.

Faron, I wasn't asking about the pros and cons about oil. ;)

Old news, but always use latex paint on your walls. :-)

I use oil paint it has a look that can't be topped.

What the heck are you doing painting anything with oil paint at all. Yes if the space is cool it will take longer and BTW will stink for weeks too