I just read your post and I'm really kinda baffled. Although I have never used SW floor paint, I am not convinced the manufacturer is the problem. And, you certainly did the proper prep work. The only reason paint would fail to dry is that there is cold or moisture below. Since that's not probable/possible, my second guess would be weather related. Don't know where you are located, but I can't believe that's even the issue. Bad paint? Although rare, is possible.
It would not hurt to call SW (you never know). Maybe even post this over in paint forum.
I will also ask around the job-site tomorrow and get back to you.

Maybe this is dumb, but I would try aiming a box fan at the stairs. If is is moisture, this should take care of it. It should help it dry, anyway. I've only ran into similiar situations with stain - on furniture, and on my deck. And they all eventually dried hard.

Shee, the only time paint didn't dry for me and I remember it taking what seemed like months for it to dry, was when I put too heavy of a coat on the surface, then put the second coat on too soon. Do you think that could have happened?

It will dry though. I like the idea of fans blowing on it even if you have to run them all day and night.

Boy how I wish I had your youth and energy to do such a big project! Kudos to you!

I'll bet that it is a case of too many coats too fast. I have done that before and it does eventually dry. I know a basic coat of latex wall paint in theory takes about 3 weeks to fully cure.

On the SW floor paint: I just painted our porch earlier this fall. For the floor: no prep other than sanding and 2 very light coats of paint 8 hrs apart. I have the advantage of being in the dry area of the midwest. (No rain for 3 weeks, humidity 20-30% and in the open air.) But even though it is dry and we are using it, weeks later, the porch still sometimes smells faintly of fresh paint. Mine must be still curing and I am on week 5. Where do you live? Humid area?

I agree it will eventually dry. We finished our basement this summer and painted the stair treads brown and the risers white. It took a long time for the paint to really dry. For the longest time, even though they felt dry to the touch, when you walked on them you could feel a slight bit of tackiness. When they were completely dry we did put down a runner ourselves.

I painted our third floor checkerboard in SW porch and floor paint and it took forever to dry. Months. A year later, it's dry, but because we used the floor a few weeks after painting, it peeled up in many spots. I love SW paint and highly recommended it, but I do not recommended their porch and floor paint.

We just painted our porch and I used regular exterior house paint. I realize it might not last as long, but it seems easier to paint the high traffic areas every few years than to not have use of my front door for several months while it cures. It's already holding up better than my indoor painted floor.

So, long and short of it, it's not you, it's the paint.

Ctlane - How long did you wait until you took the tape off? I had to use a utility knife (I did use frog tape) and it wasnâÂÂt as easy as I imagined. Still going to need to do some touch ups.

I did post on the paint forum when I hit a month and it was suggested to call SW. It seemed to get a little better so I just figured IâÂÂd wait it out. Thankfully itâÂÂs only faintly tacky now compared to after I first did it.

Our basement is below. Door at the bottom of the steps. We have a dehumidifier running in the basement. It was warm/humid here this summer but not in the house or basement. I donâÂÂt remember it being too bad around Labor Day, which was when I did this. The house temp. was set around 72-74 degrees during the process. ItâÂÂs been about 70 over the past few weeks.

I did have a box fan at the steps at first and maybe IâÂÂll dig it back out. With three cats, when I had the big light and fan near the steps they were very nosey and wanted to walk on the area. Put them in a room during the primer and painting processes, put everything away and prayed theyâÂÂd leave the steps along. Thankfully since everything looked normal they werenâÂÂt interested.

The can of paint says you can recoat in 4 hours. I was originally going to wait a day. About three days later it was still tacky and I was really getting impatient so I did the second coat while crossing my fingers. I shouldâÂÂve known if the first coat was still tackyâ¦..

I guess maybe it just needs more time. I probably should leave the tape for a while yet. I canâÂÂt believe I wore my sneakers last night while doing that. Stupid.

One more question, can or should I put a coat of poly over the treads? If so, oil or water? (probably should wait until theyâÂÂre no longer tacky) Would it add extra protection or do you think itâÂÂs not necessary? Possibly covering up the scuff marks? Someone told me it would make them slippery.

You do not need to poly.

I mentioned the problem to the floor guy this morning. He said most likely humidity. Try the fans or even your heat. He also made a face when I said SW, but he looked busy, so I did't ask.
I have one more guy to ask and he isn't on site yet.