I just finished painting a bathroom and need to reinstall the fixtures and stuff I took down. Of particular concern is the shower curtain rod. I know the rubber ends will stick to the paint if the paint hasn't cured enough. Is there any way to expedite the curing process? Would a heat gun do the trick?
- les
No, a heat gun is not a good idea. When did you paint? How many hours ago? Is it too warm where you live to turn the heat on a bit to lower the humidity in the house? Add a fan, and you can help speed things up.
On the can of paint you used, what curing time is suggested?
Fan? Care to share details such as type of paint? Sheen?
Not really. Just plan on taking baths instead of showers for the next two weeks.
A heat gun might damage the paint. Wait several days, then use small squares of wax paper. After a month, remove the wax squares and apply a thin coat of oil (or Vaseline) to the wall where the rubber ends touch. Paint takes about a month to fully cure and harden.
Sorry, but your last sentence is not correct. Paint polymerization (curing) is fairly asymptotic and takes years to "fully" cure.
Do this little experiment. Put some spots of paint on a hard surface such as glass.
After a week, use a razor to remove one of the spots. It'll come off fairly easy. Repeat process in a month or two. The spot will still come off but it'll be more difficult. Wait a year or more. Now you're really going to have to scrap hard. After a few years, it'll be a real bear to remove spots.
For that reason, you don't want to paint bookcase shelves unless you're willing to wait a year or so before placing heavy items on the shelves.
That's why I use shellac for bookcase shelves.
That's just plain silly. There are tens of millions of bookcase shelves in the United States alone that have been painted and then used after several days of curing with no problems whatsoever.
I agree. If you go back to my suggestions, you won't have any problems with painted bookshelves (using quality paint and follow all the manufacturer's prep guidelines). I used Johnson's Paste Wax (in the yellow can) after 4-6 weeks of paint cure time. It is the wait time that really makes this work and gives a hard durable finish.
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