Curing Latex Paint In A Trailer?

[DerbyDad03]

My daughter painted a chair with latex paint. It's been drying for about 18 hours. She'll be taking it to college in 3 days.

If I put the chair in my trailer, which will get much hotter than the

80-85F temp predicted for this week, will that improve the curing of the paint to any extent? It'll be warm during the day but much cooler (60's) at night so the paint will experience swings in temp and humidity, unlike the more constant environment of my house.

More importantly, will putting the chair in the trailer do any harm, such as resulting in sticky paint? Harder curing would be good, a sticky chair, well, not so much.

[Norminn]

What cure time is given on the label? Two weeks? In my experience, latex is ALWAYS soft and heat will probably make it softer and probably stick to anything that is piled in touching it.

[trader4]

That's the only thing I'd be concerned about, ie it might stick to something that is pushed up against it. You have 3 days. Why not test paint a piece of something similar, then after a couple days, see how it behaves. Put a piece of newspaper against it with some weight on it overnight and see what happens. Meantime, I'd obviously keep the chair in a warm, dry environment until it has to go. Probably inside the house, with AC would be the best, unless is warmer and not humid outside.

[DerbyDad03]

The plan was never to have anything touching the chair until school starts. It would simply be standing in the trailer until we are ready to leave. It already has a spot reserved in our van so that it will not have anything piled on it. Once it gets to her apartment the only thing that will be touching it should be her (hopefully clothed) butt.

I should add that this chair has been painted for many years and was just looking a little dingy from use. That and the fact that it was used as a ladder when she painted her room so it had paint speckles all over it. She put on a fresh coat of paint just to brighten it up.

Her butt didn't seem to bother the paint or stick to it all through High School, so I'm sure it will be fine going forward. I'll leave it out of the trailer...no sense in taking a chance.

[Norminn]

Sounds like she is ready for college and the poverty that follows :o) The paint has a film pretty quick when it begins to dry....until it cures, the liquid beneath the film would probably cause blistering if left in the heat. I didn't mean that latex is inherently sticky, but sticks to similar coating with a little pressure. Also takes on solvent-based stains easily.

[woodchucker]

Never would have painted a chair with latex, too soft and sticky.

That being said, just let it cure... it takes a week for it to really loose all its moisture.

[woodchucker]

Never would have painted a chair with latex, too soft and sticky.

That being said, just let it cure... it takes a week for it to really loose all its moisture.

[dadiOH]

What kind of latex paint? Glossy stays sticky for months, maybe years AFAIK which is why I'd never use it for chairs, shelves and the like. If it IS glossy, a coat of water poly once it is more or less dry will keep stuff from sticking to it.

[John Grabowski]

*Open all of the windows. The moisture evaporating as the paint dries needs somewhere to go. It may still be soft underneath after three days, but will eventually fully cure and harden.

[nestork]

Derby Dad:

Latex paint is simply too soft to provide good service on furniture. The hand grips on that chair will soon become embedded with dirt from people's palms.

It would have been better to have painted that chair with OIL BASED paint if it's still available in your area, or Monamel paint from any Comex subsidiary selling paint in your area. But, latex paint simply won't stand up well on a working surface like the hand grips, seat and back on a chair. It's simply too soft.

No, the higher temperatures you expect inside the trailer won't do any harm.

If you had used a latex FLOOR PAINT, it would have been better because floor paints crosslink to form a harder and more durable film, but an oil based paint would have been best.

My advice would be to use some acetone to take the latex paint off that chair(depending on how much paint there is on it) and repaint with an oil based paint. If removing the paint isn't practical, then I'd suggest going to your local Salvation Army, and buying a new chair you can repaint with oil based paint.

[DanG]

Should not have been painted with latex. My experience says it will never dry to a hard finish. It is just not for things that need a hard finish like bookcases, tables, chairs, etc.

[nestork]

There seems to be a misconception in here that latex paints dry slightly sticky and a result, never fully "cure".

People should be aware that in North American 90 percent of latex paints are made from one of two different kinds of plastic:

1. Polyvinyl acetate - which you probably know better as white wood glue.

This plastic has poor "blocking" resistance, which in paint-lingo means that even when fully dry, it remains slightly sticky. PVA resins are used to make inexpensive interior latex paints and general purpose primers. PVA latex paints also lose their adhesion under moist conditions, causing them to crack and peel on bathroom ceilings, expecially directly above the shower. It is no doubt this slight stickiness that makes people think that the paint hasn't fully cured.

1. Polymethyl methacrylate - which you probably know better as Plexiglas.

This plastic is superior to polyvinyl acetate for making paint in every catagory except cost. Polyvinyl acetate plastic resins adhere much better to damp surfaces, and they have much higher "blocking" resistance, which means that the dry paint won't remain slightly sticky or stick to itself. PMMA resins are also very much more alkaline resistant, so primers made for painting over fresh lime based plaster or fresh concrete will always be made of PMMA resins. ALL exterior latex paints will be made of PMMA resins.

The idea that some latex paints never fully dry is a misconception. They all fully dry. It's just that inexpensive latex paints made from PVA resins will remain slightly sticky even when fully dry.

PS: The remaining 10 percent of interior latex paints in North America are made from styrenated acrylic resin. This kind of plastic provides good gloss and hardness, but has poor UV resistance. Such paints are much more common in Europe than they are in North America.

[DerbyDad03]

It's been fine for many years. This was just a touch up. It's only used as desk chair.

[DerbyDad03]

She's not just ready for college, she's ready for her junior year at college. It's her first year living off campus, which will actually be cheaper than the dorm and a meal plan was. She's just bringing more of her own stuff with her this time.

But I know about poverty. I've got one that recently graduated from college, another one just starting grad school and this one who will a junior. My vacations are spent driving them back and forth and helping them move.

[DerbyDad03]

First, it's an armless chair from an old dining room set so there are no "hand grips" to be concerned with.

Second, it's been used as a desk chair in my daughter's room all through high school, and it's been painted with the same latex paint that she just touched up. The paint has held up well, but there was lots of speckles from when it was used as a ladder when she painted her room.

It's now going to be a desk chair in her off-campus apartment. I'm sure it will be just as fine as it has been in the past.

[dadiOH]

Typo?

Nice to know. Are they the ones that say they are "100% acrylic"?

[Norminn]

You didn't know when you posted that you'd be required to write a thesis, I'll bet...."Drying Rate of Waterborne Paint in Environments of Less Than 200 FPM Real Air Movement"?

[Norminn]

Buy the grad a truck and tell him to move the others. I'm assuming the grad is male 'cause my daughters always had BF to help move :o) My son is now doing college visits....two boys graduating HS next June. Didn't plan that, but the younger has always been in advanced and/or double credit classes and is eligible for early graduation. Already has enough HS credits. The younger is torn between Purdue and a smaller school; MD? Vet? I'm pulling for something more creative/arty.

[DerbyDad03]

Actually, the grad just bought a truck on his own, but not for the reasons you might think.

While he likes having a pickup, it was more of a financial necessity. He had a Scion TC while he was in school but now that he's graduated and has to put some of his salary towards his college loans, he decided to sell the TC while that loan was still above water and buy a semi-beater pickup to eliminate the car payment. He was able to do some of the work that the truck required so he's improved it a lot since he bought it. He actually talked the seller into refunding about 10% of the purchase once he found out all the things that the truck needed when he went to get it inspected. Pretty good negotiating skills!

Since both of my daughter's schools are hundreds of miles away and they both have apartments, his 10 YO Dakota is not the best vehicle to move them with. My van and trailer can carry a lot more, and a lot more easily, than a pickup could.

[gregz]

I would be more worried about humidity. I would put it in the sun.

Greg