Painting over tacky paint - please help

14 years ago

Hi there,

I know there have been several postings re: tacky paint. I have a related question I wasn't able to find the answer to, and would greatly appreciate your help.

My contractor repainted a built-in wardrobe with Benjamin Moore's Impervo paint (water based), using two coats of BM primer and two coats of Impervo. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have applied the paint properly -- applied thick coats and didn't wait long enough btw coats. As a result, the shelves are still tacky after more than a month. I live in a relatively dry, warm climate so I don't think the shelves will ever dry properly.

I've read on this and other forums that you can sand, prime, and repaint the tacky surface to solve the problem.

My question is this: Is it okay to prime and paint OVER a tacky surface, or will that be painting on a bad foundation and making things worse? Do I have to strip and remove the tacky paint before I repaint with the objective of removing the tackiness?

Many thanks!

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Comments (2)

Faron79
14 years ago
I'm sorry you're going through this!!

IMO...you're correct in thinking these shelves will never cure right!
* The contractor has basically "trapped" a thick/damp under-layer with another thick top-layer.
* This condition is never gonna cure...at least THIS year anyway...literally.
* YES, these tacky layers have to be removed. Your "bad foundation" analogy is perfect here! You'll just compound the problem if these layers stay put.
* You can TRY sanding, but it's probably gonna gum-up the paper too fast. Give it a shot though...
* I'd rather sand though, than use harsh strippers!

Use 2 full "new" coats though...but not TOO full!
3-4 hours between coats.
Then, let them harden-off for a month b4 putting into use.

Faron
vnyc
Original Author
14 years ago
Faron, thank you for getting back to me so quickly. It's interesting - when I sand, the 'tacky' paint is actually coming off dusty, not gummy .. so I'm going to try to sand down just a little bit before repainting, rather than try to remove all the paint, which would take weeks (it's a huge wardrobe).

Thanks again!
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