paint drying time

swimmin' for shore

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Messages
490
I'm working over my aluminum boat. Did some reading here, and it seemed that the cheap way to do it was with primer and rustoleum. I'm following the plan. I've primed it with rustoleum primer. I'm getting ready to paint tomorrow, but I took another piece of advice that I saw and have purchased some hardener for the rustoleum paint(accelerator for enamels). The instructions on the can say that 24 hours is necessary between coats. I was wondering if I couldn't get 2 coats a day in with the hardener included. If any of you have been down this road, I'd love to hear about the necessary drying times.
 

rennen

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Messages
81
Re: paint drying time

I am not very familiar with the exact product but usually paint needs between 14-24 hrs to (CURE) not in order to recoat. Tack times are synonomous with recoat times in my opinion. Give it 2 hrs at least, and recoat. Go slow and light, and you should be fine!! Good luck
 

thunderroad

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Joined
Jun 19, 2005
Messages
417
Re: paint drying time

Rustoleum is a different breed of cat but I was always leery of recoating at 24 hours. On sprayers and implements we always had an unofficial "2 hours or 2 days" rule. Either recoat while the thinner is still active in the fresh paint or wait until it's pretty well evaporated, scuff, tack rag and recoat. But...like I said, Rustoleum is somewhat unique. I'd either defer to the directions on the can or talk to someone with experience with the specific product.<br />Hardener (or accelerator) is wonderful stuff. It's greatest quality to me has always been the fact it gets the paint to the dust free-bug free stage quicker. Very important for those in-the-driveway projects. Also gives it a nice wet look.
 

dakk1

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Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Messages
418
Re: paint drying time

I am a furniture refinisher by trade and have used Rustoleum many times on wrought iron. It is a slow drying paint. Slower than standard oil-based enamels. I doubt you can get more than one coat a day even with the accelerator. Probably due to the rust "inhibitors" in the product. Here in AL, with the high humidities we have, I'm lucky to get one properly cured coat every 2 days. Remember, just because it "feels" dry doesn't mean it's dry. Good Luck.<br /><br />Dave..
 

Boomyal

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 16, 2003
Messages
12,072
Re: paint drying time

If the finish wrinkles when you apply the next coat, you'll know you did not wait long enough. :eek:
 

swimmin' for shore

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Messages
490
Re: paint drying time

Sad that I didn't get any of this until today. Now I'm a bit concerned about what I did actually do, so I'll tell you and you can tell me what could potentially surface as problems. <br />Warm day yesterday. I was putting on coats with the sprayer, and they were drying to the touch in an hour to hour and a half throughout the day. As a result, I just resprayed throughout the course of the day, thinning the paint down as recommended and then adding the appropriate amount of hardener. The paint was coming up really good and hard, although I understand that it is probably still wet beneath, even with the hardener. <br />At any rate, I put on about 3 coats yesterday, and it came out evenly and very smooth looking. I didn't really have any problems with buildup of the paint. Like I said, it all APPEARS TO BE very smooth. I didn't really mess with it after that. I want to see if I can lightly sand it this afternoon after it's had about 24 hours in the sun. <br />Is my paint job going to be doo doo, guys? I'm okay with it. Even so, I doubt I'd mess with it again right now, unless it's to scuff and get another coat on. The boat was a freeby aluminum boat. I fixed holes, replaced the transom, and proceeded to paint. Even if the paint chips off, I just wanted to use this as a learning experience, and I can always recoat later. Any suggestions about what to expect? Should I add another coat, or a clearcoat, or should I just take it out and see what happens? Like I said, it isn't going to sink because the paint isn't good, so I'm not out anything for the experrience, and it only took a couple of days of work.
 

dakk1

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Messages
418
Re: paint drying time

swimmin<br /><br />Your probably OK. The fact you sprayed so often is in your favor. Might need about a week for all that to cure now. LOL. Lightly sanding is a good test. If it powders up its dry. If it sticks to the paper "gums up" I call it, it ain't. Good Luck!<br /><br />Dave..
 

thunderroad

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 19, 2005
Messages
417
Re: paint drying time

I agree...you're probably fine. You may not even need to sand and recoat at all. It sounds like you got enough paint on it so if it looks to suit you, I'd leave it alone.
 
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