Hi,

I've been making some freight for my 3yr old's Thomas Train set. I've just finished some logs made with rolls of cardboard covered in tissue paper for texture and painted with acrylics.

Last night, just to protect them a little I applied a coat of Ronseal Clear Matt varnish. When I got back from work this evening I found the varnsh was still tacky.

I have used this method on a millenium falcon model I made him a while ago (again card and tissue paper painted with acrylic) and it dried with no problem.

The weather has been damp, and the varnish is rather old. If it doesn't cure is there anything I can do? If I got a new tin and overcoated the old varnish with new would it dry properly?

Many thanks

A

PS

Would add photos but seem to be having problems with that too!

Try drying in an oven where you have warmed the oven to 150F and then turn off the heat just before you put in the parts. It may take several cycles to see how if will work. If it doesn't, I think yuo're pooched. Adding another coat of new over the old might possibly work, but don't expect it. Old varnishes have a tendency to behave "badly" (frosting, staying tacky, going very brittle, flaking off) and applying new over old almost never helps, especially if it's not drying. You might try brushing some "Japan Dryer" over the tacky varnish, but there's no guarantee that even if it's not tacky on the surface that the stuff under the surface will ever cure.

Unless it was an immense amount of work to make the parts I'd bin them and make new. Especially if my kid was going to play with them. I'd never trust the stuff to cure properly. If he ends up putting partially cured varnished parts in his mouth, it's not a good thing.

Paul

I remember reading in a build log for a 537 MAZ tank transporter here on Armorama that the modeler had used a linseed oil based thinner to create his wash mix. He said it remained tacky for days and he didn't think it was going to dry. I believe he ended up stripping it off and redoing it. You didn't mention using a reducer, but your problem rang a bell. No harm in offering this up methinks!

I had one experience with a clear not drying and it was also a very old bottle of solvent based clear as was Paul's experience. It had stratified in the bottle and even extended stirring and shaking didn't make it look quite right. Since it was for a military airplane model, I didn't care about the slight discoloration, but after spraying and sitting for over 24 hours it remained tacky enough to pick up fingerprint impressions when I picked it up, but not wet enough to stick to skin. I ended up throwing both it and the model out. (I was a little quick tempered and impatient in my youth!)

The only issue I ever had with acrylic clears that were old was a white, frosted appearance that appeared in random spots or different sizes all over the surface, but it did fully dry. Oddly enough, the frosted areas didn't appear until it had dried.

Thanks both!

I checked this morning and it looks like it's finally cured - though it's taken over 24 hours instead of the normal 4. Looks like I got away with it - just! A lesson learnt there. Time for a new tin!


All the best


A