Paint won't dry. What did I do wrong?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I am building a MRC model of the Mercury Space Capsule. It has an astronaut figure that goes in the capsule. I believe the figure is made of vinyl because it is somewhat flexable. I first washed the figure with dishwashing detergent and water, let it dry for 4 days. I then primed the figure with Floquil Primer. That seemed to dry well. A week later, I hand brushed Testors Enamel Silver on the space suit. It is now 10 days later and the silver is still very tacky and comes off on your hand when handled. I generally use Floquil Primer for all my styrene parts and top it with Model Master Enamel paints and they dry very quickly. Can anyone tell me how to correct this situation? Thanks.

2

Eddie

Any chance that it is really humid where you are?

3

Yes, it is humid. I live on the MS Gulf Coast. However, the air conditioning system we have in the house has a dehumidifyer and it is set for 40% humidity.

4

I don’t think it’s the humidity.

Vinyl doesn’t play well with enamel, and I imagine what might be happening is that the Floquil primer didn’t provide a sufficient barrier to keep them apart.

I seem to remember having a problem similar to this a long time ago. Alas, I don’t remember the details…

5

I agree. We have had a spat of high dewpoint here, and my enamels take a long time to dry, but they eventually do. Enamel on vinyl, however, never really dries. Figure painters in this area use oil paints on vinyl. Don’t understand the difference- they use the same type of thinner as enamels, but it seems to work.

6

Thanks for the info. I will have to try oils/

7

Thanks for the info. I will have to try oils.