Tacky Paint (Became Tacky)

darkzero

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On my bandsaw where the coolant line runs, underneath, the paint became tacky. It was never like this for yrs, just happened recently. I tried putting talcum powder on it but it gets tacky again after a little while. Something in the tubing is causing it I guess cause the tubing is getting sticky. I haven't run the coolant system yet BTW. I took the hose off yesterday & my brother is picking up new food grade tubing (cheaper in the size I need but not for the other sizes)for me from Mcmaster on Sunday on his way here.

I've had tacky paint before where it took long to dry after painting but I've never encountered paint becoming tacky long after it was already dry & not tacky. Would my case be the same as paint not drying quick? If yes is there anything I can do to fix this quicker other than just giving it time to dry or try using a heat gun? It's been high 90s & 100s lately so I doubt a heat gun would help any. Like is there something that I can apply to it?

Thanks.
 
Best is to remove all of the paint
Tacky paint can be difficult to harden
Some types of coolant reacts with paint
 
Best is to remove all of the paint
Tacky paint can be difficult to harden
Some types of coolant reacts with paint
This. And some coolants react with some tubing and create something that will react with the paint.
 
I've seen instances where the plasticizers in plastic (to make them flexible) can come out of the plastic and become sticky. If your paint is cured epoxy you should be able to remove the sticky stuff with mild solvent like mineral spirits or acetone, without affecting the paint. You also will want to replace the tubing.

If that doesn't work you might try baking the affected parts to set or drive off the plasticizer. Don't use your kitchen oven for this.
 
I'm not interested in repainting the bandsaw & I haven't ran the coolant through it yet.

Thanks HB, I'll the mineral spirits. Don't think a 7x12 will fit in the kitchen oven anyway. :D

Edit: Actually I don't think it's plasticizer that leached from the tubing that is what's tacky. The actual paint has softened & is tacky. I'll try a bit of mineral spirits and/or acetone anyway.
 
This is the bandsaw. It's sticky all along the top. If it can't be fixed I'll just leave it be.

20140424_083857-800x600.jpg
 
Can’t say what the cause is but it has happened to me almost every time I buy a foreign machine and go through it cleaning it up. Just went through a jet machine 90’s model. I degreased all the parts I could fit in my chemfree smart washer which takes a ozzyjuice degreaser solution. Does great cleaning and degreasing but seems to make the paint lift then the filler underneath is soft so I end up stripping the entire piece and painting over. Have done the same process on my Bridgeport and Boyer Shultz without any problems just Asian paint jobs?
 
Oh yeah I've definitely had problems with the crappy Asian filler lifting/chipping easy on my lathe & mill. I've never encountered tacky paint on any of my other Asian machines. But I only use WD-40 to clean the painted surfaces.

On the bandsaw it just where the hose was sitting. The rest of it is fine. I'm sure the cheap hose is the cause.
 
This is the bandsaw. It's sticky all along the top. If it can't be fixed I'll just leave it be.

View attachment 300433

I would guess that the fresh tubing used for the coolant line is off gassing which is softening the paint (Did you use a polyurethane based paint?) You might consider switching to another hose material if the paint continues to soften. Maybe rubber, PEX, or other tubing base material.

You did a very nice job repainting that saw... I would not want to repaint it either after all that work!

For future projects I would recommend industrial paint with a hardener. I have switched from HammerLite spray cans (My old favorite) to tractor paint and a separate mixed in hardener that I pick up at my local farm supply store and use a roller to apply. The Hammerlite always did an excellent job for me and is very tough for many, may years. The tractor paint with hardener is even better... considerably better.
 
I would guess that the fresh tubing used for the coolant line is off gassing which is softening the paint (Did you use a polyurethane based paint?) You might consider switching to another hose material if the paint continues to soften. Maybe rubber, PEX, or other tubing base material.

You did a very nice job repainting that saw... I would not want to repaint it either after all that work!

For future projects I would recommend industrial paint with a hardener. I have switched from HammerLite spray cans (My old favorite) to tractor paint and a separate mixed in hardener that I pick up at my local farm supply store and use a roller to apply. The Hammerlite always did an excellent job for me and is very tough for many, may years. The tractor paint with hardener is even better... considerably better.

Sorry for any confusion. I did not repaint the bandsaw. It's the factory paint. I purchased the bandsaw new in 2014. The area in question was never tacky, just happened recently. The stock coolant hose is slightly sticky now which also wasn't before so I'm replacing it.

I'm getting a similar type of tubing cause it needs to be pretty flexible for the moveable blade guide. Pex or anything at my local hardware stores is way too stiff. Getting it from Mcmaster so it should be better quality than the stock tubing with Chinese writing on it. Although I didn't plan on it I'm getting food grade tubing cause the size I need is cheaper, normally the non food grade tubig is cheaper. Hopefully the food grade tubing should be better for not off gassing but I don't know, never used the stuff before. I say "getting" cause my brother is picking up my order for me on Sunday.

I've really only encountered tacky paint with some oil based enamel used for machinery that I got from Dunn Edwards. Sometimes it stays tacky for weeks but eventually dries. I thought maybe I didn't mix it well or something the first time I used it but that's not the case. Maybe I just got a bad batch of it or that's just the way that paint is.
 
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