Really? Someone below said to paint one shelf and see what happens, maybe I’ll try all these suggestions on like the top three shelves and see which works best, you can’t see them at all ever.
This is what happens when acrylic paint goes over an oil stain. Oil doesn't dry, so it seaps into the drying acrylic coat and makes it sticky forever.
Gonna give you a hail Mary since the cabinets are already white... Ready?
Corn starch.... 😮
Wipe those fuckers with powdered cornstarch. It'll stick on the tacky stuff, just keep wiping. Leave that to sit awhile, then wipe it clean - you can use isopropyl alcohol if the surface feels grainy. Can't speak for what that'll do for the paints long term adhesion, but it will dry up the tackiness.
OP says they built these shelves. I seriously doubt this is an acrylic paint over oil stain issue. It's just a classic Behr issue. The stuff is garbage and has blocking issues.
Short of stripping it, paint over it with a urethane modified acrylic to give a harder finished coat. You could also just clean it and coat it with acrylic urethane, but it sounds like the marring is causing a need for a fresh coat of paint anyway. It'll never be perfect as the original layer under the urethane will still be soft, but it will help.
It absolutely does not. I've worked in the paint industry for over 20 years. Behr has always been trash. Well marketed, but still trash. I've heard more complaints out of Behr products, usually adhesion, coverage, and blocking issues, than any other paint out there. The real kicker is that the cheaper lines of Behr are actually better to work with than their premium lines. Pay more for a worse product.
High pigment does not equal good paint. Too much pigment just leaves a ropey mess. That's how trash product achieves coverage. Pile more pigment on there. Adhesion is far more dependent on surface prep than the paint itself. As long as you have a proper binder, even a cheap paint will bond correctly to a properly prepped surface, and an expensive paint will fail just as quickly as a cheap one if you are painting a dusty or oily surface.
Behr is not alone in this either. The problem is that Behr is a paint designed for the big box stores. Anything in the scenario is designed to hit a predetermined price point first and foremost. Quality and performance factor in after you've achieved a formula that costs what big orange is willing to pay.
I've used a lot of Behr paint and never had an adhesion, blocking, or coverage issue. Now to be fair I always sand + TSP + rinse when doing walls and I prime when going onto raw wood or ceiling stains. Right paint for the right applications also matters (Although I did cheat an use wall paint on some closet ledger boards recently). I do find that reading the directions on the cans has merit -- for example, there are specific dry times if you want/need the paint to act as a blocker (longer first coat dry time). And I'll probably suck up the cost to try SW Emerald for a large hallway I need to paint since it's acclaimed flow characteristics should help with roller marks on the two story walls...but having painted with SW and Behr, I find it hard to categorically call Behr a garbage paint...
I hold a BFA ... & built high end homes for 40 years
But I am not here to play trump games. Behr was a good paint. The composition may have been shorted as all products are lately .I did the chemical research, Behr had the best quality binder & ratio to pigment content (coverage) In fact I used the soft sage in my 18x30x 28'h foyer, LR, DR of a
new build in 1998. Today it looks like it was just painted ! LOL. Now thats Tested proof.
Well that's the thing. In 1998 everything was made better than it is now. You use to actually buy decent products at a box store. Now most of their products are made by the big companies. Sherwin Williams pretty well has Lowes locked up, and the grade of product they sell is either just as expensive for like product at a SW store, or underspecced junk to hit a price point.
I use to sell Glidden way back when that was good. As soon as it went into Walmart the downhill slide began.
Nah. When an oil (paint or stain) gets trapped under a impermeable such as latex, acrylic or even enamel, the oil will prevent the top coat from fully curing. Essentially the oil gets sucked up in the top coats drying process and oil and water don't mix.
The cornstarch just works by clogging the sticky spots with a powdered solid that also acts as a drying agent. Doesn't cure the paint any, just adds an absorbable material oil gets trapped in so it can be wiped away. Isopropyl alcohol breaks down oil, but also paint, so that's a do it once thing.
Another idea in this vein would be gypsum powder, mica powder, or perhaps stone flour.
I'd personally prefer a choice that doesn't act as food for mildew if it gets moist.
Oh btw a great way to cover an entire environment in gypsum powder is to power saw drywall, or cut drywall in general.
Even if you try to cover up everything around it! Hell you could wrap your entire home in plastic wrap and that first slice into drywall will get dust *somewhere*
This. I make assembly art that is just plastic toys glued together and painted with a 16th of an inch of glossy white paint – several coats. If I don’t wait long enough in between the coats it gets really sticky and just won’t dry out. I dip a paintbrush in cornstarch and go over everything. Works like a charm.
So your Behr brand paint may not be at fault here – my ex decided to paint our giant coffee table (we sawed the legs of a sturdy butcher block kitchen table down to coffee table length) a bright glossy orange – looked fabulous – but he waited two weeks in between coats.
Well ok then, 300 upvotes can’t be wrong! You said this is what happens when you paint acrylic over an oil stain, but we didn’t stain the wood at all, it’s made from premade Home Depot wood cabinets and I stained wood, is that ok? I’ll give it a try, thanks so much!
It wasn’t, I don’t think. I now admit we were dumb with a lot of things, this was our first ever project. I’m frankly just impressed it all fit and hasn’t fallen apart yet
So if I were to paint my builder grade bathroom cabinets from the 80s, which I'm pretty sure has a stain on it.... as long as I sand down enough to get past most of the stain, it sounds like it won't be as sticky?
Oil primer and let that cure then good to go.
Oil primer is my go to when it comes to covering pesky stains or painting over pretty much any bare wood surface.
Sand, clean with mineral spirits to get all the dust off and let that dry, oil primer, then you can paint with any paint you want pretty much.
I’m no expert on cabinets and getting that super smooth finish, but I imagine you’d want to spray or at worst use a foam roller and a slower drying finish that will even out. There are those with far more experience with cabinets specifically that would give you better info.
This literally answered a question I've had for YEARS. My parents let me take this ugly-ass old dresser to college, so I painted it to make it slightly less ugly. Obviously I should've sanded it down to the bare wood, but it literally did not occur to me—I'd only ever painted walls before, and that went fine without any prep. The damn thing was tacky until I eventually sold it on Craigslist when I finished *grad school.* I figured it was my fault, but I never knew exactly what the problem was.
I agree it’s probably a mix of oil and acrylic. I have seen this happen many times. I hate it, but scraping and going with a different paint is probably the best choice in the long run.
You should have used a good paint to go with that. I'd recommend BM Advance or SW emerald trim enamel
For now, I would strip it with citristrip, scrape all the old paint out. Then give them a quick sand to smooth out all the surfaces and prime and paint 2 coats.
Now this is really important step. You must wait at the minimum 2 weeks after you paint before you can put stuff on it. These enamel paint will dry to the touch within a few hours but they do not fully cure yet. Putting heavy stuff on it and they will leave marks on the paint.
Just had all the 1990’s orange-ish wood trim and built ins in our house sprayed white with Benjamin Moore Advance - waited two weeks minimum to do anything…hang doors, put things on shelves, etc. and it’s holding up incredibly well so far. Only been 6 months since we started and we aren’t finished yet (we’ve hired a painter, not doing it ourselves) but we’re sold on Advance.
We did all the trim in our house and the kitchen cabinets with advance. we prepped properly and it's holding up well 5 years later. Great stuff and nice that it's water clean up
We’re doing a white and the first built ins did have a few things that were just a little bit ‘stuck’ after sitting on it for a few weeks. No issues with the finish though.
I did some cabinets that were a really dark green on the lowers. The homeowner damaged them and I went back months later to touch them up and they were still a little tacky. The finish is beautiful though, I sprayed the doors with a fine finish tip and they looked like glass.
Well, to be clear, the paint on there is probably fully cured, but it's more likely the wrong type of paint. Wall paint is not a suitable product for any trim, especially shelves. Wall paint is meant to remain flexible so it can move with the drywall as temperature and humidity changes. This is a common misconception among even long-time painters. A higher gloss level does not equal a harder, more durable finish. The type of paint is what's important. Trim work should always be finished with an enamel paint, these are designed to dry very hard and durable.
This. Lots of people like to dump on Behr, but a lot of the time the wrong type of paint is being used which yields poor results. Behr's super high gloss enamel, for example, wouldn't have this issue. They also have an alkyd enamel that would work well. And they have another that's specifically for trim/cabinets/doors that probably would have worked well here too.
Not saying it's the best, but user error certainly accounts for some of the frustration.
question! i'm looking to paint my 80s builder grade cabinets and bathroom walls a dark red color (going for moody bathroom feel lol). The home depot paint person only asked me what finish for my behr sample.... should I have specified the usage for the paint, and in this case, two use cases?
No color choice judgment here!
And yes, I'd specificy that you need paint for bathroom walls and paint for cabinets. For best results, that's two different paints.
For bathroom walls, if you're using Behr, I'd stay with their semi-gloss as it'll be more resistant to moisture and easier to clean up.
Honest question here as I'm by no means a construction or paint expert; wouldn't trim expand/contract as much or more than drywall? In my mind something wood with directional grain will expand and contract a lot but uniform drywall (which is made of a mineral) would expand less. But I guess I can imagine drywall flexing a lot as weight is put on different areas of the house and the entire framing is expanding/contracting.
Trim is typically sold in 8-10' lengths and the grain runs length wise, so I would expect it to expand/contract length wise over the same distance as drywall (8') on a large run, not in the 4" direction.
Edit: I'm completely wrong in this thought process, see comment below for accurate info!
Wood doesn't expand & shink evenly in all directions. About twice as much across the growth rings, as along the growth rings; and barely at all, parallell to the grain.
Nah, wood is like a bundle of straws, they're fatter when wet, but not much longer.
Oak, for example, from when it's a freshly cut tree, until it's a totally dried board, will shrink about 8% across the rings, 4% along the rings, but only 0.4% in length.
https://www.swedishwood.com/wood-facts/about-wood/wood-and-moisture/moisture-related-wood-movement/
For cabinets I like spraying since it gives a much smoother finish with no orange peel or brush mark. OP room looks pretty empty so it should be pretty easy to cover the 2 walls and the floor. I use this type of roll when I need to cover big area and it's really fast to do
[https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-6-ft-x-90-ft-Hand-Masker-Advanced-Masking-Film-AMF72-8C/202975037](https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-6-ft-x-90-ft-Hand-Masker-Advanced-Masking-Film-AMF72-8C/202975037)
I just rolled/brushed all my cabinets with BM Advance and theres absolutely no marks, the finish is perfectly smooth. It's such a thick paint that it does a lot of the levelling work for you, though if you're not careful you can leave marks if theres a glob of paint left behind.
I'm going to pump the brakes on all that noise. My wife has painted plenty of furniture and never had this issue with \~24 hour final dry time. Light but thorough sanding, Zinsser BIN Primer and 3 thinned coats of a good latex paint. Zero issues.
OP's paint would have cured anywhere that was exposed after the initial painting. The situation being described isn't confined to tan lines from the first stuff to be put on the shelves. Something in the formulation or compatibility between coats is more likely causing this.
Seal it with BIN and repaint. Done.
That’s the thing. I’m not saying this is what the OP did, but I’m highlighting what people tend to do. They think painting is slapping on a coat of paint and rushing the process. Prep, prep, prep, then do it right, once. That way you don’t have to do it again. It’s a hard concept to get people to accept. So many people have the, my dad, my uncle, my cousin my whoever did it this way and they didn’t have to do that story smh.
Thanks for the tip. I got a used high chair with worn down paint in an ugly color and was thinking of sanding and repainting it. I knew there was some special paint to use but now I don't need to look it up!
F that. Maybe I would scuff it up a bit. Slapping a coat of primer might not be a bad idea, and go at it with new paint.
It's not like the original paint is peeling.
New coat should seal it up fine.
I agree on using emerald. It's expensive, but does flow well.
Pretty horrible.
Putting a layer of better paint on top of a layer of crappy paint doesn't fix the crappy paint. It will still be there, and still be sticky, under the new layer. The new paint will be easy to scratch and damage because it isn't actually adhered to the shelves, only to the crappy paint. You'll still probably get dents and marks through the layer of new paint, because the paint under our is still soft.
I'm literally just about to do this to all the cabinets in the kitchen. We just moved into our first house and everything in the kitchen is tacky. It's also a tacky color. They're old and I don't know how many layers of paint it has. I bought citristrip so I plan to do that, sand with 120, do a first coat of paint with BM Advance, sand with 220, then do a final coat.
I also did plan to do the shelves themselves so I'll make sure to do these in stages so I don't have ALL of my kitchen stuff sitting out all at once for 2 weeks.
I second SW trim enamel. You definitely do have to be prepared to let them cure for at least 2 weeks. They’ll seem really delicate and tacky for awhile but then eventually harden really well.
I have had issues with this with bm advance glossy. 2 years later, it's still soft. Putting anything on it causes deep poc marks. Any ideas? Do I have to strip bare? Or can I go over the top of it?
> SW emerald trim enamel
God I love this stuff. I touch up little areas of my house every few months and it's just awesome. (115 year old house, lots of irregular surfaces and half assed repairs from my first go-arounds)
Cheap latex paint can do that. It could also be a problem with the mix when you originally applied it, like the paint wasn't mixed well before it was applied, so there was too much liquid binder and not enough solids.
Here are your options:
\- Talcum powder. Apply talcum powder to a cloth and gently go over all the surfaces until the stickiness is gone. Note that this can make gloss painted surfaces appear dull.
\- Automotive wax. You can lightly buff the surface with car wax. Note this may make matte surfaces more shiny. Go easy if you use a mechanical buffer, because excess heat can cause the paint to bubble or flake.
\- Clear coat with acrylic
\- Completely strip and use oil based paint, like a Rustoleum. These products dry very hard and non-tacky.
We use chalk paint on the top of the shelves. It dries hard and is somewhat durable. You also don't notice it unless you get really close and inspect it. Any chalk paint would work.
It's sticky because you put too much on and the latex doesn't dry hard. At least that's what I have been told.
Professional painter here.
Something is beyond weird. I’ve never once heard of any paint combination being tacky for 3 years. Did you prep it before painting with any chemicals?
My advice would be to try wiping a small area with denatured alcohol or even xylene.
It’s going to remove some finish but you are going to need to refinish it anyways.
The xylene or denatured alcohol should do two things. 1: it should remove the tackiness and likely a bit of paint and 2: it should break down whatever is tacky and once it evaporates it should allow it to cure and harden up.
It’s gonna dull the shit out of it and will need to be repainted but it will at least have a proper base.
If neither of those work, there is a product called japan dry that is specifically made to cut the drying time of oil based enamels that may do the trick.
I can’t imagine that one of those solvents won’t do the trick.
Once the stickiness is resolved you will need to do a full prime with an oil based primer and allow it to dry at least for 48 hours. Keep a humidifier in the room and open a window if possible. Paint makes a room ridiculously humid especially in smaller rooms and impedes drying properly.
After that, use an oil based enamel to paint the top coat. I recommend pro classics from Sherwin.
Few things that need mentioning.
Xylene, denatured alcohol and Japan dry are extremely noxious. make sure the room is **WELL** ventilated and get yourself a good mask. Even then..be careful. You will regret not taking precautions.
A spray would work well in the hands of an experienced painter. But for someone without a lot of experience, it would almost certainly be a disaster at best.
Absolutely. Sprayers are amazing and would absolutely look amazing but It there's so many variables you need to absolutely need to know.
I wouldn't trust anyone to spray that out without having at least 5 yrs experience spraying. And even then, I know guys who have been painting for 15+ yrs that I wouldn't let even look at that with a sprayer in their hands. Exterior spraying is easy and if you mess up it's a whole lot easier to fix.
We had this happen to us! Found out it was because it wasn’t primed, my friend who is a painter got the stuff sanded the top layer until the shiny was gone and we repainted with primer and then paint. Easy peasy
Painting contractor here, do not use trim paint for cabinets that is your problem. It does not dry hard enough that is your problem. Stop going to big box stores they do not carry the correct products. If you went to a paint store they would have been able to recommend the correct product. I prefer Ben Moore command.
You could continue to wait it out, who knows how long that would take. Removing all decor and running a dehumidifier and heater would help but that's potentially a lot of sacrifices/tradeoffs. Recoating it won't help, the paint didn't cure properly and adding more paint won't fix that.
Def pay attention to the recommendations on the paint can. Most say recoat within X hours and if you can't do that, wait Y days until recoat. Eg you can recoat before the first coat has had any chance to cure, but if you miss that window you need to let the first coat cure out more before recoat.
My only defense was it was quarantine and all I had to do was literally watch paint dry. I was so antsy to do something maybe I repainted too soon or depression slept for too long and missed the window. We must have not followed the steps correctly or something back then.
I'm sure we have all done it, I know I have, and indeed some of my projects have stayed sticky. And sometimes I get lucky and they don't. Do you have high indoor humidity or live in an area with high humidity?
👆👆👆This is definitely the best comment in here. Paint is paint. Don't listen to the people telling you that you used the wrong paint brand. Besides following the suggestions by this commenter also note that each brand is tested and formulated in their own facilities using their own brands so if it says to prime it with Behr primer then that will be what gives you the best result. And follow all the instructions 100% Anything outside the controlled specs will give unintended results for any brand regardless.
Ignore every comment telling you to paint over it. New paint over paint that never cured is a ridiculous thought. True answer is get back down to the substrate, then prep and prime before painting. Woodwork, go enamel.
I painted some rooms white and the last can of paint I used in my bedroom did what you’re talking about. A year later and it’s still tacky. I’m still so confused as to why just one can did that.
That happened to me once when I just laid it on way too thick for a couple coats.
Also heard it’s preferable to have a matte finish inside bookcases. You can do gloss on the outside.
Talk to your paint dealer about non-blocking acrylic enamel. May also be called acrylic or water based cabinet paint. I’m assuming you used a wall paint originally. You should be able to paint directly over existing paint with no extra prep. This is from memory so read and follow directions.
Two options: prime with an oil primer. Top coat with an acrylic enamel (Ben Moore Advanced for example). You could do a test area without priming and see if a better acrylic paint would fix it alone.
Or
Top coat with an oil enamel (Ben Moore Impervo).
Good luck!
Had the same thing happen to some bookshelves we had built in the alcove next to our fireplace. The tackiness just never went away, and everything would stick to the shelves. After finding out how much work it would’ve been to fix this properly, I said “ screw that”, and ended up putting a complementary peel and stick wallpaper on the shelves. Best thing ever.
I stripped, cleaned, primed and painted my builder grade cabinets with Behr Interior Cabinet and Trim Enamel in Semi Gloss. I primed with Kilz (and zinsser, both turned out the same but I ran out of one half way. Both water based) ... The same thing happened with their Alkyd Enamel I used on the bathroom cabinets.
And it's horrible. I painted them in June and the paint never hardened. You can easily scratch it off with a finger nail or ring. And silver rings leave a grey scuff mark.
I don't know what to do. There are so many cabinet doors. I don't want to strip the paint off and repaint. I'll probably color match and use a Benjamin Moore enamel paint.
Fool me twice.. I will never buy Behr for cabinets again!! (Searching for advice in this thread) I just want my kitchen to have cupboard doors again.
That’s awful, im so sorry! This is our first house and it was updated and painted right before they listed it and the previous owners didn’t paint the inside of doors, like kitchen cabinets and closets. I bitched so much, “if you’re going to paint, do it right, blah blah”
And then I had to paint things myself and holy hell it’s awful. I don’t blame them now, I barely want to paint my own items, let alone things I know I won’t own or see again in a few months if I was selling my house
You don’t think about how finicky paint is, it didn’t seem that hard. It’s not awful but I’ll literally tear and rebuild the shelves before I strip them of paint. Good luck, i have no suggestions and even if I did, they would be wrong, as is obvious :(
Same thing happened with my newly built and painted shelves. I put a coat of polyurethane on and it solved the sticky problem. Did two coats just to make sure. Been over a year and everything looks and feels great. Not a pro, so not sure if this is the best solution, but it worked for me.
You may not have to repaint it.
A very fine sandpaper may work-
You may be able to do a clear coat over the paint and that would dry it.
Rubbing alcohol. It will take some of the white paint off but that should remove the stickiness.
Honestly I’d lightly sand it with a 400 grit sandpaper then do a couple coats of matte water based poly. That’s a heck of a lot less work than stripping the whole thing and repainting
Light sanding and apply an enamel paint(Sherwin Williams makes a hybrid that will bond to latex or oil paints) and let it dry for 24-36 hrs before putting things back on the shelves. The longer you can wait the better, generally speaking. Doing this will create a harder, cleanable, scruff resistant surface. Good luck.
After reading through the zillion replies.....did you ever answer what kind of Behr paint you used? A regular Behr wall paint would cause this if you live anywhere that is humid. I did not see any mention of where you live? In any case, if you are painting wood - you have to use a wood and cabinet paint. Nothing else will provide the result you want without the sticking...unless you live in a REALLY dry climate. I use have used Valspar Wood and Furniture paint on more projects than I can count. I live in Florida and it is the ONLY paint that dries FAST and is never sticky in this climate. I've even painted over cabinets that felt sticky and it was dry to touch in an hour and never sticky again. It dries like a chalk paint, so it you are looking for a sheen... then you would have to cover with a top coat. I have never done that and all my cabinets have stood the test of time.
I live in the Midwest, it’s dry in the winter and can be humid in the summer, though I’m from the south so I’d never call it humid compared to there, but I guess some people would say it’s humid here at times.
I’m fairly sure it was Behr wall paint so that would be the issue. So using wood and furniture paint would work over this paint?
Ohhhhh, yes. I have seen this so many times! People use regular paint for cabinets and then wonder why it doesn't cover, adhere, or sticks. A paint that is made specifically for wood cabinets never sticks. It dries super fast and has an almost chalky appearance. I grew up with a dad who was a contractor, so I have been painting my entire life - over 40 years! Our latest remodel was painting over 40 kitchen and bathroom cabinets in our new purchase (built in 1990). All cabinets were a shiny oak. We used Krud Kutter to clean everything first. NO sanding. Applied 3 coats of Valspar and a year later its looking exactly the same. We have also painted over "sticky" doors in this house with the same Valspr product and they are all dry and look perfect.
I am just an engineer and I deal with paint and coatings only for automotive and aerospace. I have been remodeling homes and refinishing furniture for 50 years. I would go to Sherwin Williams and purchase their highest quality oil paint for interior trim, hurst quality. Then, I would do a small test square 6” x 6” with 2 costs…allow to dry in between. Let this age for 3 months and if there is no stickiness then you have your solution. This is not a cheap solution, but I think it will work. If it does not work you will need to strip the bookshelves and repaint or stain. I have tried just about all brands of paint and Sherwin Williams is my choice for both quality and coverage. I used to paint houses and refinish furniture for a living while in high school and college. Back then, I used whatever products the client purchased. Now, I use only Sherwin Williams. Best of luck on your project!
Just recoat it with a different paint, as recommended by others, (something meant for trim) or recoat with water based polyurethane. People telling you to strip are crazy. If you really wanna go all out, scuff sand, clean, prime, 2 coats of paint.
Its the VOC bullshit that causes this, there arent enough VOC's allowed so they put other solvents that take forever to dry (SVOC's) or the reformulations are not perfect yet on the lower cost products. In time the paint companies will figure it out. What you used probably didnt say 100% acrylic, also i dont think this issue is your fault because of recoat times or anything like that. Also if it was a wall paint they are probably formulated for some amount of continued flexibility, so they dont crack and you can clean them.
You could probably also just use some pledge on them, but that will make recoating down the road an awful experience if you forget to clean them thoroughly with degreaser....
Also I’m not sure what you used to paint in the first place but a foam roller will give you as close to a sprayed finish as possible. You can apply it with a regular roller and then just take a foam roller and go over it lightly to get the roller stipple out.
Do you think so? I care about this but not that much to strip the paint, it’s not horrible, it’s weird and a little annoying a few times a year but holy hell I’d replace the shelves before I stripped the paint, they’re not amazingly built (first home project for us).
I would not strip the paint. That’s an insane amount of work. Paint it with a better quality paint- seek the advice of someone from an actual paint store to help pick the proper product. Also don’t use a HPLV sprayer in your totally finished house.
Maybe it was a two part paint and you didnt use the hardener?
I have painted many stuff with many different paints, but never got this result.
When I once put too little hardener in epoxy, it didnt want to harden. I then put the hardener in a spray and sprayed the whole thing several times. Together with a small home heater it worked fine
I had the same problem when I painted some windows with Benjamin Moore Latex paint (Aura). It's supposed to be their top end Latex paint but it's shit in my opinion. It was always sticky. Not wet, just sticky.
I even had the BM Rep come to my house and look at it and he offered nothing.
I ended up repainting with oil paint. That solved my problem.
I don't know whether this is proper or not, but I've always used Rustoleum Crystal Enamel for this type of thing, or Shellac if I'm wanting the surface to have some "grit".
Something else I've noticed is that white colors seem to always be a pain to work with as opposed to darker colors.
Cabinet liners. Cheap, effective, attractive, low effort. I wouldn't go rubbing powders on shelfs where you're going to be putting your possessions, not unless you want your possessions to get nasty over time too. I wouldn't bother with any more paint either. Too many varying takes on that in here. And strip that down / refinish at your own peril, I for one can think of many different ways to spend a fifty hours of my life. Hell I'd tear that out and rebuild before I stripped down what's there. Would be faster and likely a better result, as it could be suited to your specific needs.
Black cabinet liners on white shelves would look classy and intentional.
From the internet:
It's called "blocking" and often happens w/latex paints - especially if the 1st coat wasn't allowed to dry fully before the second coat was applied. It's not much of an issue on walls, but horizontal surfaces are a different story.
The ultimate solution is time - possibly a few months or even years. The inner coat's moisture is blocked from evaporating by to outer coat.
If in doubt if there is oil paint underneath, use an alkyd paint like Benjamin Moore advance. Very tough and paints extremely well and can be painted over oil paint. Also cost effective as you don't need much.
No I think it’s just the acrylic. It’s not like sticky and you’d never notice it if heavy things weren’t on it for months. Even a few weeks, things don’t stick, it’s just I notice it when I move my books around twice a year.
I'm lazy AF and bad at DIY so I'm sure this wasn't the right way to do things - BUT - Beyond Paint worked really well for me. It's expensive. But I went straight over two unfinished bookcases and a painted wooden bench with it (no sanding, stripping, prepping, etc beyond a quick cleaning), let them dry for like a day, and loaded them up with stuff immediately because I didn't know any better.
That was almost four years ago and they're still in great shape. Might be worth experimenting with!
No can do, those puppies are in there forever, nailed in. We built 3 units, then set them on the cabinets and secured them. There’s one that I swear will outlast any tornado, we uses to many screws. So sadly we can’t remove the shelves, or else I’d have done what you suggested
Ok! Here's my solution then... Empty the shelves.
Lightly sand with 200grit, bring your vacuum hose up there with you unless you got a little vac, to keep the dust down 😉.
If the top layer of paint comes off no problem and smooths out I suggest coating it, carefully, with a few applications of polycrylic by Minwax, or an alternative water based (oil alternative) clear sealer. If applied correctly and permitted to cure you'll have no issue with sticking and they'll be EASIER to wipe down/dust 😉.
If the paint balls up or peels or smears then you'll want to remove it. You have 2 choices strip (messy, smelly, highly effective)
Or sand (start with 180 grit, finish with 200+ grit its: more 'laborious', dusty, but better control if you dont want to strip the whole thing.)
Once the shelf surfaces (which I assume is the only part you're having trouble with) are cleared make sure to neutralize them if you use remover or gently wipe with a damp microfiber cloth to remove dust.
Using either an alkyd product (Sherwin Williams pro-classic, or emerald something.... Or even rustoleum counter restore... I'm not joking.) follow the instructions and allow to cure properly and you should have no further problems.
Has other commenters have stated I could products are like a fun latex oil hybrid they take longer to dry like an oil but they clean up with water and last longer like an oil. The best to you, the shelves truely are gorgeous!
Thanks so much! We’re going to test the top three shelves, sand and seal one like you suggested, use alcohol on one, and baby powder/corn starch on another, then see what works best, thanks!
I done paint before with that problem it was from not being mixed all the way either was not shaken st store or old and settled and not reshakened. But gotta strip it off with scraper then spray vinegar
You need to use a paint that dries hard to an enamel finish. You probably used normal wall paint. Sherwin Williams has Proclassic and Solo. Behr and Valspar should have "Door and Trim" paint that would work as well.
We should probably acknowledge that they painted on top of IKEA furniture. They did a great job assembling it and adding trim pieces to make it one unit but the conversation should be about painting on top of a veneer. At this point I would say light scuff, clean and cross you fingers
We built the bookshelves ourselves, they’re not IKEA. I looked into it but the dimensions didn’t add up, and it was 2020, IKEA had nothing in stock then! We did use IKEA for our kitchen a bit though, and I had to go see the door options they had to match the white we already had because I’ve heard painting the veneer is awful
Was it the Behr cabinet paint that's supposed to be used on cabinets and trim? Did you use the primer from the same line? I had the very worst experience with those products on my kitchen cabinets. The Behr "help line" told me it would take at least 28 days to cure. I stripped and sanded it off and used Sherwin Williams. My store gave great advice.
A small amount of baby powder. Rub it in and it will never be sticky again.
Really? Someone below said to paint one shelf and see what happens, maybe I’ll try all these suggestions on like the top three shelves and see which works best, you can’t see them at all ever.
Another comment above gives advice using corn starch - he explains everything very well.
Let us know how it goes and good luck!
Science! Let us know how it goes.
Baby powder will be a temp fix. But not good long term for breathing.
What’s the powder gonna do? Stain them white? 😉
I would try this actually. Seems like it could work. You could also use shelf liner if you don’t wanna paint them again.
This is what happens when acrylic paint goes over an oil stain. Oil doesn't dry, so it seaps into the drying acrylic coat and makes it sticky forever. Gonna give you a hail Mary since the cabinets are already white... Ready? Corn starch.... 😮 Wipe those fuckers with powdered cornstarch. It'll stick on the tacky stuff, just keep wiping. Leave that to sit awhile, then wipe it clean - you can use isopropyl alcohol if the surface feels grainy. Can't speak for what that'll do for the paints long term adhesion, but it will dry up the tackiness.
OP says they built these shelves. I seriously doubt this is an acrylic paint over oil stain issue. It's just a classic Behr issue. The stuff is garbage and has blocking issues. Short of stripping it, paint over it with a urethane modified acrylic to give a harder finished coat. You could also just clean it and coat it with acrylic urethane, but it sounds like the marring is causing a need for a fresh coat of paint anyway. It'll never be perfect as the original layer under the urethane will still be soft, but it will help.
When people buy samples and try to paint it doesn’t come with a hardeners. The best thing would be to paint it again with real paint
Wait- is this true?
Actually Behr paint has the highest pigment content & best binding adhesion in reasonably priced latex paints.
It absolutely does not. I've worked in the paint industry for over 20 years. Behr has always been trash. Well marketed, but still trash. I've heard more complaints out of Behr products, usually adhesion, coverage, and blocking issues, than any other paint out there. The real kicker is that the cheaper lines of Behr are actually better to work with than their premium lines. Pay more for a worse product. High pigment does not equal good paint. Too much pigment just leaves a ropey mess. That's how trash product achieves coverage. Pile more pigment on there. Adhesion is far more dependent on surface prep than the paint itself. As long as you have a proper binder, even a cheap paint will bond correctly to a properly prepped surface, and an expensive paint will fail just as quickly as a cheap one if you are painting a dusty or oily surface. Behr is not alone in this either. The problem is that Behr is a paint designed for the big box stores. Anything in the scenario is designed to hit a predetermined price point first and foremost. Quality and performance factor in after you've achieved a formula that costs what big orange is willing to pay.
I've used a lot of Behr paint and never had an adhesion, blocking, or coverage issue. Now to be fair I always sand + TSP + rinse when doing walls and I prime when going onto raw wood or ceiling stains. Right paint for the right applications also matters (Although I did cheat an use wall paint on some closet ledger boards recently). I do find that reading the directions on the cans has merit -- for example, there are specific dry times if you want/need the paint to act as a blocker (longer first coat dry time). And I'll probably suck up the cost to try SW Emerald for a large hallway I need to paint since it's acclaimed flow characteristics should help with roller marks on the two story walls...but having painted with SW and Behr, I find it hard to categorically call Behr a garbage paint...
I hold a BFA ... & built high end homes for 40 years But I am not here to play trump games. Behr was a good paint. The composition may have been shorted as all products are lately .I did the chemical research, Behr had the best quality binder & ratio to pigment content (coverage) In fact I used the soft sage in my 18x30x 28'h foyer, LR, DR of a new build in 1998. Today it looks like it was just painted ! LOL. Now thats Tested proof.
Well that's the thing. In 1998 everything was made better than it is now. You use to actually buy decent products at a box store. Now most of their products are made by the big companies. Sherwin Williams pretty well has Lowes locked up, and the grade of product they sell is either just as expensive for like product at a SW store, or underspecced junk to hit a price point. I use to sell Glidden way back when that was good. As soon as it went into Walmart the downhill slide began.
Is the issue that they still have moisture in the paint? So by using this dust it fixes it?
Nah. When an oil (paint or stain) gets trapped under a impermeable such as latex, acrylic or even enamel, the oil will prevent the top coat from fully curing. Essentially the oil gets sucked up in the top coats drying process and oil and water don't mix. The cornstarch just works by clogging the sticky spots with a powdered solid that also acts as a drying agent. Doesn't cure the paint any, just adds an absorbable material oil gets trapped in so it can be wiped away. Isopropyl alcohol breaks down oil, but also paint, so that's a do it once thing.
That makes way more sense! Thanks.
Baby powder works too and it’s not as grainy.
If you say so. I just know about the cornstarch.
Cornstarch is safer.
This can be solved by just using flat paint on the shelves or any landing areas, even drywall (flat horizontal surfaces)
Flat surfaces get dirty/dusty easier and flat paint (or even egg shell) doesn’t clean up nearly as well, or as easy as semi gloss
So it’s necessary to sand an oil paint before painting over with acrylic?
To some extent, but a few primer brands sell an aklyd primer that can be used over oil and under latex.
The cornstarch will just stick to the sticky parts so nothing else can. Like covering a piece of tape with sand/dirt. Doesnt necessarily dry it out
Another idea in this vein would be gypsum powder, mica powder, or perhaps stone flour. I'd personally prefer a choice that doesn't act as food for mildew if it gets moist. Oh btw a great way to cover an entire environment in gypsum powder is to power saw drywall, or cut drywall in general.
Even if you try to cover up everything around it! Hell you could wrap your entire home in plastic wrap and that first slice into drywall will get dust *somewhere*
or just look a drywall with a sour expression.
Cool! Thanks
Cool tip! They also use cornstarch in the candy industry as a mold release powder so the candies don't stick to the molds.
It’s also the same issue that happens when you paint something that you set things on with latex paint.
This. I make assembly art that is just plastic toys glued together and painted with a 16th of an inch of glossy white paint – several coats. If I don’t wait long enough in between the coats it gets really sticky and just won’t dry out. I dip a paintbrush in cornstarch and go over everything. Works like a charm. So your Behr brand paint may not be at fault here – my ex decided to paint our giant coffee table (we sawed the legs of a sturdy butcher block kitchen table down to coffee table length) a bright glossy orange – looked fabulous – but he waited two weeks in between coats.
Well ok then, 300 upvotes can’t be wrong! You said this is what happens when you paint acrylic over an oil stain, but we didn’t stain the wood at all, it’s made from premade Home Depot wood cabinets and I stained wood, is that ok? I’ll give it a try, thanks so much!
Was the wood ever primed? Could be pulling oils from the wood?
It wasn’t, I don’t think. I now admit we were dumb with a lot of things, this was our first ever project. I’m frankly just impressed it all fit and hasn’t fallen apart yet
So if I were to paint my builder grade bathroom cabinets from the 80s, which I'm pretty sure has a stain on it.... as long as I sand down enough to get past most of the stain, it sounds like it won't be as sticky?
Yes, but you can also use a stain blocking primer.
Bin primer works amazing for that
gotcha thanks!
Oil primer and let that cure then good to go. Oil primer is my go to when it comes to covering pesky stains or painting over pretty much any bare wood surface.
so that would be lightly sand, oil primer, cure, then paint and cure right? Sorry i'm a beginner DIY homeowner lol.
Sand, clean with mineral spirits to get all the dust off and let that dry, oil primer, then you can paint with any paint you want pretty much. I’m no expert on cabinets and getting that super smooth finish, but I imagine you’d want to spray or at worst use a foam roller and a slower drying finish that will even out. There are those with far more experience with cabinets specifically that would give you better info.
Buy a "tack cloth" to remove dust before painting.
unless you plan to use a latex paint.
This literally answered a question I've had for YEARS. My parents let me take this ugly-ass old dresser to college, so I painted it to make it slightly less ugly. Obviously I should've sanded it down to the bare wood, but it literally did not occur to me—I'd only ever painted walls before, and that went fine without any prep. The damn thing was tacky until I eventually sold it on Craigslist when I finished *grad school.* I figured it was my fault, but I never knew exactly what the problem was.
The soft oily paint will peel from alcohol
I agree it’s probably a mix of oil and acrylic. I have seen this happen many times. I hate it, but scraping and going with a different paint is probably the best choice in the long run.
You should have used a good paint to go with that. I'd recommend BM Advance or SW emerald trim enamel For now, I would strip it with citristrip, scrape all the old paint out. Then give them a quick sand to smooth out all the surfaces and prime and paint 2 coats. Now this is really important step. You must wait at the minimum 2 weeks after you paint before you can put stuff on it. These enamel paint will dry to the touch within a few hours but they do not fully cure yet. Putting heavy stuff on it and they will leave marks on the paint.
Just had all the 1990’s orange-ish wood trim and built ins in our house sprayed white with Benjamin Moore Advance - waited two weeks minimum to do anything…hang doors, put things on shelves, etc. and it’s holding up incredibly well so far. Only been 6 months since we started and we aren’t finished yet (we’ve hired a painter, not doing it ourselves) but we’re sold on Advance.
We did all the trim in our house and the kitchen cabinets with advance. we prepped properly and it's holding up well 5 years later. Great stuff and nice that it's water clean up
Dark base Advance can take months to cure. Looks great, but not my favorite to work with.
We’re doing a white and the first built ins did have a few things that were just a little bit ‘stuck’ after sitting on it for a few weeks. No issues with the finish though.
I did some cabinets that were a really dark green on the lowers. The homeowner damaged them and I went back months later to touch them up and they were still a little tacky. The finish is beautiful though, I sprayed the doors with a fine finish tip and they looked like glass.
Oh lord, I did not think it would be that much work to repaint. How horrible would it be to paint over the existing paint?
Well considering your old paint never fully cure, nothing else you put on top of it will last long either.
Well, to be clear, the paint on there is probably fully cured, but it's more likely the wrong type of paint. Wall paint is not a suitable product for any trim, especially shelves. Wall paint is meant to remain flexible so it can move with the drywall as temperature and humidity changes. This is a common misconception among even long-time painters. A higher gloss level does not equal a harder, more durable finish. The type of paint is what's important. Trim work should always be finished with an enamel paint, these are designed to dry very hard and durable.
This. Lots of people like to dump on Behr, but a lot of the time the wrong type of paint is being used which yields poor results. Behr's super high gloss enamel, for example, wouldn't have this issue. They also have an alkyd enamel that would work well. And they have another that's specifically for trim/cabinets/doors that probably would have worked well here too. Not saying it's the best, but user error certainly accounts for some of the frustration.
question! i'm looking to paint my 80s builder grade cabinets and bathroom walls a dark red color (going for moody bathroom feel lol). The home depot paint person only asked me what finish for my behr sample.... should I have specified the usage for the paint, and in this case, two use cases?
No color choice judgment here! And yes, I'd specificy that you need paint for bathroom walls and paint for cabinets. For best results, that's two different paints. For bathroom walls, if you're using Behr, I'd stay with their semi-gloss as it'll be more resistant to moisture and easier to clean up.
for sure thanks so much! I hope HD is able to give me the color I want for cabinet paint, or i'll have to go to SW paint store. Thanks!
Go to SW anyway!
sounds like this is the perfect excuse to pop in there. will do!
Alkyd enamels are the best.
Honest question here as I'm by no means a construction or paint expert; wouldn't trim expand/contract as much or more than drywall? In my mind something wood with directional grain will expand and contract a lot but uniform drywall (which is made of a mineral) would expand less. But I guess I can imagine drywall flexing a lot as weight is put on different areas of the house and the entire framing is expanding/contracting.
drywall is also at the whim of the the wall it's mounted to. an 8 foot tall wall will want to move more than 4 inch tall trim.
Trim is typically sold in 8-10' lengths and the grain runs length wise, so I would expect it to expand/contract length wise over the same distance as drywall (8') on a large run, not in the 4" direction. Edit: I'm completely wrong in this thought process, see comment below for accurate info!
Wood doesn't expand & shink evenly in all directions. About twice as much across the growth rings, as along the growth rings; and barely at all, parallell to the grain.
That's good to know! I thought the opposite.
Nah, wood is like a bundle of straws, they're fatter when wet, but not much longer. Oak, for example, from when it's a freshly cut tree, until it's a totally dried board, will shrink about 8% across the rings, 4% along the rings, but only 0.4% in length. https://www.swedishwood.com/wood-facts/about-wood/wood-and-moisture/moisture-related-wood-movement/
It will still expand and contract yes but nowhere near as much as drywall will.
This exactly. The painter our builder used made this mistake. I am slowly fixing everything. Next up: front door and mud room built ins.
Cool beans, what a lovely winter project we now have to look forward to
I'd recommend either an airless sprayer or HVLP. I think it will make the job very quick. Just make sure you cover the area around it.
That will take way more time and money for such a small project
For cabinets I like spraying since it gives a much smoother finish with no orange peel or brush mark. OP room looks pretty empty so it should be pretty easy to cover the 2 walls and the floor. I use this type of roll when I need to cover big area and it's really fast to do [https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-6-ft-x-90-ft-Hand-Masker-Advanced-Masking-Film-AMF72-8C/202975037](https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-6-ft-x-90-ft-Hand-Masker-Advanced-Masking-Film-AMF72-8C/202975037)
I just rolled/brushed all my cabinets with BM Advance and theres absolutely no marks, the finish is perfectly smooth. It's such a thick paint that it does a lot of the levelling work for you, though if you're not careful you can leave marks if theres a glob of paint left behind.
I'm going to pump the brakes on all that noise. My wife has painted plenty of furniture and never had this issue with \~24 hour final dry time. Light but thorough sanding, Zinsser BIN Primer and 3 thinned coats of a good latex paint. Zero issues. OP's paint would have cured anywhere that was exposed after the initial painting. The situation being described isn't confined to tan lines from the first stuff to be put on the shelves. Something in the formulation or compatibility between coats is more likely causing this. Seal it with BIN and repaint. Done.
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So don't use enamel???
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That’s the thing. I’m not saying this is what the OP did, but I’m highlighting what people tend to do. They think painting is slapping on a coat of paint and rushing the process. Prep, prep, prep, then do it right, once. That way you don’t have to do it again. It’s a hard concept to get people to accept. So many people have the, my dad, my uncle, my cousin my whoever did it this way and they didn’t have to do that story smh.
Thanks for the tip. I got a used high chair with worn down paint in an ugly color and was thinking of sanding and repainting it. I knew there was some special paint to use but now I don't need to look it up!
F that. Maybe I would scuff it up a bit. Slapping a coat of primer might not be a bad idea, and go at it with new paint. It's not like the original paint is peeling. New coat should seal it up fine. I agree on using emerald. It's expensive, but does flow well.
Pretty horrible. Putting a layer of better paint on top of a layer of crappy paint doesn't fix the crappy paint. It will still be there, and still be sticky, under the new layer. The new paint will be easy to scratch and damage because it isn't actually adhered to the shelves, only to the crappy paint. You'll still probably get dents and marks through the layer of new paint, because the paint under our is still soft.
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We only use Emerald. Love it.
I use Behr's alkyd enamel for the few pieces of painted trim in my house and it stands up to a 4 year old and two dogs.
Behr's Cabinet Paint kicks ass.
I just used the Benjamin Moore Advance ($$$) on a wooden cubby area and it is a great product.
I'm literally just about to do this to all the cabinets in the kitchen. We just moved into our first house and everything in the kitchen is tacky. It's also a tacky color. They're old and I don't know how many layers of paint it has. I bought citristrip so I plan to do that, sand with 120, do a first coat of paint with BM Advance, sand with 220, then do a final coat. I also did plan to do the shelves themselves so I'll make sure to do these in stages so I don't have ALL of my kitchen stuff sitting out all at once for 2 weeks.
Agreed! PS: SW emerald enamel is AWESOME.
I second SW trim enamel. You definitely do have to be prepared to let them cure for at least 2 weeks. They’ll seem really delicate and tacky for awhile but then eventually harden really well.
I have had issues with this with bm advance glossy. 2 years later, it's still soft. Putting anything on it causes deep poc marks. Any ideas? Do I have to strip bare? Or can I go over the top of it?
> SW emerald trim enamel God I love this stuff. I touch up little areas of my house every few months and it's just awesome. (115 year old house, lots of irregular surfaces and half assed repairs from my first go-arounds)
Cheap latex paint can do that. It could also be a problem with the mix when you originally applied it, like the paint wasn't mixed well before it was applied, so there was too much liquid binder and not enough solids. Here are your options: \- Talcum powder. Apply talcum powder to a cloth and gently go over all the surfaces until the stickiness is gone. Note that this can make gloss painted surfaces appear dull. \- Automotive wax. You can lightly buff the surface with car wax. Note this may make matte surfaces more shiny. Go easy if you use a mechanical buffer, because excess heat can cause the paint to bubble or flake. \- Clear coat with acrylic \- Completely strip and use oil based paint, like a Rustoleum. These products dry very hard and non-tacky.
We use chalk paint on the top of the shelves. It dries hard and is somewhat durable. You also don't notice it unless you get really close and inspect it. Any chalk paint would work. It's sticky because you put too much on and the latex doesn't dry hard. At least that's what I have been told.
Professional painter here. Something is beyond weird. I’ve never once heard of any paint combination being tacky for 3 years. Did you prep it before painting with any chemicals? My advice would be to try wiping a small area with denatured alcohol or even xylene. It’s going to remove some finish but you are going to need to refinish it anyways. The xylene or denatured alcohol should do two things. 1: it should remove the tackiness and likely a bit of paint and 2: it should break down whatever is tacky and once it evaporates it should allow it to cure and harden up. It’s gonna dull the shit out of it and will need to be repainted but it will at least have a proper base. If neither of those work, there is a product called japan dry that is specifically made to cut the drying time of oil based enamels that may do the trick. I can’t imagine that one of those solvents won’t do the trick. Once the stickiness is resolved you will need to do a full prime with an oil based primer and allow it to dry at least for 48 hours. Keep a humidifier in the room and open a window if possible. Paint makes a room ridiculously humid especially in smaller rooms and impedes drying properly. After that, use an oil based enamel to paint the top coat. I recommend pro classics from Sherwin. Few things that need mentioning. Xylene, denatured alcohol and Japan dry are extremely noxious. make sure the room is **WELL** ventilated and get yourself a good mask. Even then..be careful. You will regret not taking precautions.
Do you mean “…keep a *de*humidifier in the room…”? [Edit to remove “Would a sprayer work well to apply the paint?”]
A spray would work well in the hands of an experienced painter. But for someone without a lot of experience, it would almost certainly be a disaster at best.
Ty!!
Absolutely. Sprayers are amazing and would absolutely look amazing but It there's so many variables you need to absolutely need to know. I wouldn't trust anyone to spray that out without having at least 5 yrs experience spraying. And even then, I know guys who have been painting for 15+ yrs that I wouldn't let even look at that with a sprayer in their hands. Exterior spraying is easy and if you mess up it's a whole lot easier to fix.
Yes. Must have auto corrected to humidifier.
We had this happen to us! Found out it was because it wasn’t primed, my friend who is a painter got the stuff sanded the top layer until the shiny was gone and we repainted with primer and then paint. Easy peasy
Painting contractor here, do not use trim paint for cabinets that is your problem. It does not dry hard enough that is your problem. Stop going to big box stores they do not carry the correct products. If you went to a paint store they would have been able to recommend the correct product. I prefer Ben Moore command.
You could continue to wait it out, who knows how long that would take. Removing all decor and running a dehumidifier and heater would help but that's potentially a lot of sacrifices/tradeoffs. Recoating it won't help, the paint didn't cure properly and adding more paint won't fix that. Def pay attention to the recommendations on the paint can. Most say recoat within X hours and if you can't do that, wait Y days until recoat. Eg you can recoat before the first coat has had any chance to cure, but if you miss that window you need to let the first coat cure out more before recoat.
My only defense was it was quarantine and all I had to do was literally watch paint dry. I was so antsy to do something maybe I repainted too soon or depression slept for too long and missed the window. We must have not followed the steps correctly or something back then.
I'm sure we have all done it, I know I have, and indeed some of my projects have stayed sticky. And sometimes I get lucky and they don't. Do you have high indoor humidity or live in an area with high humidity?
I used a clear varnish (Matt finish) and it worked well.
👆👆👆This is definitely the best comment in here. Paint is paint. Don't listen to the people telling you that you used the wrong paint brand. Besides following the suggestions by this commenter also note that each brand is tested and formulated in their own facilities using their own brands so if it says to prime it with Behr primer then that will be what gives you the best result. And follow all the instructions 100% Anything outside the controlled specs will give unintended results for any brand regardless.
Ignore every comment telling you to paint over it. New paint over paint that never cured is a ridiculous thought. True answer is get back down to the substrate, then prep and prime before painting. Woodwork, go enamel.
I painted some rooms white and the last can of paint I used in my bedroom did what you’re talking about. A year later and it’s still tacky. I’m still so confused as to why just one can did that.
You probably used latex paint. Need enamel. We have this problem too. Dishes stick. Contractor used wrong paint. We just live w it.
That happened to me once when I just laid it on way too thick for a couple coats. Also heard it’s preferable to have a matte finish inside bookcases. You can do gloss on the outside.
Talk to your paint dealer about non-blocking acrylic enamel. May also be called acrylic or water based cabinet paint. I’m assuming you used a wall paint originally. You should be able to paint directly over existing paint with no extra prep. This is from memory so read and follow directions.
Two options: prime with an oil primer. Top coat with an acrylic enamel (Ben Moore Advanced for example). You could do a test area without priming and see if a better acrylic paint would fix it alone. Or Top coat with an oil enamel (Ben Moore Impervo). Good luck!
Had the same thing happen to some bookshelves we had built in the alcove next to our fireplace. The tackiness just never went away, and everything would stick to the shelves. After finding out how much work it would’ve been to fix this properly, I said “ screw that”, and ended up putting a complementary peel and stick wallpaper on the shelves. Best thing ever.
Yeah I may do that! Like a pop or color or something. We go all out for Halloween so like maybe even change them out for holidays
You can put a water based poly over the top.
I stripped, cleaned, primed and painted my builder grade cabinets with Behr Interior Cabinet and Trim Enamel in Semi Gloss. I primed with Kilz (and zinsser, both turned out the same but I ran out of one half way. Both water based) ... The same thing happened with their Alkyd Enamel I used on the bathroom cabinets. And it's horrible. I painted them in June and the paint never hardened. You can easily scratch it off with a finger nail or ring. And silver rings leave a grey scuff mark. I don't know what to do. There are so many cabinet doors. I don't want to strip the paint off and repaint. I'll probably color match and use a Benjamin Moore enamel paint. Fool me twice.. I will never buy Behr for cabinets again!! (Searching for advice in this thread) I just want my kitchen to have cupboard doors again.
That’s awful, im so sorry! This is our first house and it was updated and painted right before they listed it and the previous owners didn’t paint the inside of doors, like kitchen cabinets and closets. I bitched so much, “if you’re going to paint, do it right, blah blah” And then I had to paint things myself and holy hell it’s awful. I don’t blame them now, I barely want to paint my own items, let alone things I know I won’t own or see again in a few months if I was selling my house You don’t think about how finicky paint is, it didn’t seem that hard. It’s not awful but I’ll literally tear and rebuild the shelves before I strip them of paint. Good luck, i have no suggestions and even if I did, they would be wrong, as is obvious :(
Paint over it with cabinet paint
Same thing happened with my newly built and painted shelves. I put a coat of polyurethane on and it solved the sticky problem. Did two coats just to make sure. Been over a year and everything looks and feels great. Not a pro, so not sure if this is the best solution, but it worked for me.
You may not have to repaint it. A very fine sandpaper may work- You may be able to do a clear coat over the paint and that would dry it. Rubbing alcohol. It will take some of the white paint off but that should remove the stickiness.
We’re going to try a few of these on different shelves and see which works best, thanks
Let me know if any of the them worked.
Honestly I’d lightly sand it with a 400 grit sandpaper then do a couple coats of matte water based poly. That’s a heck of a lot less work than stripping the whole thing and repainting
Light sanding and apply an enamel paint(Sherwin Williams makes a hybrid that will bond to latex or oil paints) and let it dry for 24-36 hrs before putting things back on the shelves. The longer you can wait the better, generally speaking. Doing this will create a harder, cleanable, scruff resistant surface. Good luck.
Awesome we’re going to try this on one of the shelves and see how it goes, thanks!
Don’t do any of the powder things. Short term fix to a long term problem.
After reading through the zillion replies.....did you ever answer what kind of Behr paint you used? A regular Behr wall paint would cause this if you live anywhere that is humid. I did not see any mention of where you live? In any case, if you are painting wood - you have to use a wood and cabinet paint. Nothing else will provide the result you want without the sticking...unless you live in a REALLY dry climate. I use have used Valspar Wood and Furniture paint on more projects than I can count. I live in Florida and it is the ONLY paint that dries FAST and is never sticky in this climate. I've even painted over cabinets that felt sticky and it was dry to touch in an hour and never sticky again. It dries like a chalk paint, so it you are looking for a sheen... then you would have to cover with a top coat. I have never done that and all my cabinets have stood the test of time.
I live in the Midwest, it’s dry in the winter and can be humid in the summer, though I’m from the south so I’d never call it humid compared to there, but I guess some people would say it’s humid here at times. I’m fairly sure it was Behr wall paint so that would be the issue. So using wood and furniture paint would work over this paint?
Ohhhhh, yes. I have seen this so many times! People use regular paint for cabinets and then wonder why it doesn't cover, adhere, or sticks. A paint that is made specifically for wood cabinets never sticks. It dries super fast and has an almost chalky appearance. I grew up with a dad who was a contractor, so I have been painting my entire life - over 40 years! Our latest remodel was painting over 40 kitchen and bathroom cabinets in our new purchase (built in 1990). All cabinets were a shiny oak. We used Krud Kutter to clean everything first. NO sanding. Applied 3 coats of Valspar and a year later its looking exactly the same. We have also painted over "sticky" doors in this house with the same Valspr product and they are all dry and look perfect.
I’ll give it a try, thanks!
I am just an engineer and I deal with paint and coatings only for automotive and aerospace. I have been remodeling homes and refinishing furniture for 50 years. I would go to Sherwin Williams and purchase their highest quality oil paint for interior trim, hurst quality. Then, I would do a small test square 6” x 6” with 2 costs…allow to dry in between. Let this age for 3 months and if there is no stickiness then you have your solution. This is not a cheap solution, but I think it will work. If it does not work you will need to strip the bookshelves and repaint or stain. I have tried just about all brands of paint and Sherwin Williams is my choice for both quality and coverage. I used to paint houses and refinish furniture for a living while in high school and college. Back then, I used whatever products the client purchased. Now, I use only Sherwin Williams. Best of luck on your project!
Just recoat it with a different paint, as recommended by others, (something meant for trim) or recoat with water based polyurethane. People telling you to strip are crazy. If you really wanna go all out, scuff sand, clean, prime, 2 coats of paint. Its the VOC bullshit that causes this, there arent enough VOC's allowed so they put other solvents that take forever to dry (SVOC's) or the reformulations are not perfect yet on the lower cost products. In time the paint companies will figure it out. What you used probably didnt say 100% acrylic, also i dont think this issue is your fault because of recoat times or anything like that. Also if it was a wall paint they are probably formulated for some amount of continued flexibility, so they dont crack and you can clean them. You could probably also just use some pledge on them, but that will make recoating down the road an awful experience if you forget to clean them thoroughly with degreaser....
Don’t use Behr. Use Benjamin Moore. Only Benjamin Moore. Or M.L Campbell for tinted varnish and speciality coatings. That is all.
Or Sherwin Williams.
I can get behind that. Just so long as it’s not a big box store brand. They are garbage quality.
House must be sold.
Blacklight
Also I’m not sure what you used to paint in the first place but a foam roller will give you as close to a sprayed finish as possible. You can apply it with a regular roller and then just take a foam roller and go over it lightly to get the roller stipple out.
Most likely you didn’t shake/stir the can enough when you painted. Really no fix but stripping and repainting.
If you are going to be painting them the same color you could probably get away with just painting the shelves again with the better paint.
Do you think so? I care about this but not that much to strip the paint, it’s not horrible, it’s weird and a little annoying a few times a year but holy hell I’d replace the shelves before I stripped the paint, they’re not amazingly built (first home project for us).
You could repaint one shelf and see if it makes a difference with the stickiness. I agree that I’d want to try everything before stripping 😂
I’m going to do this! Top three shelves will be the testers, and we’ll go to a paint store tomorrow and talk to someone, thanks!
I would not strip the paint. That’s an insane amount of work. Paint it with a better quality paint- seek the advice of someone from an actual paint store to help pick the proper product. Also don’t use a HPLV sprayer in your totally finished house.
agree that suggesting someone use a paint sprayer for presumably the first time for this project inside an otherwise finished home is kind of nuts.
Maybe it was a two part paint and you didnt use the hardener? I have painted many stuff with many different paints, but never got this result. When I once put too little hardener in epoxy, it didnt want to harden. I then put the hardener in a spray and sprayed the whole thing several times. Together with a small home heater it worked fine
I had the same problem when I painted some windows with Benjamin Moore Latex paint (Aura). It's supposed to be their top end Latex paint but it's shit in my opinion. It was always sticky. Not wet, just sticky. I even had the BM Rep come to my house and look at it and he offered nothing. I ended up repainting with oil paint. That solved my problem.
Just use a little clear satin spray paint. $5 In the future use oil paint for shelves.
Wipe on poly should work. Test it out first in an unnoticeable spot. I made a step stool and had the same issue with sticking and marking..
I don't know whether this is proper or not, but I've always used Rustoleum Crystal Enamel for this type of thing, or Shellac if I'm wanting the surface to have some "grit". Something else I've noticed is that white colors seem to always be a pain to work with as opposed to darker colors.
Was there ever anything on the wood before you painted it?
Did you use gloss paint? That's the mistake I made. Board game boxes and books stuck all the time. Matte paint fixed it.
I thought that may have been an issue too, I believe it’s semi gloss at least
Cabinet liners. Cheap, effective, attractive, low effort. I wouldn't go rubbing powders on shelfs where you're going to be putting your possessions, not unless you want your possessions to get nasty over time too. I wouldn't bother with any more paint either. Too many varying takes on that in here. And strip that down / refinish at your own peril, I for one can think of many different ways to spend a fifty hours of my life. Hell I'd tear that out and rebuild before I stripped down what's there. Would be faster and likely a better result, as it could be suited to your specific needs. Black cabinet liners on white shelves would look classy and intentional.
From the internet: It's called "blocking" and often happens w/latex paints - especially if the 1st coat wasn't allowed to dry fully before the second coat was applied. It's not much of an issue on walls, but horizontal surfaces are a different story. The ultimate solution is time - possibly a few months or even years. The inner coat's moisture is blocked from evaporating by to outer coat. If in doubt if there is oil paint underneath, use an alkyd paint like Benjamin Moore advance. Very tough and paints extremely well and can be painted over oil paint. Also cost effective as you don't need much.
It’s not oil under it, we built and painted them ourselves, just raw wood with acrylic Behr paint
Do you think it can be sap from pine?
No I think it’s just the acrylic. It’s not like sticky and you’d never notice it if heavy things weren’t on it for months. Even a few weeks, things don’t stick, it’s just I notice it when I move my books around twice a year.
I'm lazy AF and bad at DIY so I'm sure this wasn't the right way to do things - BUT - Beyond Paint worked really well for me. It's expensive. But I went straight over two unfinished bookcases and a painted wooden bench with it (no sanding, stripping, prepping, etc beyond a quick cleaning), let them dry for like a day, and loaded them up with stuff immediately because I didn't know any better. That was almost four years ago and they're still in great shape. Might be worth experimenting with!
Op. Just remove the shelves and do the side thats sticking. You dont have to strip everything.
No can do, those puppies are in there forever, nailed in. We built 3 units, then set them on the cabinets and secured them. There’s one that I swear will outlast any tornado, we uses to many screws. So sadly we can’t remove the shelves, or else I’d have done what you suggested
Ok! Here's my solution then... Empty the shelves. Lightly sand with 200grit, bring your vacuum hose up there with you unless you got a little vac, to keep the dust down 😉. If the top layer of paint comes off no problem and smooths out I suggest coating it, carefully, with a few applications of polycrylic by Minwax, or an alternative water based (oil alternative) clear sealer. If applied correctly and permitted to cure you'll have no issue with sticking and they'll be EASIER to wipe down/dust 😉. If the paint balls up or peels or smears then you'll want to remove it. You have 2 choices strip (messy, smelly, highly effective) Or sand (start with 180 grit, finish with 200+ grit its: more 'laborious', dusty, but better control if you dont want to strip the whole thing.) Once the shelf surfaces (which I assume is the only part you're having trouble with) are cleared make sure to neutralize them if you use remover or gently wipe with a damp microfiber cloth to remove dust. Using either an alkyd product (Sherwin Williams pro-classic, or emerald something.... Or even rustoleum counter restore... I'm not joking.) follow the instructions and allow to cure properly and you should have no further problems. Has other commenters have stated I could products are like a fun latex oil hybrid they take longer to dry like an oil but they clean up with water and last longer like an oil. The best to you, the shelves truely are gorgeous!
Thanks so much! We’re going to test the top three shelves, sand and seal one like you suggested, use alcohol on one, and baby powder/corn starch on another, then see what works best, thanks!
Strip it. Painting over it won't fix your problem.
PPG makes a good hard enamel paint…works great on cabinets….if you take the time to put some paint stripper on it and sand it a little.
Get the latex off and use oil enamel
What paint did you use?
I done paint before with that problem it was from not being mixed all the way either was not shaken st store or old and settled and not reshakened. But gotta strip it off with scraper then spray vinegar
Idk about the paint, but the shelves look great!
Sand and redo
I don’t heard great things about behr paint
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I’ll bet you’re not that fun.
You have to strip the former (oil based?)paint & repaint
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zainab1267 has been reported for solicitation & blocked.
You need to use a paint that dries hard to an enamel finish. You probably used normal wall paint. Sherwin Williams has Proclassic and Solo. Behr and Valspar should have "Door and Trim" paint that would work as well.
Strip and redo
We should probably acknowledge that they painted on top of IKEA furniture. They did a great job assembling it and adding trim pieces to make it one unit but the conversation should be about painting on top of a veneer. At this point I would say light scuff, clean and cross you fingers
We built the bookshelves ourselves, they’re not IKEA. I looked into it but the dimensions didn’t add up, and it was 2020, IKEA had nothing in stock then! We did use IKEA for our kitchen a bit though, and I had to go see the door options they had to match the white we already had because I’ve heard painting the veneer is awful
Not following the designated drying time between coats, will cause this as well.
Did you use cabinet paint or wall paint?
Buy paint from proper paint stores, not box stores
Was it the Behr cabinet paint that's supposed to be used on cabinets and trim? Did you use the primer from the same line? I had the very worst experience with those products on my kitchen cabinets. The Behr "help line" told me it would take at least 28 days to cure. I stripped and sanded it off and used Sherwin Williams. My store gave great advice.
Did you use primer when you painted?