Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - need help with w/ rustoleum enamel

hi, my roomates and i made a bar, and were finishing up the wood work with a lot of coats of rustoleum clear. unfortunately, the can doesn't have anything about how long it takes to cure, so we thought that the 30 minutes it says was to make it cure. this was wrong. it takes it about 2 to 3 days a coat, for it to cure. well. now we have about 6 cans on a 6x2 board, and the enamel is still soft. the guy at home depot told us it would now take a few months for it to cure, but we don't exactly want to wait that long. does anybody have any tricks to curing lacquers faster than just drying normally? any help would be great. TIA

It'll take a few months if you freeze it solid. :rolleyes:

The 30 minutes must have been working time. And that's good because too quick a cure can gel brush strokes and prevent good surface blending.

Heat will speed the curing, just don't use excessive heat. Warm not hot. Maybe build a tent around the bar and put in a heater or some strong lamps?

Good chance that thick coating has some drips in it. So you may wish to sand these down (when very hard) and apply just one more thin coat. This subsequent coat will cure much more quickly than the first one.

thanks dude. how fast do you think it'll cure with the heat? also, we got some 2000 grit wet/dry paper, but it leaves a sort of "graying" on the enamel, would that not happen if we let it completely cure?

Ordinarily paint requires 12 - 24 hours to dry. If you coated over the paint in 30 minutes, you likely have several un-dried coats with the film of each trapping the undried paint of the previous coats. Truth be told, this will never dry and cure. The label of the product has helpful information on it.

I recommend scraping off the soft paint, then seeing if the residue will harden so you can sand it and start over. Otherwise, strip the failed finish.

Hope this helps.

"Truth be told, this will never dry and cure."

"The label of the product has helpful information on it."

I'm guessing the label on the quart can says reseal the lid after use, for some reason. ;)

Anyway, it was the spray can clear he used. Rust-Oleum intends this stuff for protecting outdoor metal without changing the colour, like the example mailboxes on their product page. Chfite's right I think about the skin of one partially cured layer blocking deeper layers from curing. And eight cans on a bar... this will take a long time. Days not weeks I'll bet.

I once tried sanding bartop lacquer (2-part clear epoxy resin, very thick stuff) with autobody papers like that 2000 grit you used, gtriamy, and got the same gray hazing. I think I ended up using extra-fine pumice powder on a scrubpad, and elbow grease. If you're prepping for an additional coat then don't worry about the haze - it'll dissappear when wetted. You might try a razor to slice off drips rather than grind them down. In hindsight you probably should have used "bar top lacquer", but I guess you didn't know about these products. Combine and pour, it builds 1/8" thick or more just like that, cures quick considering the build, and has the neat property of self-healing even years later when scratched or scalded.

yea... the label says nothing about cure time...grr.... oh well. Kobuchi, could u gimmie a couple links to this bar top lacquer? i'll definitly use that next time...
so since the enamel will take so long to cure and finally dry, me and my roomies got some used 1/4 inch plexiglass and shaped it to the bar top. this way we can have a bar opening party and not really worry about something sinking into the enamel. thanks for all the help ya'll.

I hate those parties where things are sinking into the enamel. :D

Here's one: http://www.eti-usa.com/consum/crystals/crystals.htm

Crystal Sheen 32 oz. kit = 8 square feet
Crystal Sheen Gallon kit = 32 square feet


Here're more, with prices: http://www.pearlpaint.com/shop~ocID~~parentID~2999~categoryID~2972.htm

I used Ultra-Glo and the instructions were good, application was painless, finish was beautiful. And still is clear and glossy though years old and on wood surrounding a stove. The stuff self-heals. Just one patch where it receives constant kitchen wear looks dull.

If you design to use one of these products, make sure there are no sharp corners. It doesn't coat them so thickly.