By adding thinner/turps to paint - does it make the paint dry more quickly?
Question:if some - by how much more quickly?
thanks
Answers:
Hiya Joe,
First off, I'm gonna make the assumption you're working with oil based (alkyd) coatings...Using paint thinner or turpentine with water-based paints are rarely recommended. If my assumption is correct, the answer is a definite "sort of"...
Oil based paints (alkyds) cure, or dry by the process of oxidation (cure = the point when a coating reaches its maximum hardness and adhesion)...and solvent evaporation is only one part of the curing process.
By adding any appropriate solvents may cause the paint to "dry to touch" faster, but by doing so will not generally accelerate the cure time any...Regular paint thinner, or mineral spirits, will only reduce the viscosity of the coating and result in a thinner film build on the surface...Turpentine is a wonderful solvent to work with 'cause it gives an alkyd product better application characteristics (plus it makes it smell better)...but using either of these two solvents, may actually slow down the drying time of an alkyd.
If you absolutely need to speed up the "dry-to-touch" time of an alkyd coating, use Naptha (or VM&P Naptha) available at any paint store (sometimes referred to as spraying thinner). This solvent evaporates twice as fast as regular paint thinner or turpentine without dissolving the alkyd resin (still no great effect on cure time)...
An old time product called "Japan Drier" may still be available in your part of the country and may actually (slightly) accelerate the cure time (Japan Drier is an environmentally un-friendly blend of faster drying solvents and metals that kind of alters the curing process of alkyds and is prohibited by the E.P.A. in most states)...
Avoid stronger, faster drying solvents such as Gasoline, Acetone, Toluene (Toluol), Xylene (or Xylol, a stronger solvent than mineral spirits, but actually slower in evaporation rate) and others, 'cause while they may speed up the "dry-to-touch" time, they are strong enough that they may actually dissolve the resin and diminish the coating's ability to adequately protect the surface it's been applied to.
There are other commercially available additives and conditioners you may add to an alkyd coating that may alter some application characteristics, but be careful with these - to steal and paraphrase an old physics truism "For every advantage, there is an equal and opposite dis-advantage" . In most cases, the product will perform best when applied at manufactured packaged consistency and according to manufacturer's strict instructions.
I hope this info is more helpful than confusing...Good luck on your project. Feel free to e-mail if you want or need additional info regarding oil based and/or alkyd coatings.
Ric
with water being a solvent, turps would react and evaporate more quickly, therefroe with water based paints yes, but alas i dont know how quick!
Yes :)
as long as you mix it in thouroughly, or you may have patches that are dry and visa versa.
the only downside, is that the colour would fade.
no, it makes the paint more runny so you will need more coats to cover the area properly. so you will waste more time by putting on more coats. back to square 1.
No it wont. You only add turps to gloss paint to make it flow better when applying, as some gloss paints can be quite thick. You only add water to emulsion, dont put to much in and mix thoroughly. Then apply 2 coats to surface.
One is oil based (turps can be added) the other is water based (Emulsion)
More Related Questions & Answers...