It runs... Everthing RUNS... Help!

[Joe Lyddon]

I made a small box for 3x5 cards (a batch of 3).

My wife said she wanted one... painted White... with a black Unicorn on top.

I primed & painted it white...

The inside lips where the Lid meets the main box was painted Acrylic Blue on the connecting surfaces as well as a small band going around outside edge (to cover up my slop over the outside edge).

On the Top, I drew a Unicorn using carbon paper, for the outline, THEN, I used a Permanent Marker Sharpie Fine Point pen to finish the Unicorn.

Everything was allowed to dry... close to 24 hrs.

I figured the Sharpie ink dried VERY FAST...

The Acrylic paint, I figured, would dry FAST (because it started drying before I was able to finish & had to add more)... Artist Paint from a tube.

Thinking EVERYTHING had dried good, & would've bet LOTS of MONEY that it was more than dry enough, I proceeded to give it a coat of water-based Poly.

To my surprise, BOTH started to blend with the Poly!!

I did my best to finish it up, to make it look as good as I could.

BUT, What BUGS the #$%^ out of me, WHY DID ALL OF IT RUN?!

Acrylic is supposed to dry like a thin film of plastic.
Sharpie Permanent Marking Pen is supposed to be Permanent.

What did I do wrong?

Maybe I should have sprayed the Poly... but I think it would've run a little that way too.

Is there ANYTHING that will NOT run?!

Thank you for your comments.

[FredP]

try spraying some pre-cat laquer? not sure it will work but it dries almost instantly. I'm not sure about puting water base finish over oil base finish. If I recall that doesnt work well. I'm sure you will get more suggestions but I think the problem is mixing different finishes that are not compatible. then again adding yet another finish like laquer might not be the answer either! wouldnt hurt to try though. [I think]

[Gotcha6]

My painters always tell me it's 'oil over water' just like you get when you pour it. That's how I 'member it.

[ScottM]

I agree with Dennis. I would have used oil based poly spray. I think 24 hours was a bit too soon for water based latex if the humidity was high or you appliied a heavy coat.

[woodguy1975]

It's the solvents in the poly that caused it to run. I used to do a lot of pens dyed with sharpie marker and actually used the smearing affect of the solvents to my advantage to blend the color. The best bet is to spray very light coats a WB finish overtop the sharpie/paint. The WB doesn't have the solvents that will cause your marker to run.

Good Luck,

John

[Howard Acheson]

Of course, any waterborne or waterbased finish applied over another waterbased finish is liable to dissolve the underneath finish.

The way to deal with it is to get a spray can of Zinsser Spray Can Shellac and spray the decorative parts with it. This will create a barrier between the under coats and the clear coats. Be sure to let the decorative coats fully cure for at least 24 hours before spraying the shellac. Then let the shellac dry for a few hours before applying your clear coats.

[Joe Lyddon]

Of course, any waterborne or waterbased finish applied over another waterbased finish is liable to dissolve the underneath finish.

The way to deal with it is to get a spray can of Zinsser Spray Can Shellac and spray the decorative parts with it. This will create a barrier between the under coats and the clear coats. Be sure to let the decorative coats fully cure for at least 24 hours before spraying the shellac. Then let the shellac dry for a few hours before applying your clear coats.

Hi Howie,

I wondered about doing that! (using the shellac)

Thank you very much.

Good to see you! :icon_chee :icon_chee