New Front door keeps sticking to weatherproofing

[hessie101]

Hi I was hoping someone may be able to help. We recently purchased a new wooden from door. After measuring it out we bought some quality paint from homebase and after applying primer, painted it. We left the existing door on while we prepared the new door. We used water based paint but I noticed it was very sticky and when you turned it over to paint the other side even 24hours late it left finger prints. I even stepped on the step a week later and it left a mark. we left it to dry for 2 weeks and fitted the new door this weekend but it's not gone to plan. It keeps sticking really badly to the old weatherproofing strip. We tried to apply talcum power but this only was a very temporary fix. Now we're left with a door we can hardly open. All the measurements are fine, it's just the sticking to the weatherproofing strip. Will this improve over time or will we have to re-paint the door again with an oil based paint (I am not sure I could bear that as it has taken us so long to get the door up and the paint we used was supposed to be for front doors). Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

 

[misterhelpful]

I can't recall a water based paint that I have used that stays tacky for that amount of time but I generally prefer to use oil based paints for doors, some of which do stay tacky for a long time following last years VOC changes.
Perhaps the other guys can put me straight as to any water based paints that stay tacky, because, as said, I don't often use them.

What brand paint have you used as it could be faulty?
The lightest smearing of Vaseline on the door seal can stop the paint sticking to it temporarily though.

 

[Robbie uk]

Doesnt sound right that the the door is still tacky after so long especially as it was water based paint. Might not have been stirred up enough and it may have separated. I personally would not use water based paint on an exterior door. I dont think it can cope with the expansion and contraction of the timber. Others will say different, but i have yet to see a water based gloss last outside. As said a little vaseline or washing up liquid may help to stop it sticking.

 

[joe-90]

It can't be water based. You can't stop water evaporating.

 

[elrobbo82]

not come across this problem with a water based system either. i think an obvious question to ask is how thick did you apply your paint? if you press your finger nail into the finish does it seem soft? did you mix your paint before application?

hopefully someone will come on who has witnessed this problem before and come up with solutions as i am intrigued.

 

[sparkwright]

What is the name of this paint?

 

[misterhelpful]

I personally would not use water based paint on an exterior door. I dont think it can cope with the expansion and contraction of the timber. Others will say different, but i have yet to see a water based gloss last outside.

Phew, thought it was just me!
I suppose we'll have to get used to testing them all though, as they seem to be the products of the future.

 

[elrobbo82]

Phew, thought it was just me!
I suppose we'll have to get used to testing them all though, as they seem to be the products of the future.

i agree and defo prefer oil based at the moment but i think that water based will become the paint of choice in the future. they have come on leap and bounds over the past couple of years and will hopefully become equivalent to oil based soon. some dec's already prefer them now though.

 

[misterhelpful]

...water based will become the paint of choice in the future, they have come on leap and bounds over the past couple of years and will hopefully become equivalent to oil based soon.

Hope you're right. Perhaps I'm just old fashioned but until I get the confidence that they will last, I'll be sticking to oils.

 

[joe-90]

I'll be sticking to oils.

Bit like the OPs door then?

 

[misterhelpful]

Heh heh - good one!

 

[JohnD]

I have known this happen with oil-based paint when it is fresh and the door sticks to the frame or excluder.

Rub some vaseline over the frame or the weather strip where it is sticking. You only need a small dab on a bit of rag.

Edited - I see I got that recommendation from TheDec.

Thanks


I am wondering if the undercoat and primer might have been too thick or not fully dry.

 

[dcdec]

Be handy to know exactly what paints you used. Its not the best time of year to be doing exterior painting as the temperature drops to low overnight and there's too much dampness in the air, that said though it sounds like the door was left to dry indoors, like the others i dont use waterbased for exterior, i've noticed drying problems with oil based when its being caught by cold draughty air but not so sure of the properties of WB but there again 'nors Dulux!

Is there any discouloration to the paint film? as this would indicate surface contamination which can ****** and prevent drying.

Also do you know what type of timber the door is made of ? as oily/resinous timbers can also ****** and prevent drying.

 

[hessie101]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I will try the Vaseline trick.
We used the Homebase Weathercoat Exterior Paint. It's the one that dries and can be repainted after two hours. It has a picture of a front door on the tin so we thought ifmust be suitable. We painted the door inside over a period of a week and then left it for two weeks in our kitchen so it had ample time to dry. It doesn't seem to be marking anymore and I hear this type of paint can take 30 days to properly cure unlike oil based paint which takes longer to dry between coats but takes less time to cure. The step still marked after two weeks but maybe it's not drying I'n the weather?

I wonder if we need to replace the weatherstrip? It's been there about 25 years and has paint on it now. The side that has the most paint on it seems to be the side sticking the most. I saw on the Internet that silicone weatherstrip is better than vinyl as less likely to stick to acrylic paint?
Any other ideas or tips greatly appreciated. Many thanks