HELP!!!!!! Paint problems!

[Lily]

Working on a new silicone tail, finished painting on Thursday. Friday I noticed there was a patch of super shiny paint on one side of the fluke (side A), which was still tacky when I poked it. There was a whole patch of paint a little bigger than a quarter that hadn't cured. I cleaned off the uncured paint, rubbed it down with rubbing alcohol, and repainted. Went out today, flipped the tail over to take pictures, and saw a tacky patch in the almost the SAME MOULD SPOT on the other side (side B). Cleaned it off too, the tacky patch was a little smaller than it was on side A. This time I cleaned it with dish soap, rubbing alcohol, and naphtha. Paranoid, I flipped it back to the side A to check that the first patch had cured after repainting and IT HADN'T! I cleaned that side, too.

I'm seriously flipping out over here. The mould couldn't have been contaminated, or else the pieces wouldn't have cured in the first place. There are no other tacky patches anywhere else on the tail that I can find. It's so weird that it's in the same spot on both sides. I don't know what I'm going to do if it still won't cure this time.

Pictures

Side B
http://i.imgur.com/Y0HKG6N.jpg?1

Side A
http://i.imgur.com/Y9gHalR.jpg?1

As you can see, the patches of uncured paint start at about the same point and are more or less the same shape. I can't believe this is a problem with the mould, because I've cast in it before with no problems and it wouldn't have cured this time to begin with if it had gotten contaminated somehow in between then and now. Best I can figure is there was some kind of residue on the tail that got there between casting and painting... but why is it in the same spot on both sides???

Please help me, this client is hoping to have her tail by Friday.

[Theobromine]

That sucks, I've had something similar happen before when I was working on a top. It turned out that one of the pieces BEHIND the part I was painting was causing the issue. I think it had come into contact with a piece of duct tape that was on the same work table (learned my *&%#$#@$#&%* lesson there). I also cleaned the area multiple times with Dawn and isopropyl alcohol, let that dry, and tried repainting, only to have the same issue with the paint not curing. It was infuriating. I ended up having to dissect the top, remove the part that was causing the cure issue (it was a small piece of seaweed behind the main piece), clean everything really really well to remove all the residue, and then make a new backing and put the top back together and then paint. The paint on the main piece cured after I did that.

So. Is there anything in your workspace that could have come into contact with that patch and caused the issue? Did you use anything to clamp the tail in that spot, anything that might have had rubber or any type of adhesive? Is there anything behind or even inside the fluke that could potentially be causing the issue? I would look for any bit of foreign material you can find. You may end up having to cut that piece out, unfortunately. What I suggest you do, in that case, is to re-cast a small piece roughly the shape and size of the problem area by just brushing some silicone into the fluke mold in the corresponding area. That way you'll have a patch that will match the shape exactly. It will be super annoying and fiddly but if you're careful in how you cut and patch the piece, you should be able to patch it without too much visible seam. That is probably what I would do, to be honest. It may take more time and effort now, but it will be worth it in the end when you've removed the crappy bit and can paint without further issue.

Good luck. I hope this is helpful, it's about all I can think of.

[Theobromine]

(I've since moved into a new place and thus rearranged my workshop setup. My husband tried to put a stray roll of duct tape in my craft room and I threw it back down the stairs yelling to keep that thing away from me :P )

[Lily]

I think you must be right in that the mold got contaminated somehow, but I can't for the life of me figure out what could have done it. It's been sitting sculpt-side-down in the spare bedroom since I used it for my tail, with the door closed and no one going in and out. There's a very, very slim chance I let something rest on it in between when I took it out of the spare bedroom and when I poured the silicone, but again I can't think of anything specific. I just sprayed more paint about 20 minutes ago, so we'll see what happens with that. If it doesn't cure, I guess it's time for some fluke surgery. :(

[Theobromine]

Yeah, I think it's most likely that something did touch it :( It sucks balls. In my case, it didn't actually even touch duct tape directly, I must have set it down on a spot where there HAD BEEN duct tape previously, holding something down, and I hadn't cleaned it thoroughly enough. It took me a lot of WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED and thinking back to exactly what had been sitting where on that table to figure it out. So yeah, even something touching the mold that's been in contact with something ELSE could have caused the issue. Clean that mold super thoroughly!! And don't rush yourself, don't stress out too much. I know your client wants to have the tail soon, but I'm sure she'd understand. Shit happens, especially in tailmaking, and I'm sure she'd prefer to have a properly painted tail a bit late than a rushed tail that might have issues later.

Good luck!!!

[Dancing Fish]

Oh no! I had the exact same issue on one side of my fluke. No amount of cleaning helped-- I had to recast that side. Gah! It could easily have been a duct tape exposure in my case. I hope you find a better answer! Good luck!