Latex paint blocking (sticking)

[RHBee]

Painted a bunch of equipment. Paint got on the mating surfact now said equipment sticks together. Is scraping or sanding the only fix?

[mikecva]

Just pull it apart and let it air dry. You can sand it if you like to have flat mating surfaces, but it will not be necessary as with age (years) the boxes will take on a very slight twist of their own.  -Mike

[Wombat2]

Give the mating surfaces a light sand and paint with oil based enamel paint. Enamel doesn't stick when cured.   I build my hives from ply sheet and paint the whole sheet with three coats of latex using a roller before cutting out.After cutting and assembly I give the none mating exposed cuts 3 coats of latex and the mating surfaces one coat of latex to seal then 1-2 coats of enamel.

I buy cheap brushes and rollers (like 10 in a pack for $5) - between coats wrap latex brushes/rollers tightly in a plastic shopping bag and stand enamel brushes in water - they wont dry out then. When finished throw away - no clean up

[flyboy]

I buy cheap brushes and rollers (like 10 in a pack for $5) - between coats wrap latex brushes/rollers tightly in a plastic shopping bag and stand enamel brushes in water - they wont dry out then. When finished throw away - no clean up

I do the same thing except I use a Ziplock baggy. If I am feeling particularly energetic I put a bit of water in the baggy to keep the brushes moist and pliable. Works like a charm.

I also use shellac a lot, so I mix up the flakes in a mason jar and put the shellac brushes, brush side up, in a water or sports drink bottle with a semi wide mouth. Same thing. When I take the brush out to use, I recap the bottle to keep the other brushes soft. The brushes stay moist and are ready to use. Same brushes and bottle for years.

[RHBee]

Thanks Guys. Good tips.

[Wombat2]

Forgot to add - I buy cheap paint from the "Miss-tinted" pallet in the paint department of the local hardware chain - just picked up a 1 litre tin of exterior enamel paint for $20 instead of $42 - so it's pale green - the bees wont mind and it's only going on edges  ;)

[rwlaw]

 I take a 12' 2x4, slide it thru the boxes and set em on saw horses. Works pretty slick as you can get all four sides at once and let em dry with out touching each other. 

[BeeMaster2]

I just stack the boxes as high as I can reach comfortably and paint them all together. goes real quick this way. I like to roll it on and then brush in line with the grain. A little bump and they come apart.
Jim

[KD4MOJ]

I just stack the boxes as high as I can reach comfortably and paint them all together. goes real quick this way. I like to roll it on and then brush in line with the grain. A little bump and they come apart.
Jim

I bought a cheap $35 sprayer at Lowes (which the guys said was better than the more expensive one ) and spray the stack up boxes after I saw hardwoods pictures. Definitely saves time compared to rolling like I use to do.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[RHBee]

This is how I set up to paint. I use an airless sprayer. Painting goes quick. The latex sticks to latex so I'm going to give the upper edges a coat of oil based paint and see how it works out.

[KD4MOJ]

Very nice RHB! Wish I had that many to paint!

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[BlueBee]

Next batch of hives I paint I'm going to use the airless too.  Picked one up for doing house painting last year.  Works great with latex and primer although I usually end up the same color as the paint before the days up.  As much as I hate using solvent based enamel, and the cleanup, I'm leaning that way next time to avoid the blocking issues.  Latex eventually dries, but it takes year(s).  Blocking is a much bigger problem with foam hives since latex paint sticks to other latex paint better than it sticks to foam!  It's a real mess when foam parts start sticking together due to paint  :(

[RHBee]

Next batch of hives I paint I'm going to use the airless too.  Picked one up for doing house painting last year.  Works great with latex and primer although I usually end up the same color as the paint before the days up.  As much as I hate using solvent based enamel, and the cleanup, I'm leaning that way next time to avoid the blocking issues.  Latex eventually dries, but it takes year(s).  Blocking is a much bigger problem with foam hives since latex paint sticks to other latex paint better than it sticks to foam!  It's a real mess when foam parts start sticking together due to paint  :(

Blue, you don't think that a coat of oil based just on the upper edge would be enough to stop the sticking?

[BlueBee]

I just don't know. :idunno:  I'm not that much of a paint expert.  You can supposedly buy lower blocking latex formulations from premium paint makers like Sherwin Williams but I haven't tried them.  It seems like a lot of manual labor (and time) to paint all the mating surfaces by hand.  I would love to just hit the boxes with the airless sprayer and be done with them all in one fell swoop. X:X

[RHBee]

I just don't know. :idunno:  I'm not that much of a paint expert.  You can supposedly buy lower blocking latex formulations from premium paint makers like Sherwin Williams but I haven't tried them.  It seems like a lot of manual labor (and time) to paint all the mating surfaces by hand.  I would love to just hit the boxes with the airless sprayer and be done with them all in one fell swoop. X:X

Well, I'm going to give it a try. I figure to lay everything out and use a 3"(76.2mm) :-D cheap roller and daub it on. Just on the upper edge of each piece of equipment. What have I got to loose?

[Wombat2]

Well, I'm going to give it a try. I figure to lay everything out and use a 3"(76.2mm) :-D cheap roller and daub it on. Just on the upper edge of each piece of equipment. What have I got to loose?

I was looking to use a small roller on the edges of the next batch - smooth foam sleeves are the best for gloss enamel

[RHBee]

I just don't know. :idunno:  I'm not that much of a paint expert.  You can supposedly buy lower blocking latex formulations from premium paint makers like Sherwin Williams but I haven't tried them.  It seems like a lot of manual labor (and time) to paint all the mating surfaces by hand.  I would love to just hit the boxes with the airless sprayer and be done with them all in one fell swoop. X:X

Well, I'm going to give it a try. I figure to lay everything out and use a 3"(76.2mm) :-D cheap roller and daub it on. Just on the upper edge of each piece of equipment. What have I got to loose?

Just an update---Reader's digest version---Oil based paint only applied to the upper edge worked. No more sticking supers. No sanding no prep. Thanks everyone.

[BeeMaster2]

Thanks for the update RH.
Jim

[jayj200]

Ray
a 5in one tool works great to scrape just as you would propels (that tool is sharp be careful) pushing.
or you could drag the tool toward you sharp side down on the sticking surface 90 degree's to the surface

jay

[RHBee]

Well the sticking came back. Coating the surface with crisco worked. Moral of this story don't paint the mating surfaces.