Hello;
 I need to purchase paint (spray or role-on type) that dries extremely
fast. The paint will be used to paint a stenciled design onto cement
in a well ventilated environment. I need the paint to be available in
typical colors you would see cans of spray paint in such as: white,
black, green, blue, yellow, etc (as opposed to special custom mixed
colors).  The stenciled design has several colors to be applied and I
need for each layer to dry very fast. Normal spray paint at a home
depot can be purchased that will dry sufficiently in 15 minutes to
apply a stencil-- this is not fast enough. The paint must dry in less
than 1-2 minutes (to the degree that would be reuqired to lay a
stencil on top to paint the next layer without messing up the prior
layer or having it stick to the stencil). My guess is that the paint
would have a very volatile base that evaporates very quickly, thus
making drying time very short.  The final job will likely be 3-4 of
these differant color layers.  Either the paint must dry in less then
1-2 minutes, or perhaps there could be some other product applied to
it (clear I am guessing) that would cause it to dry much faster. There
is a product of the same phylosophy for super glue that makes it dry
instantly. The goal here is completing the final stencil in a very
short amount of time.  If the product can't achieve this, then it
isn't of value.

Hi puravida77,

Paint drying can be greatly hastened with heat guns or heat lamps. 
You do need to be careful in this respect though, as many paints are
highly flammable.  Latex paints are suitable for heat-assisted drying,
and are probably your best option in this case.

Latex traffic paints are available in 5 or 55 gal containers from:

http://www.trantexinc.com/paint/paint.htm 


The fastest drying time is for the 

"LATEX TRAFFIC PAINT (Jet Dry)
our most durable, fast-drying, water-reducible traffic paint, ideal
for asphalt and concrete striping. Apply with or without glass beads.
Dry time is not affected by adverse weather conditions as much as
other latex traffic paint.
Coverage: Up to 450 ft. of 4" stripe per gal.
Drying Time: Dries to "no track" in 10 minutes or in 2 minutes or less
with 130F heat. Not affected by humidity as much as other latex
traffic paints.
Clean-up: Water / Alcohol"

The paint is available in White, Yellow and Red.  The product data
sheet for the white paint is at
http://www.trantexinc.com/paint/fdjetWY.htm


Another product is advertised at

http://www.griggspaint.com/milit.html


It's the snappily-named TT-E-516A QD Enamel, about halfway down the
page.

"PRODUCT: A quick-dry, lusterless, styrenated alkyd enamel formulated
for low-voc content. This coating is primarily used as a finish coat
on ammunition and other metal surfaces.
DESCRIPTION: A quick-dry, low-voc, lusterless styrenated alkyd enamel
formulated to meet Federal Specification TT-E-516A. Its quick-dry
characteristics makes it an excellent production enamel for metal
surfaces.

PROPERTIES:

COLORS..........................All Lusterless 595 Colors 
GRIND...........................Not Under 5 
SPECULAR GLOSS..................2 - 8 
VISCOSITY.......................67 - 77 KU 
DRYING TIME-AT 75 DEGREES F: 
SET-TO-TOUCH....................3 To 6 Minutes 
DRY HARD........................Within 10 Mins. 
TACK FREE.......................Within 15 Mins. 
FULL HARDNESS...................Within 72 Hours 
ADVANTAGES: 
Fast Drying Properties 
Lusterless Finish 
Meets TT-E-516A 
Full Color Range, 595 Colors 
Fast Production Time. 
USES: 
Steel 
Machinery 
Tanks 
Ammunition 
Equipment 
Towers 
APPLICATION & REDUCTION: Griggs TT-E-516A QD Styrenated Enamels can be
applied by conventional or airless spray application. For spraying,
thin up to 10% or as needed with TT-X-916 Thinner. For brushing,
reduce up to 10% with TT-T-306C Thinner Brush small areas only.
SURFACE PREPARATION: Surface must be clean, dry and free of all
contamination before application of primer.

STEEL: Surface must be clean and free of all oil, grease and foreign
material. Badly rusted or pitted steel should be cleaned by commercial
sandblasting and primed the same day.

PRECAUTIONS: Contents are COMBUSTIBLE. Keep away from heat and open
flame. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. Do not take internally.
Avoid breathing vapor or mist. Do not use in tank or pit without
proper protection. Read Material Safety Data Sheet before use of this
product."


So NO heat gun with that one!  I understand that the thinner
consistency of the spray application can reduce drying time.

I hope these are what you're looking for.  If I can be of any further
assistance, don't hesitate to ask for a clarification!


Yours,
Araminty

Search term: paint quick fast drying time 2 OR two minutes

---

Request for Answer Clarification by puravida77-ga on 25 Sep 2002 20:46 PDT

In the application that I have no power of any kind will be available
(electricity), so a heat gun isn't an option for me. I suppose a torch
of some kind might be possible but it seems a little exotic to use it
for a heat gun-- also would have no real control over temperature
using it. Some of the stencils require blue paint-- but I don't think
the traffic paint offers that color.
The QD paint you mention seems to offer all the colors, but still has
bone minumum dry time of three minutes.
Are there really no paints out there that will dry in less than two
minutes?
I wish a heat gun were an option-- but it just not.

---

Clarification of Answer by araminty-ga on 26 Sep 2002 03:37 PDT

Hi again,

I still think traffic paint is your best bet, even without the heat
gun, it dries very quickly.  The brand advertised at

http://www.peol.com/traffic.htm

has a drying time of one minute or less.  Like the other traffic
paints I recommended, it can be tinted whatever color you like,
including blue, using the universal tinting colors available at
hardware shops and paint suppliers.

A search for "traffic paint" reveals many many manufacturers, most of
whom have an online store.

://www.google.com/search?q=traffic+paint&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Best of luck with your project; I hope this information has been
useful to you.

A.

Fine answer.