My oil paint seems to need ages to dry, can I just overspray it with acrylic varnish?
JL
Haven’t used acrylic flat to overspray uncured oil paint. Long ago use an enamel flat over uncured oil paints once. Over time they reacted. No idea how the acrylic flat would work over uncured oil.
Draining away some of the linseed oil by placing the dab of oil paint on cardboard can help speed dry time. Mixing in a little Japan Drier can help speed drying of oil paints.
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I wouldn’t attempt to put a seal coat over uncured oil paints. As Wade says above, the two paints will likely react. Best bet is to wait at this point for the oil paints to cure. In the future, add the Japan Drier to them or leach off the oil on cardboard. Alternately, don’t use oils. I prefer acrylics for weathering.
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Patience… Oils will air-dry, but it can take as much as two-weeks if the paint has been put on heavy and thick.
You can greatly speed up the drying with a “drying box” made up using an incandescent light bulb as a heat source (use a low wattage bulb) inside a wooden box or a Tupperware type box with a snap-on lid. Allow a couple of holes along the bottom on the end with the light and corresponding holes along the opposite top edge. Google “oil paint drying box” and you’ll get a lot of ideas for making one.
In addition to the suggestions by Wade and Gino (putting the paint on a piece of cardboard to wick out some of the oil), be sure that you’re brushing out the oil paint to a thin layer. As you apply the paint and blend, constantly wipe off your brush to remove excess paint. If done properly, your painted surface shouldn’t show any brush marks. If you can see brush marks, you should try to brush out the paint better. It takes some practice to learn, but removing the excess paint from your brush as you blend is essential. This will have the effect of taking away excess paint from the surface of the figure or model, leaving just a thin layer (which will dry much faster - but still 24 hours or so is a minimum).
Another tip is to use naphtha rather than mineral spirits to thin the paint if you need to when mixing or making up washes.
I’ve over-sprayed Testors Dull Coat on oil painted figures and models for years with no problems. However, I don’t flat coat until the paint has dried out for a day or two and never until the painting has been completed.
The beauty of oils is the long working time, but there are some tricks and a bit of a learning curve to it.
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Thanks for your tips, as i am totally unpatient i will go for the fast track drying box, and try to get the oil out of it 
Same problem happened with me a couple of years ago. I was too excited with a model and did not use the cardboard method to dry out the oil. It caused uncured paint later (shining surface). I tried to overspray with acrylic but dis not help at all. No reaction happene but the surface remained shiny.
Have no idea how to solve it…
The drying box is great for oils but you’ll be surprised at what else you use it for. Works great for overnite cure for enamels too. Well worth buying or building one. I built one and included a motorized turntable that iI can turn on or off so that everything can rotate in front of the heat source.
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As I am an impatient modeler, I use a food dehydrator that I picked up on Amazon for drying my paint. I set it at 95f and it works like a champ. I run it for 5-10 hours for oils.
The brand I purchased is Ivation. There are many others on offer - just look for something that is quiet and runs at low heat.
Rick
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Hi, this is a great idea as I use oils for most of my weathering and figure painting. Maybe a dumb question… but have you (or others) ever had concerns that the smaller (more fragile) plastic parts could soften up to the point of deformation under these temps for extended hours? I am looking at some now and there’s a few models that get as low as 85 deg. F, although most list 95 deg F as the lowest temperature setting.
I have never had any problems with parts softening up or melting at those temps., which is a good thing as my house routinely reaches those temps. in the summer!
Ken
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@Panzer948 I’ve been using my dehydrator for about a year and finish about 1 model per month. I’ve had no problems using it at 95f, its lowest temp setting. I did a test before putting models in it to see how consistent it held the temp. My recording thermometer showed that it varied ±2f over the 10-hour test. More than consistent enough for using as a model dryer.
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Good to know its temp. is consistent, as I am sure plastic injection kits are fine at around 100 F or so. But yeah if the temp was to vary somewhat… maybe not so much. I am curious what that point of no return temp might be. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I just placed an order with Amazon. I can disguise this purchase from my wife in that its for beef jerky and those healthy veggies. Lol.
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