Remembering the last time I used latex paint on a small table, it felt dry but when you set something heavy on it they would stick a little.

Would spraying a coat of clear rattle can finish work to keep that from happening?

I've noticed that, too. My basement shop can be pretty chilly so I thought that maybe it just takes longer to get fully cured. I imagine a clear coat of either lacquer of oil based poly would do the trick.

Thanks Lew. Years ago that was the case.

When I worked at Ace we had a cabinet paint that would dry hard but they only stock it in gallons and I need a quart. I have enough half used cans of paint around.

It's a simple towel cabinet so not much weight would be on it. When I get to the point of painting it I'll let it dry for a few days and then spray the shelves and see what happens.

Thanks

Harry, years ago, we sprayed poly on a latex painted shelf. It caused the paint to crinkle like we'd used stripper. Since then, we've used shellac. 

Don't know why it did that. It might have been the type of poly....or paint.  But, we don't take chances anymore.

I forgot about Shellac 

A little late now but this information might be helpful in the future

http://blog.woodcraft.com/2016/05/the-swooz-factor/

don't cover latex paint.  It  needs the O2 in the air to cure and a  cure  can take more than a month,  more than three  months.

Use only the best latex or acrylic paint.  That's really critical.  That crud from the BORG is  - - well  it's crud.

 

Apply it and allow it to cure for a good week before putting anything on it.  It's dry to touch in a very short time, but that only means TOUCH.  It means dust won't stick.  It does not mean to  place that  vase on it and leave it  in one spot.   The info on the can won't tell you that.  The manufacturer won't tell you this, and for the obvious reason that the  consumers would object.

 

The reason the cure takes so long is chemical.  The polymers have to crosslink. They gotta open their valence shells and  migrate  - literally they gotta swim through the layer of paint - to find another molecule that has also opened its  valence shell and the molecules gotta come together and close their valence shells and become linked into a single larger molecule.  This must happen countless times and this takes time.

 

This is about exactly how epoxy forms up except the catalyst is much more aggressive and there is more of it.

 

 

Painted the case with the latex and it seamed to dry good and hard. The shelves I used spray enamel. The white color matched and, the main thing, my wife is happy with it !

 

3 hours ago, Harry Brink said:

the main thing, my wife is happy with it !

 

 

Got yer priorities in order I see.