Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Does anyone know what to use for a sealer on a freshly painted metal file cabinet?

I recently painted a very large metal file cabinet. The top was used for storage. Since I have painted it (it's been several weeks) it seems "tacky" and seems to need some sort of protectant. Does anyone know if there is a product I could use for protecting the paint from chipping off or getting marked up? I have done woodworking with polyurethane as a finish coat, but wasn't sure if you could use this with metal & paint.

Melanie Wolf
hobbyist/artist - Haines City, Florida, USA
2007

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2007

Melanie,
You need to be more specific as to what type of paint you used to begin with before anyone can tell you what to seal it with. If it's still tacky after several weeks chances are something has gone wrong with the paint and sealing the paint will just compound the problem. Since it's a relatively small area why not strip off the tacky stuff and start over? That will assure you a good job and probably use less time and energy than trying to seal the tacky stuff.
If you do strip it primer the bare metal first with Krylon primer then a Krylon color if you choose or some other paint of your choice except the tacky stuff again.

Stephen Mann
- Palm Springs, California