Paint that doesn't dry

This is the polar opposite of the question normally applied to acrylics - i.e. why do they dry so fast? Without knowing more about your customary practice, it's hard to understand why you're having this problem.  Even if you paint very thickly, acrylic paint should not remain tacky for as long as this.  It is, however, bound in a resin - this produces a relatively soft surface, certainly by comparison to dried/cured oil paint.  That's why, though some will tell you different, acrylics need to be either varnished, or framed under glass (the glass not touching the painting at any point. Some acrylics - Daler-Rowney's Cryla being a case in point - are extremely tough and durable because of their heavy body.  You can get away with not varnishing them: they can even be cleaned with a little water (or spit..) on a lint-free cloth.  But not all acrylics are that rugged.  And if you use a lot of medium with them, as opposed to water (most acrylics can stand a great deal of dilution) their curing time will be much longer - you're adding a lot more resin than is helpful to the curing process.   The surface on which you paint also makes a difference: you use a binder - what binder is that?  For most surfaces, a coat or two of acrylic gesso is enough.   Then the varnish - again, whatever people say (and too many opinions are just wrong!) acrylic paint does need time to 'cure' - for the water content to evaporate, the paint to solidify, for want of a better word.  Leave it for a few days before varnishing, and see how you get on.  Take a look at Will Kemp's website - he specializes in acrylic painting, and is very forthcoming with good advice - I emphasize the "good".   So we have a combination of things that could be going wrong - too much medium (water works just as well, if not better - previous concerns about the paint being "underbound" and likely to flake off the support have been much overdone) is not good: with all opaque media, letting the paint take the strain is always to be preferred to sluicing it with the medium.   Take time before varnishing - I would normally leave an acrylic for about a week before varnishing.  Ask Will Kemp for his advice about the best varnish - I'm a little behind the times, and am currently researching the best ones; an acrylic varnish can present the same problems as acrylic paint - i.e. it's softer than other varnishes, and remains liable to stick if anything presses against it.  Obviously, make sure you're not using an oil-primed canvas or panel (you probably aren't - they're not that easy to find, and if you did it would spell disaster).  Give the varnish you use a light buffing with a lint-free cloth a couple of days after applying it - to reduce surface tack.  And Will might suggest you also apply an "isolation coat" over the painting, before varnishing.  I admit that I don't, but it certainly wouldn't hurt - it's a barrier between paint and varnish. Lastly, the outside possibility occurs to me that you're using interactive acrylics, which can be re-activated - I doubt that you are, since you refer to using different brands, and there aren't many brands of interactive acrylics. The brands (lastly lastly!) to go for in acrylic paints in my opinion are, in no particular order: Daler-Rowney Cryla; Winsor and Newton Artists' quality; Golden acrylics; Daler-Rowney System-3; and an outlier, Chromacolour, whose binding agent is different to the rest - I've forgotten how!  Something else to research.....  But unlike the others, it shouldn't be used under oil paint - not something I like to do anyway. I would bet that your problem is using too much, or too many, acrylic mediums, and suggest you be a lot meaner with them.  But can only speculate, without seeing you paint. 

How horrid.   Don’t use ANY varnish until your paint is dry 100%.  Question, do you use just water to mix it with ?use any water .  Question , where do you live ? Are you in a very moist atmosphere ? .   Other than that I really cannot think why it’s not drying.   Maybe go to one of the paint manufacturers they will possibly have an answer.  Strange very strange.  Hopefully someone on here is wiser than me. 

See ,the wonderful Robert has ridden to your side.  We seem to be in agreement re water.   Though wicked me has just varnished a pic I finished two days ago.  I’m sure I shouldn’t but I’ve never had any problems doing this.  

Two days will be fine - I'm just a bit cautious!  And sometimes I paint thickly in acrylic, so like to give it a bit more time.  

I would love to know how to stop acrylics drying so fast - the author must have a secret that we would like to know.  The only way I can think of creating this effect is to use Zest it as a medium.  My acrylic paint is usually touch dry in 10 minutes and dry enough to paint over in 20 minutes.

Linda - Stay-wet palette, purchased or home-made; acrylic retarder - but I can't think of anything else that will slow their drying; and being surface dry in ten minutes (or less) certainly isn't unusual.  On a relatively small scale, e.g. up to ca. 18" by 20", this doesn't bother me - it might if I customarily painted on larger-sized supports. 

I think you can get a 'medium' to add to acrylics, to slow their drying time. I'm quite the opposite though - often seen blasting my painting with a hairdryer! (Too impatient)

Helen...a hairdryer on an acrylic?

Sylvia.. Yes! All the time (not on the hottest setting though!)

I think you can get a 'medium' to add to acrylics, to slow their drying time. I'm quite the opposite though - often seen blasting my painting with a hairdryer! (Too impatient)