I always undercoat the figure with "dullcote" or "matte finish" then paint. Drying the paint is a longer process. If you have outdated paint, as mentioned, the paint will require a breeze. Outside air is the best, but a using a fan in a well ventilated room is a good second.

I've encountered the semi-permanent tacky. The paint is culprit number one, but the plastic of the figure is culprit number two. The figure plastic may have a reaction to the paint, depending on the chamicals in the both. There is a semi-hardened plastic that some of the figure heads are made of that doesn't seem to react well to paint (the VvV Duke comes to mind). I'm in the middle of repainting the VvV Shipwreck head for a custom figure and have noticed the tackiness. It has been going on week two for waiting for the paint to dry. I'm going to spray the figure with another coat of "dullcote" and see if that catalyzes the paint into drying. I'll let you know how it works.

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