2 weeks ago i finished my first project, a bed loft with shelves and a desk. I am concerned though. The polyurathane is still a bit tacky. My hands and papers will get slightly stuck to it after it has been laying there for a while. It seems like 2 weeks of drying time would fix this problem. Is there another product i need to apply on the surface to finish it off like a furniture oil or conditioner?
Thanks,
Ryan
Replies
What's the temperature and humidity?
Did you thin the varnish with anything?
Was the varnish fresh or had it been hanging around for a while?
What undercoat or stain did you put on first, if any?
Hard to diagnose the problem with the info you supplied.
the finishing coats were not thinned and applied as follows with a foam brush:
1. minwax oil stain
2. wiped off excess with a rag
3. olympic one step finish (stain and poly on one)
4. light sanding
5. 2 coats minwax gloss poly
All of the products were new.
I live in the mountains so I leave the sliding door open all the time with a fan in it blowing in fresh air. It has been sunny for a week now so its not been too humid
How long did you let it dry between each of the finish coats, including the initial oil stain?
Regards,
Kevin
Kevin has asked the logical next two questions.
However, if the finish was fresh and the stain had 48 hours or more to dry, your finish should dry ultimately. Fresh air is an issue for your health but of little consequence to a finish. Heat and more importantly, humidity can significantly lengthen drying time.
I am not familier with Olympic products but I am generally leery of mixing different finishes unless the finisher has the knowledge and experience to know that they are compatable.
At this point, leave it alone for a few days and see if it begins to harden.
I'll ditto Howie here. I'm leery of mixing different brands too. But, as long as the stuff wasn't past it's shelf-life... it should cure out eventually.
It seems counter intuitive on the face of it... because it seems reasonable to assume that the sooner an evaporative finish is applied, the sooner the whole mess can get to drying and eventually be finished. But, it's actually faster in the long run to give each and every finish step enough time to flash properly or to cure (depending on the materials being used, of course). One of the most common mistakes made by painters and finishers alike is laying on a real heavy coat and/or not waiting long enough between coats. Any evaporative finish developes a skin on the surface as it begins to dry. If solvents underneath haven't been given enough time to flash off, the whole thing will take longer to dry than if each step was given enough dry/cure time.
I attended an automotive refinish seminar several years ago where the guy running the spray booth part of the seminar actually demonstrated this for the entire class, spraying basecoat (basically colored acrylic laquer). In a side-by-side comparison the panel that was allowed to flash properly between coats was dry long before the panel which had the coats rushed. The second panel was the first to be done with the painting operation... but, it was the last one dry and ready for clearcoat. In another related demonstration he proved to us that blowing air directly over the basecoat didn't speed things up at all. It actually slowed things down. Allowing sufficient flash times means letting it dry the way it's designed to dry.
When you're up against a timeline and have to ship the product ASAP, the guaranteed fastest way to get the product finished and dry enough to deliver is to give each and every coat of paint/finish enough time to dry properly.
Regards,
Kevin
I suspect that the Minwax oil stain hadn't completely cured before you put on the Olympic stuff. Also, like the others, my radar's picking up on using the Olympic stain/poly on top of a different stain (the Minwax), and then(!)another poly. Just out of curiosity:
What wood are we talking about here
Why did you use the stain/poly rather than simply poly?
And a tip (learned the hard way by moi): Always, always do a test run of your complete finishing process on some scrap before risking it on "the real thing."forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Step 5 unnecessary given step 3. Step three provided the top coat.
Somehow the polys are not compatible. You've made this too hard on yourself, mixing brands, using a poly over a stain/poly combo.
I smell train wreck and lots of sanding ahead...
The finishing steps you describe sound OK to me.
You say the materials were purchased new but could they have been in the store many years - possibly held in a non - climatic controlled shed?
A few years ago I finished something for a customer who wanted a minwax color. I had some unexpected drying problems. I called Minwax, - they said that due to EPA requirements they have taken some solvents out of the formula. I haven't used the product since. Maybe it's gotten better but I haven't taken a chance. The factory tech told me if the stain doesn't dry - try wiping it with naptha. That seemed to work for me.
Regards,
SA
Edited 8/24/2003 12:54:16 PM ET by SA
Most oil poly's I've used state 30 days to cure. Did you use a sanding sealer? Generally a no no if the sealer is ok for varnish or lacquers. Just a thought.
Don
The "dry to the touch" time indicated on the can is based on 70 degree temperature and 60% relative humidity by most manufactures. Drying times drasticly slow down when the air is below 60 degrees and when a combination of temperature over 90 degrees and RH about the same.
However, other factors such as film thickness, degree of dryness of under coats, etc all affect how long it takes to dry. In reality, oil finishes never fully cure. But, most are over 96-97% cured in 3-4 weeks in normal drying conditions.
Yes, it is correct that finishes have been extensively reformulated in the past 10 years--and continue to be--to comply with the various states VOC emission requirements. Solvents and thinners have been removed as these are causes of VOC emissions. This is the reason that the manufacturers put the "do not thin" statement on their product. If you thin it, it no longer meets the VOC regulations. However, as these solvents have been reduced, finishes do not behave like they used to. Many do not flow out well any longer and drying and curing has been affected. In my tests of some of the more readily available varnish and poly varnish products, about a 10% thinning with mineral spirits (not the odorless type) improves flow out and drying.
Any time you use a finish, just pour out what you need into a work container and quickly reseal the can. Never later put the unused finish from the work container back into the can. Discard it.
I'd say that the One Step being sandwiiched between two other layers is the problem.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne
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