Replies

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Jan 14, 2002 08:11pm | #1

   *
   John,

   I have personally never experienced this problem. Are you letting it "set up" between coats? Are you using a tack cloth (they recommend against it)?

   Dano

1. 
   JohnYaya_ | Jan 14, 2002 08:22pm | #2

   *Dano, thanks for the quick reply.I have been waiting about 4 or 5 hours between coats. Perhaps that wasn't long enough? If the temp matters, my garage is probably in the 50's - low 60's, depending on the time of day.No, I don't use tack cloths. I always worried about them leaving some kind of residue that would cause problems.

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Jan 14, 2002 09:55pm | #3

   *John,My suspicion is that you didn't wait long enough. Temp and humidity is a big factor. My rule of thumb is to not finish until shop temp is at least 60°. Min Wax says the dry time for sanding is 3-4 hours, I think this is optimistic. I wait 4-6 hours, when the temp is around 75° and I live in the southern part of Oregon's "high desert".Dano

1. 
   JohnYaya_ | Jan 14, 2002 10:18pm | #4

   *Dano,Thanks. I can certainly wait longer between coats. I don't have a tremendous amount of control over the temp in my uninsulated and mostly unheated garage. My wife suggested something about running the van, and jamming cloths in the cracks under the doors, but that sounds like too much trouble to me :)Do I need to sand back down to bare wood and start over?

1. 
   Danford_C._Jennings | Jan 14, 2002 10:28pm | #5

   *Matt,Hmmm, running the van in the garage, sounds like you need a new wife. b ;)In my opinion, 50° to 60° is too cold. Can you get an electric space heater or finish in the basement? I really don't think that you have to sand to bare wood. Just let it sit, preferably indoors, for a day or so, then re level by lightly sanding with 320 grit. Hard to say for certain, I can't see the piece from here too well.b :)Dano

2. 
   Howard_Acheson | Jan 15, 2002 01:19am | #6

   *I have to second Dano. My rule is no finishing or gluing unless the air temperature is between 65°-85°. Also, the finish and adhesive needs to be in that range as does the wood.The Minwax may still harden at a somewhat lower temperature but it takes much longer. Dano uses that product so knows it vagrancies. Follow his suggestions.If the finish does not powder when you sand it, wait.

3. 
   JohnYaya_ | Jan 15, 2002 05:38am | #7

   *Thanks to both of you.I have little electric heater which does a pretty good job of heating the garage up. I am a little paranoid about leaving it on for an extended period of time, but I haven't burned down the house yet! I will give it a shot. We are off to a pretty mild winter so far here in Dallas.