How long does it take 4 woodstain to dry before you can coat it with polyurethane?
Question:I waited 24 hrs and the stain is still tacky. I tried putting some polyurethane on anyway and it starts taking the stain off. I bought all minwax products and followed the directions perfectly. What gives?
Answers:
How did you apply it?
When you stain something, you wait about 15 minutes for the stain to sink into the wood, then wipe off any excess residue with a shop cloth. This allows the stain to dry in a couple of hours. (I always wait overnight before applying a film finish, however.)
If you just splashed it on and left it, its going to take several days to dry.
The humidity could be making it take longer to dry. Wait another day and see if it's not tacky. Is it in a cool dry place? You might try turning on a fan if it's inside.
Its been awhile since I used Minwax. Does it say that you can coat overtop with a clear varnish or polyurethane? I seem to recall it was one of those stains that does not need a top coat. That was its finish. Read again.
Stain should not be tacky in anycase. Tells me there is something in there besides stain.
Hopefully this was all done on "fresh wood" - nothing that would have wax or oil on it.(because it will never dry)
It usually takes2 days to dry w/ a fan blowing. A/C is longer, maybe three days. I woodstain and I just lie them near my fan and leave them for 48 hrs. w/ a fan blowing. Be a little patient. Also you might need to sand it down-use a little elbow grease but not much. I woodstained a very large hardwood table-it was sticky until I sandpapered it for 2 minutes. Worked great andc looks a little better.
You most likely put it on too thick. I had this problem once myself and you just have to wait until it dries. It could be hours or even two or three days. You may want to try taking a terry cloth towel and just wiping over the sticky parts. The wood is already stained and you are just removing the extra build-up of stain. You may also try putting it in a warm part of your house (like the garage) and that will assist in the drying process. Lastly, on the can of stain that you used, there should be a 1-800 number that you can call and ask questions about the stain. Give it a shot and see what they have to say about way to speed up the drying process.
if it is a oil base stain apply with rag and brush if needed wipe off in dry location should only take 4-5hours water base stains take a lot longer you will have to start over use a oil base wipeing stain it will work a lot better for you do not apply clear coat until stain is completing dry
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