Wood Stain Not Drying

If you must stain in a cooler or.

Wood stain not drying. If you are staining with a very dark stain the possibility of the stain being over tinted is high. There maybe enough bleach or tsp left on the wood to react with the gel stain. 24 hours drying time may not be enough if it was cool and or damp where you are. This can also happen if the wood wasn t stripped and sanded completely down to bare wood since the stain will sit on the surface rather than soaking into the wood.

Penetrating wood stains are not intended to be a surface finish. If applied too thickly they won t dry properly and will remain tacky to the touch. As a result the excess stain must be wiped off to promote the drying process. 1 high humidity and 2 over application of stain a penetrating product after the wood is already full.

The first two additions to your thread by ordjen identify two of the most common problems that prevent oil based stain from drying. Use a solvent to wipe off the excess sand and start over your project is not lost you can save it. Too much humidity or cooler temperatures. The two biggest reasons for stain not drying is.

When the solvent evaporates all that remains is the pigment and the oil that is. After the stains are completely dry fix a 180 220 grit sandpaper into an orbital sander. If you didn t stir the gel stain enough that could be a problem. The wood stains are formulated differently than regular paint they are designed it penetrate the wood and leave behind pigments that create the color in the wood.

Your stain will never completely dry if left as is. The instructions for these products are for particular weather conditions. Otherwise you ll cause damage to the wood and won t be able to properly remove all the wood stain or even worse get the stain even deeper in the wood. It will just become a sticky mess.