I'm refinishing some drawers, and the first coat of poly doesn't seem to
be drying properly. While some surfaces are nice, hard and smooth,
others are still tacky three days after application, and in other areas,
the poly seems to have seeped into the wood leaving the surface, well,
almost untouched. (Okay, I did dilute the stuff pretty severely with
paint thinner.)
The thing is, those surfaces which are still tacky... I'd like to know
what might be causing this. (It could be that my basement shop is too
humid. This has been a record-breaking week for this in my area.)
I'd like to know if I should just try a new coat of less-silute poly
over it, or if I should strip it off and start over.
By the way, the project with photos can be seen at
http://www.briansiano.com. It's the Chest of Drawers project.
In article <1w2Bg.148$Qu4.125@trnddc04>, [email protected] says...
>
> I'm refinishing some drawers, and the first coat of poly doesn't seem to
> be drying properly. While some surfaces are nice, hard and smooth,
> others are still tacky three days after application, and in other areas,
> the poly seems to have seeped into the wood leaving the surface, well,
> almost untouched. (Okay, I did dilute the stuff pretty severely with
> paint thinner.)
>
> The thing is, those surfaces which are still tacky... I'd like to know
> what might be causing this. (It could be that my basement shop is too
> humid. This has been a record-breaking week for this in my area.)
> I'd like to know if I should just try a new coat of less-silute poly
> over it, or if I should strip it off and start over.
My wife's had problems with oil based poly on stripped old drawers once or
twice - presumably some left over Ancient Varnish from the 30ies or 50ies, who
knows, interfering with the curing process. A moisture curing poly might do
better (that *thrives* on humid conditions).
Severely thinning is not recommended. First coat of poly on chipboard flooring,
ok - about 10% from memory. But other than that, I wouldn't. If I want to use a
base coat under poly, I'd use a teak-oil like concoction (mix my own) but not
use overly thinned poly.
f.w.i.w.
-P.
--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com
"J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Brian Siano wrote:
>
>> I'm refinishing some drawers, and the first coat of poly doesn't seem
>> to be drying properly. While some surfaces are nice, hard and smooth,
>> others are still tacky three days after application, and in other
>> areas, the poly seems to have seeped into the wood leaving the
>> surface, well, almost untouched. (Okay, I did dilute the stuff pretty
>> severely with paint thinner.)
>>
>> The thing is, those surfaces which are still tacky... I'd like to
>> know what might be causing this. (It could be that my basement shop
>> is too humid. This has been a record-breaking week for this in my
>> area.) I'd like to know if I should just try a new coat of
>> less-silute poly over it, or if I should strip it off and start over.
>
> Why are you thinning it at all? Polyurethane generally isn't happy
> when thinned before brush or roller application--it won't level
> properly.
>
> As to why it's not drying, it could be something in the wood--I've
> noticed that some species for some reason seem to inhibit the curing
> of polyurethane--it should get there eventually and when it does sand
> it smooth and put on another coat. If you strip it off, then try a
> coat of dewaxed shellac before the polyurethane when you recoat--it
> should act as a barrier coat and keep whatever in the wood is
> preventing cure of the polyurethane from having an effect.
>
>> By the way, the project with photos can be seen at
>> http://www.briansiano.com. It's the Chest of Drawers project.
>
Jumping in here, sorry... I must have missed the first post...
Sometimes, various types of 'cedar' aromatics can cause this gummy, non-
drying symptom. One of my early projects, a tresure box for one of my
sons, had a similar symptom. Checking your web page, it seems
_possible_ that there is some cedar type wood in the project.
If you can, move the parts to a well-ventilated area, and see if the
poly will cure. Otherwise, it may be a removal challenge...
Good luck!
Patriarch
On Sun, 6 Aug 2006 16:59:14 +1200, Peter Huebner <[email protected]>
wrote:
>My wife's had problems with oil based poly on stripped old drawers once or
>twice - presumably some left over Ancient Varnish from the 30ies or 50ies, who
>knows, interfering with the curing process
That was my question ... what is under the tacky poly? Same as good
stuff?
Brian Siano wrote:
> I'm refinishing some drawers, and the first coat of poly doesn't seem to
> be drying properly. While some surfaces are nice, hard and smooth,
> others are still tacky three days after application, and in other areas,
> the poly seems to have seeped into the wood leaving the surface, well,
> almost untouched. (Okay, I did dilute the stuff pretty severely with
> paint thinner.)
>
> The thing is, those surfaces which are still tacky... I'd like to know
> what might be causing this. (It could be that my basement shop is too
> humid. This has been a record-breaking week for this in my area.)
> I'd like to know if I should just try a new coat of less-silute poly
> over it, or if I should strip it off and start over.
Why are you thinning it at all? Polyurethane generally isn't happy when
thinned before brush or roller application--it won't level properly.
As to why it's not drying, it could be something in the wood--I've noticed
that some species for some reason seem to inhibit the curing of
polyurethane--it should get there eventually and when it does sand it
smooth and put on another coat. If you strip it off, then try a coat of
dewaxed shellac before the polyurethane when you recoat--it should act as a
barrier coat and keep whatever in the wood is preventing cure of the
polyurethane from having an effect.
> By the way, the project with photos can be seen at
> http://www.briansiano.com. It's the Chest of Drawers project.
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
Patriarch wrote:
> "J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>
>>Brian Siano wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I'm refinishing some drawers, and the first coat of poly doesn't seem
>>>to be drying properly. While some surfaces are nice, hard and smooth,
>>>others are still tacky three days after application, and in other
>>>areas, the poly seems to have seeped into the wood leaving the
>>>surface, well, almost untouched. (Okay, I did dilute the stuff pretty
>>>severely with paint thinner.)
> Sometimes, various types of 'cedar' aromatics can cause this gummy, non-
> drying symptom. One of my early projects, a tresure box for one of my
> sons, had a similar symptom. Checking your web page, it seems
> _possible_ that there is some cedar type wood in the project.
>
> If you can, move the parts to a well-ventilated area, and see if the
> poly will cure. Otherwise, it may be a removal challenge...
I'm pretty sure it's not cedar, but some kind of pine for the sides of
the drawers. The drawer _bottom_ seems to be mahoghany or a veneer.
But I think I've found a solution. I did another coat of less-diluted
poly over the troublesome spots, and with a fan going to circulate the
air, it seems to be doing OK. I'll probably sand it down and do another
coat later this week.
As far as stripping it goes, methylene chloride can probably do the job.
But I'm okay with sanding it down for smoothness,