How Long Does It Take For Stain To Dry On Wood

First ensure the deck is completely dry.

How long does it take for stain to dry on wood. The answer to this depends on any number of different factors and all of them need taking into account before you can walk on your deck with confidence after treating it with exterior wood stain. Alternatively thinner non penetrative stains can take weeks to fully dry against the wood. Certain formulations of interior oil based wood stains allow re coating after two hours. So in the case of a dark stain that needs 2 days to dry and if you apply 3 coats of poly you are up to 5 days.

Standard wood stain typically takes between 18 and 24 hours to dry completely. Each coat of polyurethane usually needs 24 hrs to dry and a stain will need 24 hrs to drybut if its a darker stain it could take 36 or even 48 hrs for the stain to dry. Remember no rain 24 hours before you apply stain and no rain 24 hours after the staining project. It does not state how long it takes to dry before you can apply a topcoat like the gel stain chart below.

If humidity levels are high wood stains can take 48 hours to dry. When applying stain a pad brush roller or rag can be used to apply the stain. Give the conditioner about 15 minutes to dry before applying the stain but dont sand it. Some thick stains which penetrate the wood and form a seal are dry on the top in a matter of hours.

Assuming the deck is dry and thirsty for stain its time to make your deck amazing. F o l l o w m e f a c e b o o. You have put in a lot of work to get this far. So in the case of a dark stain that needs 2 days to dry and if you apply 3 coats of poly you are up to 5 days.

Varathanes gel stain does take the same amount of time to dry when it comes to being able to handle it and apply a recoat between 1 and 2 hours but requires a minimum of 8 hours to dry before you can apply a topcoat. All top choice lumber is oiled waxed and needs to be properly taking off i like an orbital sander for edging that is detailed do it by hand once taking off properly you can apply the stain as heavy as you want as long as the wood can sustain itlol so start light and do test pieces dry times all depend on density of wood moisture and thickness appliedhope this helps. In general for a penetrative stain allow one to two days drying time and then test. How long should you let your wood stain cure before adding a stenciled design.

So that the stain doesnt leave blotches on the wood always apply a thin coat of wood conditioner first using an inexpensive brush. I answer that question and give you more options in this quick tip tuesday.