Polyurethane Still Feels Sticky After 48 Hours

It should dry though.

Polyurethane still feels sticky after 48 hours. How to dry tacky varnish. I have had issues with dry time before in cold weather as well. The surface will shine after wiping. Update after 15 hours in the cold garage it was still very tacky.

Let that dry and put down another coat of polyurethane. After this coat has dried sand with 180 220 sand paper and recoat. It doesnt leave a fingerprint but as i brush my fingers accross the finish it has what i would call a sticky feeling. How to solve problem of wood stain not drying.

The minwax poly oil not water had instructions to wait 3 4 hours to dry sand and recoat. Then i screened and then wiped the entire floor with mineral spirits. Well after 60 hours minwax reccomended that i rub down the areas that were still tacky with a little mineral spirits. I brought it inside and it was totally dry within 2 hours.

Id say if this coat doesnt dry in the next 24 48 hours. Most of the time when the situation happens it occurs on the first coat. Pain right in the a. Youre not going to have to wait 6 weeks for 3 coats though.

Oil based polyurethane dries in two stages. First the solvents evaporate leaving the resin behind. This normally takes on the order of hours but as others have mentioned it depends on the temperature humidity and thickness of the finish. Read to find out why.

Now a week later i find oil on the surface of the cabinets and when i try to clean it it leaves dull spotspolyurethane finishes should dry hard in a matter of hours and not bleed oil as yours is doing. If the polyurethane still feels sticky after 48 hours then its likely that the wood contains natural oil that hinders the drying. Take a dry rag after 24 hours and wipe down the surface. The remaining stain will come off.

So dont sweat it. After almost 20 hours my 1st layer of poly is sticky. When the solvent has evaporated the finish will still be sticky. Stain that is still wet after 24 48 hours needs to come off with mineral spirits.

Vicki april 21. I painted my floors with floor paint and most of its dry but still feels a bit sticky in some areas. Although painters sometimes refer to oil or water based polyurethane finishes as varnishes the term varnish usually refers to a clear oil based alkyd finish. The surface will be sticky if you didnt wipe it down enough 15 minutes after application.

Thomas asks i put polyurethane on cabinets after i stained them.