Finish not as good now

[Chris Myers]

this past weekend i put finish on my rifle (AQUA FORTIS) and really liked the outcome of it. I then put tried and true oil varnish thinned with thinner and the first coat went on great. Soaked up alot and then i let it dry. ( with this weather i never thought it would.) Sunday night i put another coat very thin after wiskering it. Yesteday i looked at it and it was stil a little tacky. I suppose it was because the weather and humidity not drying enough. Well 48 hours later (this afternoon) it stll feels tacky to the touch. Have i done something incorrectly or does it needs more time to dry? Do i need to thin out the oil each time? Any help is much appreciated as usuall.

 

[deermanok]

I'd say to give it a few more days.
Hot, humid weather conditions, it could take a week.

 

[deerstalkert]

I'd say to give it a few more days.
Hot, humid weather conditions, it could take a week.

or two!

 

[Chris Myers]

I actually helped out the speed of the process I put a fan on it several feet away to try to help with the humidity and the airflow seems to be doing well. Thk u for replying

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Pics when you are done !

 

[ohio ramrod]

When the humidity is high I often run a fan over projects to speed up drying varnishes and oil finishes on wooden items I make.

 

[tenngun]

Not worked with varnish so might be all wet. But I know with oil it’s minimal amount put on at a time. I put just enough on to lightly wet the stock at a time. A dozen coats over a month.

 

[TreeMan]

The bad thing is if the first coat isn't totally dry then putting on a second coat can cause a mess. Patience for a few days before you do anything else to it.

 

[nhmoose]

I never thin the coats of tru-oil. I wipe it on with my finger until it is all wet then rub it off with a lint free cloth it can get as many as 6 coats a day

 

[Chris Myers]

Thank you all. I have done almost all ofvt hff e suggestons except wipe off excess. Thin coats with a fan on it which helps. And waiting extra time

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

What happened was you applied your 2nd coat before the first was completely cured which seals it in and slows the curing process down to a crawl. Adding thinner doesn't speed up the curing process, I think it slows it down. I experienced the same thing on a Kibler stock. I added thinner to T&T thinking it would act as a dryer. I applied the first coat and it seemed like the wood just drank it,.so I applied another coat then it just would not dry, and stayed tacky for days. I ran out and bought fans and a dehumidifier and it took several days to finally cure in my shop and for the tackiness to go away. Once it finally dried with all my fans buzzing away I applied a very very thin layer of pure T&T, and I mean thin like maybe a quarter teaspoon rubbed across the entire stock, then I placed the stock in a west facing window and sealed it with one of those reflective emergency blankets you can buy for a buck. With sun, high heat and dry air it dried in a day. I continued to add another very thin layer, put it in my drying chamber and dry it in a day,.repeat the process.
Low humidity, Sun and Heat are the only way to go with Tried & True Oil Varnish. And you must wait until it is completely cured or it takes forever to dry.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Allow it to gas-off. A good indicator, rather than touch, is smell. If there is a hint of smell then you know it’s still drying.
the finish can be a make/or-break step. I have ruined a few projects over the years by rushing the finish. Patience, grasshopper

 

[Chris Myers]

Pics when you are done !

I will post pics. The motif on the rifle is from my days in the Air Force SP days

 

[Chris Myers]

will the sun help with the drying or make it sticky?

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

will the sun help with the drying or make it sticky?

Yes read my prior post.

 

[Chris Myers]

Thank you Hatchet-jack. Im on my 4th coat and the stock is in full sun now.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Thank you Hatchet-jack. Im on my 4th coat and the stock is in full sun now.

Great looking forward to some pics when you're done.

 

[Rudall]

will the sun help with the drying or make it sticky?

It’s the UV light from the sun that cures the finish, not the heat. Drying in the sun outside will be faster because window glass will cut the UV rays to some extent.

 

[new2bp]

It’s the UV light from the sun that cures the finish, not the heat. Drying in the sun outside will be faster because window glass will cut the UV rays to some extent.

In which case a blacklight or other UV source (would need to be putting out the Just Right wavelenth(s)) could also speed up the process.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

My heat and sun box approach works well for me. I can't believe that heat has no factor in the curing process. In my experience BLO dries faster in my shop when it's warm.