Post #200014 by Lake Surfer on Fri, Nov 25, 2005 11:42 AM

Finkdaddy...

Its the temps first and foremost... I put poly on the other day in the basement and the average temp is 64 down there. The label on the poly calls for 75-80 for quick drying. When I poly and stain in the summer outdoors, the sun really dries everything quick... solar radiation and heat... I can get two coats of poly dry within 2 hours. The lack of humidity this time of the year up here effects it too.. a fine balance... you don't want too much humidity and you don't want too little. That's the problem with our state... one extreme or the other. :(

Go to Menards or Home Depot... any big box store... get yourself an inexpensive personal heater. I've got two with different heat setting. The heaters are usually coils that heat up and then a fan blows the heated air out. I have one of these blowing right on whatever I just stained or put poly on... the moving air helps dry quicker as well as bringing up the air temps for the poly to cure.

Overall, expect longer dry times this time of the year... if its tacky that's the next step from being dry.

And as Ben said... sometimes you get a bad batch and it never dries... always use fresh material on pieces that you care about.

I've also found that poly settles out over time and gets thicker...can effect dry times. The top of a one gallon is real thin and clear... dries quick. As you get down to the bottom 1/4 the poly is thicker no matter how much you stir and will dry longer. Sometimes I like the thicker bottom and will save it for outdoor tikis... it goes on thicker and I don't have to put on so many coats.

Its a learning process... especially in a climate like ours...

Good luck... by the way the shelves are killer!