8 to 1 !!!??? Are you out of your mind? Most off-the-shelf poly
doesn't have to be thinned at all; you CAN thin it if you want, but 8:1
seems pretty crazy. I sometimes thin as much as 2:1 to get better
flow-out when spraying, but I see little advantage to going any further
than that. A blanket statement like poly has to be thinned 8:1 is
misleading to say the least.

Minwax wood stain (and most other pigment stains) uses a varnish binder
and can be built up just like any other finish. For all intents and
purposes, it's basically paint with a very low solids content. You
could paint it on thick like poly and let it build on the surface if
you want. The reason for wiping off all of the excess is that, like
paint, the solids are opaque. Building a thick finish will obscure the
grain - usually not desirable when staining wood. However, there's no
reason other than asthetics and curing time to wipe all of the excess
stain off. Certainly it should not have the impact described in the
OP. This might have been what you were saying with the "or let it dry
24 hours" addendum.




mike wilcox wrote:
Dan-the-K wrote:

Woodhead wrote:

Yuck!

Question:

How long did the stain dry before the Poly?


Over a day. It was dry and nonsticky.


Someone will know what contaminants were picked up from the tack cloth.


Every store in my neck of the woods sells the same tack cloth, for 75
cents. Its cheesecloth. If its made as the books say, it would have
mineral spirits and varnish.


Jim
"Dan-the-K" wrote in message
roups.com...

For practice, I'm finishing a piece of furniture that isn't too
important. It is a fish tank stand.

I did fine with the top surface, fixing it up and using MinWax
pre-stain Wood conditioner, red oak Wood Finish Stain and Fast Drying
Polyurethane. That's part 1.

I'm now working on the bottom. This is part 2. No fixing up because
its the bottom; I went straight to 2 layers of Wood Finish Stain, sand,
and then I applied 1 layer of Polyurethane. The next step was to sand
it a little with 340 grade paper. I did that yesterday. After that
sanding, all the surfaces I had worked on are sticky and I don't know
what to do.

I think the stickiness is due to getting mineral spirits on the wood.
I did that twice. First, I lubricated the sandpaper with mineral
spirits. Second, I spilled some paint thinner on my tack cloth. When
I used the tack cloth, it left a wet surface behind.

Is tacky the same as sticky?

Any ideas on what to do? My game plan is to wait. Its still sticky, a
day later.

TIA,

Dan



I think a light application of dry steel wool might solve the problem.
I used some dry 320 grit paper earlier on one spot and think that
helped a little bit.

Dan


With stain it's important not to leave any sitting on the surface, the
big mistake people make is not wiping it all off or not letting it dry
24 hours. I never use a tack cloth, just vacuum up the dust or wipe
lightly with a rag and paint thinner.

Poly can be a problem if the stuff is old or applied too thick, it
should thinned 8 to 1 and allowed at least 24 hours before sanding, 0000
steel wool works better than sand paper between coats.