Mike My apologies, I read your Post rather Hastily,
I didn't see where you put JUST stain on top of the varnish
Stain will never dry it needs a top coat which is what i thought was being
tacky and not completely drying.
When doing refinishing work and Or recoation work the top coat sometimes
does not get completely hard and stays tacky to the touch
What I mentioned happens to be a cure for it, Don't know why but it does
work,
Especially on Shellac and Varnish.
I doubt that you will not find this in the books that are written by the so
called Guros of finishing geared to the novice market.
Either way it will cause no harm to what you have.
What you need to do is get a coat of topcoat on it problem is if you are
brushing the brush will pick up the stain and cause a bigger mess than what
you have.
Best bet is to wash the stain off with Mineral spirits , Go back to Go do
not collect the 200.00 and start over again.
When Company comes blame it on the weather and after the holidays you have
to do it all over again,
But when you do Get a little Info on the proper way to do it.
Good Luck, and Merry Christmas to all, and to all goodnight,
George


"Mike" wrote in message
news:3j6juvob9m3vco2usrlk7o7oc8fc6r1vmu@duab...
George M. Kazaka wrote...

"Mike" wrote

Wood Dye www.rustins.co.uk/Wooddye.html to the entire area. I
used a cloth to wipe the surplus away from areas where the old
varnish was intact but the dye did come into contact with the
entire floor surface. The areas that were bare wood have dried,
while the areas with old varnish have reacted again and now that
part of the floor is 'tacky' or sticky to the touch.

Mike wash it with cold water and Ivory soap,

It is and old refinishers trick
Has always worked for me
Let us know if you try it and if it works

I'll try and obtain some ivory soap today and give it a try. I'll
post back here to let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the tip.