Ronn W Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I have applied a home made wiping finish made with equal parts polyurethane varnish, mineral spirits and BLO. After 2 days in 70 degree shop it is nearly dry on the white oak but still very tacky on the mahogany. What is wrong? Bad recipe or is it the wood? or maybe I did not wipe enough of the excess off. Ronn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 Mahogany can be an oily wood. Some batches are oilier than others. You'll run into that issue sometimes applying an oil finish on top of an oily wood. It would have been best to put a coat of shellac down first but it's too late for that. It'll dry but it can take a long time. Wait it out, don't rush it. Worst thing you can do is put another coat on before the first one dries. It could take several more days or a week. Keep waiting. Best practice is to do a test board when using woods that are suspect. I'm guilty of taking the gamble myself. I've only run into that issue a couple times...but it does happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 I made a picture frame for my MIL at my wife's request for mother's day and my homemade wiping varnish also was failing to dry in time for it to be mailed. I scrubbed it with mineral spirits and then put on some shellac and it was fine, but if your project is big/expensive then discretion will be the better part of valor and you will want to wait if possible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2015 Report Share Posted June 12, 2015 The BLO can slow down your dry time dramatically. I know it is so tempting to make these home brew finishes. I am guilty of it myself. But really you just increase the risk of failure. Arm R Seal and Minwax wipe on poly give you the same look and are pretty much fail safe. I blame the internet. Next guy that publishes a "maloof" recipe should get some poly dumped on his head. Really, any time someone promotes a finish "recipe" walk away, walk away fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 Thanks all for your input. This easel was made with on-hand materials, white oak red oak and 2 kinds of mahogany. Since I first posted 24 hours ago, the oaks have nearly hardened, one mohogany is progressing nicely but the other is going to test my patience. My next proejct will be a major one - dinette pedestal table with qtr sawn Oak ($$$) top. I will definitely test my entire finish system first. I am considering Arm-R-Seal over tint and stain to give the grain a WOW factor. I will test it all first. I tend to agree with mike regarding the "maloof" home made finish. I like to make sawdust - finishing is not my strong suit. Ronn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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