Help! Watco Danish Oil and Poly

[NolaKim]

Hi, I need some advice please! My husband is putting a floating "desk" into a closet to create a homework space for our grandchildren. For the first part of the desk, he used a piece of red oak plywood, glued and biscuit-joined another small piece of wood (not sure what kind) across the front to give it a finished look, then sanded it all down. It looked so nice, and then I got ahold of it.  On early Sunday afternoon I rubbed in one coat of Danish oil, let it sit, wiped it dry. It was outside under a carport and my husband covered it overnight with a moving quilt. I didn't realize it had to dry for a longer period of time before doing anything else to the wood and on Monday morning (yesterday), less than a day after I rubbed in the Danish oil,  I uncovered it, wiped it down to get rid of any dust (it felt dry) and I used an oil-based spray poly on it, one coat. It's been cold and humid and it wasn't really drying so I brought it inside last night and let it sit overnight because it still felt slightly tacky and I thought being inside would help it out. It felt dry-ish this morning and because I didn't want to use a spray inside, I switched to another oil-based poly that I then applied with a brush this afternoon. 

Six hours and a bit of forum lurking later, and I'm suspecting I might be dealing with a mess here. It still feels tacky to the touch. I might even venture to say gummy. Any words of wisdom on what to do? Is it eventually going to dry (it's not, is it?) or am I stuck with trying to fix it? (I am, aren't I?) So... I need to fix it, what's the best way? I've read several different things and I'm unsure. Right now I want to set it on fire and go buy a desk. Thanks so much!

[JohnG]

Oil finishes take a long time to dry, especially in the cold. I wouldn’t have expected it to be dry within 6 hours of the last coat at this time of year. I’d give it 24 hours before doing anything else. 

For instance, General Finishes Arm-R-Seal, an oil based wipe on poly, give a trying time of “Good drying conditions 12-24 hours. Cold or damp conditions will prolong drying time”

[RichardA]

Kim to start with you really didn't do a lot that was wrong except the first thing.   I use Danish oil all the time. and I use an oil based poly.  That said, they don't meet each other for at least 5 days in a  constant temprature controled area.   Danish is sneaky, it can remain damp in small places on the wood. So it needs a long time to dry completely. After that apply your oil based poly.  It's best to use just one brand, the chemical composition of polyurethane is different by every company. Mixing most likely won't match. And that will give you problems.   Aw  Fire may not be the answer. It's in a closet, right?  No air movement.  Add a slowly circulating fan aimed in the direction of the closet for a few days. On it's lowest setting.  If it still feels bad Friday, you might have to start over.  Get in touch Friday and if you need to start over, there are a ton of us here that will be willing to help.   By the way I use to live for 20 years in Washington Parish.

[NolaKim]

Yeah, I'm impatient. BIG lesson learned (read the instructions)! I just got through tackling it with mineral spirits and it was like beef jello rolling off the edges. I still like the color so tomorrow I'm going to make sure it's thoroughly de-gooped and then it's going to sit for a week before I attempt to poly it again, LOL!

[Coop]

Kim, give your hubby one of those little puppy looks and tell him that if he loves you, he will build another desktop for you. I bet there is still some leftover ply. Then, as John suggests, the Arm-R-Seal, which might be difficult to find, or a water base poly from Home Depot will be fine. 

[NolaKim]

Richard, thankfully it hadn't gone into the closet yet so I'm able to move it to do what I need. I talked with my husband about it and I decided to go ahead and try the mineral spirits. It seemed to clear everything down to the wood, but of course the color is still there from the Danish oil, which is fine. We'll see how it goes.

K Cooper, no puppy looks needed, he offered straightaway to do whatever I needed to fix the problem. He's awesome like that. 

[drzaius]

Not only does the Danish oil take a long time to cure (don't confuse curing with drying), but red oak has very large, deep pores that can hold a lot of oil. I've seen red oak weep oil out of the pores for days after application. You just have to keep wiping down the surface every few hours until there is no more weeping.

But there's really no point to using it under poly on red oak. Applying oil as a base coat can bring out highly figured grain better than poly alone, so that's where I use it. 

That open grain makes for a poor desk surface, so it's a good idea to use a grain filler to give you a smoother surface.

 

[Minnesota Steve]

45 minutes ago, drzaius said:

Not only does the Danish oil take a long time to cure (don't confuse curing with drying), but red oak has very large, deep pores that can hold a lot of oil. I've seen red oak weep oil out of the pores for days after application. You just have to keep wiping down the surface every few hours until there is no more weeping.

 

I've used Danish oil on oak before... the darker color, and I like the look.   

I wipe it down every few hours for the first day... then once a day for another week.   But even then it's another couple weeks after that before it's really fully cured.

Just have to keep buffing it with a cloth until it stops weeping, sticky, etc.

 

As far as a desk surface... you'll probably need to put a desk mat on top so you have a writing surface.