Steven Reckner Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Hi guys need some help here I have a heated shop set at 65 degrees and made some nice pens and a razor kit on my lathe the other day. After my sanding I used some mineral oil in between my standings and finished it with minwax poly I gave it two coats and four days later it's still tacky and not dry did I take a wrong turn putting the mineral oil on in the beginning? Thank any feedback would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 The short answer is "Yes, you took a wrong turn putting the mineral oil on." The cool temps are certainly an issue with most finishes. Add to that the mineral oil and this situation should not come as a surprise. If you read the directions of most finishes, the recommended dry times are usually based on 70°-75° at 50% humidity. Before I started using pre-cat lacquers and catalyzed finishes I most often used Minwax Poly. Just like your shop, mine is cooler in the winter. I keep it around 53° and only warm it up to about 60° or 62° for finishing. I know that I have had poly dry at those temps in a couple days (I can easily get 3 coats of lacquer in 1-1/2 hours at 60°.) But even with ideal temps I would say the mineral oil is the underlying problem. Options: #1 Let them set longer in the warmer temperatures of the house to see if they dry at some point. Situations like this create an opportunity to experiment. Monitor them to see if they dry and how long it takes, then you will have the first hand experience for your own knowledge and to share with others. #2 Or strip them with a hot solvent like acetone or lacquer thinner, these will eat off the finish. Once the finish is stripped off, soak the pieces and wash them off a little more in the solvent. Then let them dry, this will appear to occur rapidly as the solvents flash out quickly. As the solvent saturates the wood it should break down the oil to the point that you can start over with your finishing process. The question will remain of how much oil might remain in the wood. I recommend you take the pieces into a warmer environment to allow any possible residual oil to dry out thoroughly before applying anymore finish. Just to be safe give them a week or two of warm dry time in the house. I am not sure if you were attempting to "pop" the grain? The oil based poly will do that anyway. Pretty much any oil or solvent based finish will pop the grain so it is not necessary to perform any additional work to achieve this effect. I would not put mineral oil on a project and then try to topcoat it. Mineral oil is just not compatible with film finishes that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 I agree with Todd. Another option is a good paint stripper that contains methylene chloride found at the box stores or hardware store. That should get the dried poly off and also help pull the oil out of the wood. Probably a couple applications. Then wash your wood with with lacquer thinner or mineral spirits. And then let your turnings dry. A hair dryer will also help to get things drying a little faster. Don't over heat the wood just, hit it with the hair dryer for a little while every day. I would wait a week too. Is this a segmented turning? Using a hair dryer may over heat the wood loosen the glue???? Just a thought. Another thought...since this is a razor kit for shaving and pens. Perhaps you may want to look at another other type of finish that can hold up to the oils of the human skin (for pens) and moisture resistance (for the razor)......not sure if minwax poly is the best finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Reckner Posted February 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks guys much appreciated I'm very new to the finishing parts of woodworking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Hawkeye - When it comes to finish, just keep it simple and stick to the basics. As a pro I use a pressure pot sprayer and pre-cat lacquers are my favorite, but it all boils down to keeping it simple and sticking to the basics. I want less labor and to reduce my risk of project failure. This still is achieved by sticking to the basics and keeping my finishing program as simple as possible. The more links in the chain, the more opportunities for failure. Oh, I also just noticed you are from Copley, OH. I am originally from Centerburg, OH and all of my family is still back there. My sister & her family live in Wadsworth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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