Interlux varnish not drying

I coated my mill creek interier whith 2 coats epoxy, and then cure for 10 days. I then washed and sanded before applying a single coat do interlux varnish.It's still not dry it'stacky, 4 days later.

Chemical reaction with resin? (humidity and cool weather0 ?

Does anyone have any suggestions?, remove paint or put anhoter coat ?


7 replies:

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RE: Interlux varnish not drying

What's the temperature? 

Laszlo

 

RE: Interlux varnish not drying

In cooler days I've turned on the quartz flood lights on a stand within about 3 ft +/-  and warmed the work dry.    

RE: Interlux varnish not drying

In my experience varnish that remains tacky after that long is usually due to an old or bad batch (2 years or more) or inadequate stirring. Heat and humidity play a big role but can be over came with heat lamps and fans. For your scenario I would test the varnish you are using by stirring it well (several minutes) and applying some to a smooth piece of glass or mirror. Tilt the glass at a 45 degree angle and let it cure overnight. If it seems to have harden overnight then you may not have stirred enough for the coat you applied to your project. If it is still tacky add heat and or a fan to it and see if it cures on the glass. If it cures with a heat or fan, I would then do the same to your project. If it cured without heat or a fan I would stir another batch and thin it by 10% and apply a coat to your project. The thinned coat should help catalyst the tacky coat to dry faster. 

Hope that helps.

JP

RE: Interlux varnish not drying

 

Gentlemen,

My wife pointed out a clarification I should make about my statement of old or bad varnish. . . Varnish in an unopened can typically has an indefinite shelf life if kept at nominal temperatures. A can that has been opened and resealed generally will go bad within a year or two.

Sorry for any confusion that may have caused.

JP

  

RE: Interlux varnish not drying

   I'd have to do comparison testing. (Rocky Mountain Boatwright)

 Thank you

RE: Interlux varnish not drying

   I had a varnish not drying incident on a Kaholo.  I had used a green dye in my west system epoxy on the hull and it seemed (my best guess) to cause a blush that was very difficult to scrub off. Cranked the heat to no avail. Removing the soft varnish was messy but easy. After a few sanding and re-coating tests I figured it must be the infamous unsandable blush. Soap and water and a scotch-brite pad on the first attempt.   The recoat still had a few sticky spots and I had to re-srub and re-apply to those spots. The re-coat dried once the surface was clean.

The non-dyed deck dried normally on the first coat. 

FWIW the blush was completely unnoticable until I put the varnish on it.

In the end it all worked out but that was my first - and hopefully my last  - blush experience.  In my case it was much harder to scrub off than I ever imagined from reading about it.

Just my thoughts on it.

Nick

RE: Interlux varnish not drying

I had the same problem, I used mineral sprits to wash the blush off. Now i coat a scrap piece while I'm epoxying, and use as a test piece. Same wood, Same epoxy, Same time frame, and Same varnish. No Guessing!  What worked was acidtone cleans better  

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