Add more stain to remove sticky stain?
#1
01-31-14, 04:15 PM
Add more stain to remove sticky stain?
I recently sanded my hardwood oak floors down to bare wood. I applied a first coat of minwax oil based stain, wiping it up with rags after letting it sit for 5 minutes, and let it dry over night. Everything looked great. Applied a second caot in the same fashion the next day, wiping it up as I went. Apparantly I did not wipe up enough when I did the second coat, because 48 hours later it was sticky and tacky to the touch. I then wiped down the whole area with 3 cans of mineral spirits and about a million rags. This seems to have helped a lot, but there are still trace amounts of stickyness throughout the floor. Additionally, the process of wiping the whole floor with mineral spirits has lightened some areas of the floor (removed some of the stains color) and now it appears a little blotchy. No one else sees the blotchiness, but after two days scrubbing on my hands and knees I can see it. Before I spend another day wiping down the floor with mineral spirits to remove any excess pigments from the surface of the wood, could I apply a coat of stain to essentially dissolve these remaining pigments and then wipe them up with the newly applied stain? This would also even out any blotchiness that was caused from my first pass with mineral spirits.
#2
01-31-14, 05:17 PM
Group Moderator
You probably should have stopped with one coat of stain. Oak has no problem absorbing stain evenly. If you decide to apply a third coat as a way to even out the finish and remove sticky residue, I'd suggest that you first thin the stain with paint thinner. Maybe up to 50:50.
I'm pretty sure the sticky areas were the result of uneven wiping- a nice clean rag eventually gets saturated then you switch to using a new clean one (wiping some areas cleaner than others)... without going over the whole thing a 2nd or third time with one last clean dry towel.
You probably don't have access to one, but if you could get your hands on a small floor buffer with a white buffing pad, that would help you greatly when it comes to wiping the stain and getting it all rubbed out evenly. The white pad is good for the final once over wipe, to ensure the floor has all been wiped to the same consistency. As when wiping, when using a floor buffer you have to back your way out of the room, they stay off the floor for at least 24 hours.
I'm pretty sure the sticky areas were the result of uneven wiping- a nice clean rag eventually gets saturated then you switch to using a new clean one (wiping some areas cleaner than others)... without going over the whole thing a 2nd or third time with one last clean dry towel.
You probably don't have access to one, but if you could get your hands on a small floor buffer with a white buffing pad, that would help you greatly when it comes to wiping the stain and getting it all rubbed out evenly. The white pad is good for the final once over wipe, to ensure the floor has all been wiped to the same consistency. As when wiping, when using a floor buffer you have to back your way out of the room, they stay off the floor for at least 24 hours.
#3
01-31-14, 05:41 PM
Thanks for the quick reply!
Youre assesment is correct, Im definitely guilty of uneven wiping, knowing what I know now I should have been much more thorough.
So to clarify your advice, thin the stain 50% with paint thinner, then apply it, let it sit for about 5 minutes (?) and then wipe it up? Obviously its implied that I will do a better job of wiping up this coat than the previous one lol.
Youre assesment is correct, Im definitely guilty of uneven wiping, knowing what I know now I should have been much more thorough.
So to clarify your advice, thin the stain 50% with paint thinner, then apply it, let it sit for about 5 minutes (?) and then wipe it up? Obviously its implied that I will do a better job of wiping up this coat than the previous one lol.
#4
01-31-14, 05:49 PM
Group Moderator
You will probably be able to begin wiping as soon as you finish staining each small section. You are staining with the grain (parallel with the flooring), doing maybe what... 2 or 3 feet at a time as you work backwards across the room?
#5
02-01-14, 04:17 AM
Interior stains aren't formulated for multiple coats. They rely more on absorption by the wood than chemicals to make it dry. Adding thinner to the stain will help soften up the sticky stain so the excess can be removed. I'd just take a damp thinner rag and scrub the floor. The result will be a lighter stain color but that should even everything out. Another draw back of too much stain is the solvents in the poly will also rewet the stain and move it around - makes it difficult to get it looking right.
