>I finished turning a platter on Thursday night and applied a (sort of) heavy coat of Danish oil while the piece was still on the lathe by wiping while it was spinning. I waited about an hour and applied a second coat.
Its still tacky tonight. Will it eventually set or do I need to do something like wipe it down with a solvent and reapply? I'm guessing the coats were too think.
I put a lot of time in this one sanding all the way up to 4000 micromesh I hate to lose the finish.
>Something that most people miss when they read the directions on the back of the can is the part about wiping it dry. "Dry" means to remove as much of the finish as possible. When you think that you have removed all of the finish, keep on wiping.
You may also be experiencing the "winter finishing blues". Oil finishes do not like wet, cold, or hot weather. They perform best at temperatures between 70 and 85.
You may also have an old finish. The first sign that an oil is going bad is that it takes longer to cure. The next step its aging will be that it becomes thicker, and it may not cure at all. No amount of thinner will save an old finishing oil.
If age isn't the problem, use a little thinner to remove the excess from the wood, and wire it dry. Then take it in the house where it is warmer for a couple days, and all should be fine.
>You can also wipe a little Japan drier on after doing as Russ suggested. Just dampen a cloth with the Japan drier and slightly wet the piece, don't soak or saturate, just dampen.
>It is the bottom of the can of Danish oil but I just purchsed this can within the last two months. I also have a fresh can.
Russ is correct that I didn't wipe it thoroughly I liked the shiny finish that it left and was trying to preserve that. It has been in my house drying for the past 2 days.
I don't have or ever used Japan dryer. Is that something the local big box stores would have?
