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Stale Finish Fix

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Question

I have put a tung oil/turpentine/urethane mix on my finished work and it is not drying (it must be a stale mixture). What do I do now? How do I clean it off or what can I add to harden the finish?—Jim Forbes

Answer

Bob LaCivita replies: When making the classic oil varnish finish, I use polymerized tung oil, turpentine and varnish—1/3 of each ingredient. Raw tung oil drys very slow or not at all. I use a varnish with the highest amount of solids that I can find. Parks and Sherwin Williams both make a high solid varnish. I know of nothing that will dry a tacky finish. I would suggest that you sand the piece down to bare wood and start over.

Tags: Finishing

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