Waterlox Coats in a day? Hot California Weather

I just applied a coat of waterlox a 50" long walnut slab coffee table with oak legs. Used a foam brush, applied and brushed it for a while. Looks great but waiting 24 hours to coat again is going to kill me.

Can I/should I, put on a another coat around 10pm tonight? That's about 12 hours of dry time from the first coat.

It's 85+ degrees here in Northern California, maybe hotter (east of SF/oakland is where I am).

I have to leave for about 2 hours but when I get home I'm opening the garage door half way to help with air flow.

If it's very dry and you have good constant cross ventilation, I'd say you could get away with 12 hours between one coat, but I wouldn't do it for every coat. I live in super dry Denver and I've used Waterlox in a warm well-ventilated room and it just doesn't feel dry after 12 hours like it does after 24. And even waiting 24 hours there should at least be some air movement. Waterlox just isn't a product that should be rushed.

If you do choose to rush the coats, the piece will still dry and cure eventually, it'll just take longer. But I find my coats go on better the longer I wait.

Not sure what you mean by 'brushed it for a while' but after it's brushed one I would just leave it alone.

There are a couple Waterlox formulations. I mostly use the "original sealer/finish" with the red label, and have the best results letting it dry a full day between coats. In a 72 deg 45% RH room, it takes a while for it to really cure. Not experienced with the VOC compliant versions.

Like most things, there are pluses and minuses to "rushing" the next coats. The plus side is the new coat will melt into the lower, uncured coat. The minus side is the build up of less than dry coats will take a longggg time to full dry and cure compared to one where each coat was allowed to more fully dry. In my experience, the first coat takes longer to dry than the subsequent ones and rushing it is not good.

John

Wait for atleast 24 hrs for a brushed coat, thinly wiped on coats can be applied in less time. Waterlox needs oxygen more than heat to cure. I believe that Waterlox will self adhere/bond regardless of the time between between coats, but it possible that my personal experience with the product has lead me to a false conclusion. Do not try to rush Waterlox, breath deep and relax.