Possible issue with finish

[Larry Fox]

I am working on a very large cabinet made of walnut and I am in the process of finishing it and might have run into an issue that I could use an expert opinion on. The finish schedule is:

-sand everything down to 220 and clear the sanding dust with mineral spirits (done)
- apply a very light application of blo and let dry overnight (done)
- apply a second very light application of blo and let dry for about 5 days (done)
- apply a seal coat of 1# dew axed orange shellac and lightly sand with 400 after (done)
- apply a second coat of 2# cut of dewaxed orange shellac for color and to seal it up well (done)
- scuf sand with 600 to knock down any dust nibs
- apply 4x coats of Target EM6000

This is a schedule I have used several times in the past with good results. This time however (and I am getting to my question) I am not sure the blo was quite dry before applying the 1# coat. As I was scuf sanding with the 400 I noticed what looked and smelled like oil on the rag I used to remove the sanding dust with. I thought that I might just have sanded a little too much and through the wash coat a wee bit in those spots and it was only AFTER I shot the 2# cut that it occurred to me that the oil might not be completely dry. My plan is to let the 2# cut dry for about 5 days before scuf sanding and applying the em60000.

My question - am I setting myself up for issues with the topcoat if the oil is not dry below the shellac? Will it push through?

This project is very large (I estimate 120 sq/ ft) so the thought of stripping it is not at all appealing to me but if it needs to happen shellac is a LOT easier to get off than shellac + topcoat.

Apologies for the long post and thank you in advance for your time.

[Howard Acheson]

Dewaxed shellac is very impervious to the transmission of air (oxygen). BLO needs oxygen to fully cure (polymerize). By applying a number of shellac coats over the uncured BLO, you have effectively stopped or greatly slowed down the curing process of the BLO.

Did you thoroughly wipe off the excess BLO when you applied it or did you just let it set and "dry" on the surface?

At this point, I would lightly sand the surface with 400 grit paper and then let everything dry for a week or so. Then you should be able to apply your top coats.

[Larry Fox]

Thanks for the reply Howard. As to your question, i used a very light application of the blo so there was no real excess on the surface. That said, I did wipe it down quite well after each application and even went back after 4 days of curing and gave it another good wipe down lest there be any seeping our of the pores. Given the open-grained nautre of walnut I tend to go with very light applications to minimize it being trapped in the pores. I never flood the surface of walnut.

To give you a sense of how light the applications were, for the entire project and both coats I don't think I went through more than 2 cups of blo. As in op, I estimate 120 sq/ft of surface area.