Finishing help

[Dave B West]

I am having trouble with finishes. My technique is flawed I guess. I tried to use salad bowl finish on one English walnut bowl, and even several weeks later, it feels like it hasn't dried. I wiped it down, and still it seems like the finish isn't absorbing into the wood.
So I tried a different finish, on a different wood. Two days later after applying a thin coat of wop onto purple heart, it is feeling the same as the salad bowl finish on the walnut.
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? My first though was that the garage workshop is too cold, which would explain the recent try, but not the first one.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Did you apply, let sit for a couple minutes and wipe off? I've seen some finishes take a bit to "dry" if the first coat is too thick. Applying new finish seems to make the wet layer stay wet even longer untill I removed it all. I've had trouble with purpleheart. I think I wiped it down with denatured alcohol. Do a test run if you have some scraps.

[Dave B West]

Thanks for the tips. I will try the denatured alcohol.

[Pat Scott]

Is your finish fresh? If it's a year old it can take a long time to cure. Otherwise I wipe it on, let it sit for a minute, then wipe it all off.