Hello to you fine folks. Would love to get some guidance getting out of a tacky situation. I am an experienced cabinetmaker with very little finishing experience. The kitchen cabinets I make are finished by the contractor. My only previous experience, with beautiful results on Douglas Fir, was with Zar oil-based sanding sealer polyurethane followed by Zar wipe on tung oil.
My son has asked me to make a 7' bench for seating at his current table. My best guess was that the table was Brazilian Cherry with a stain applied. I experimented with several different colors and the Honey Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain matches closely enough. My plan was to stain and then apply the Zar sanding sealer and tung oil.
Yesterday afternoon, following the directions on the can, I applied the stain with a cloth and then wiped off with clean cloth. According to the can it dries in two hours.
Here is the rub. When I got to the shop early this AM much to my dismay the stain was still a bit tacky. My best guess (again) was to buff and buff some more with a clean dry cloth. This took the tacky feeling away. I proceeding to apply the sanding sealer with a foam brush and all looked lovely. Went home to eat breakfast with a plan to return and apply a second coat of sealer before wiping on the tung oil. The sealer dries in 1 hour. Just returned to the shop 3.5 hours later and once again things are still rather tacky.
How badly have I botched things here? Just noticing now that the sanding sealer can says it dries to the touch in 1 hour on bare wood. My fingers are crossed that I just need further dry time. My fear is that the stain I applied and wiped off should have been vigorously buffed off and then left to dry. Are my fears justified and I have applied sealer over a stain that will never now fully dry???
Thanks for your consideration