I have a pine desk which I have had for 20 years or so. It was flat pack but I assumed it had some kind of matt varnish as it was not shiny. Over the years I realised it must have been bare wood as parts would get grubby looking. I finally got round to dismantling it, sanding off stains etc and applying varnish. I live in Croatia now but am from UK. I found an old tin of Ronseal polyurethane varnish that contained enough for 1 coat. For additional coats I had to buy a locally available product, Kemolux Lak za Čamce (yacht varnish). This is an oil finish based on alkyd resins and uses white spirit for thinners. The Ronseal was fully dry before I applied a coat of the Kemolux but 4 days later the surfaces are still tacky. Do you think this is due to a reaction between the different varnishes? I have used the Kemolux product before on oak window frames and other items without any problem. The Ronseal stuff was for interior use so I didn't find a job for it until I did the desk.
Yacht Varnish not Drying
- Thread starter fidom
- Start date
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Is it really a varnish or is it an oil like Osmo Oil? I have known Osmo to be tacky for several days when used in cold workshops but that is clearly not a problem at this time of the year? I am wondering if the varnish needed stirring. If you didn't stir it, then I would recommend that you do and apply one final coat. Alternatively, point a fan at the desk and leave it running for a few hours.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I did stir it for about 2 minutes. Since I posted the question I tried applying an extra coat of the yacht varnish to one of the pine internal doors which had already been varnished with this product. Again it has stayed tacky so I now think it is just a bad batch. This is the third tin of this product I've used and it always dried OK before.
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You may well be correct.
For what it is worth, I use Terebene oxidising agent in oil based paints to speed up the curing time. I it can be used in oil based varnish. Although it is purple, the amount used is not enough to change the colour.
Terebine Driers
Additive which speeds up the oxidation/drying process of traditional oil-based alkyd coatings.
It does not change the application process, you just apply the paint or varnish as you would ordinarily.
More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_drying_agent
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