Watching paint dry on a humid day taught me a hard lesson about drying times

I was finishing a big maple table for a client in my garage last July, and the air was thick. I used my usual oil based varnish, thinking the extra dry time on the can was just a suggestion. The next morning, it was still tacky. I got impatient and tried a second coat anyway. It was a mess, it wrinkled and never fully cured. I had to strip the whole top. The next week, I tried a water based poly on a different job. It said it dried in two hours, and in that same muggy air, it actually did. The difference was the thinner and how it evaporates. Oil needs dry air to pull the solvents out, but water based just lets the water go. Now I check the weather report before I even open a can. Has anyone else had to switch their whole schedule around because of summer humidity?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael5191d ago

Yo that water based poly saving the day is real talk. I did the same thing with a cabinet refinish last summer, waited a full 24 hours like the can said and it still felt soft in the morning. Ended up buying a dehumidifier just for my workshop, now I run it for a few hours before I even start mixing anything. It's wild how the weather throws off what we think we know.

paige_martin2mo ago

Check the weather report" is such a simple but brutal step to forget.

reese_singh872mo ago

I wore a brand new white t-shirt to an outdoor concert last summer and got caught in a surprise downpour. The dye ran and I looked like a sad tie-dye project for the rest of the night. All because I didn't glance at the radar.