# Finished staining my desk, drying in direct sunlight okay?



## HarryS (Aug 10, 2015)

This is the first project I've ever worked on and I'm very excited! So last night I applied a second of red oak stain to my pine desk in my back porch and left it to dry overnight, well I think it was humid last night or it got damp from moisture since it was drizzling last night and it looked "sweaty" (from the humidity?) so I decided to move it to direct sunlight to dry and at the moment it looks nice but still looks wet in some places. 

I'm waiting for this to dry in order to put my semi gloss polyurethane, is this the right way of letting this dry?


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## HarryS (Aug 10, 2015)

Here's a picture showing where it's wet looking, I applied the stain with a rag. Also any tips would be appreciated if you notice anything else!


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

I'd go ahead and wipe off the excess until you can't get any off. Stain these days has some solids in it that will seal it to some extent. That's more than likely what you have on the wet spots.

Al


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## HarryS (Aug 10, 2015)

Al B Thayer said:


> I'd go ahead and wipe off the excess until you can't get any off. Stain these days has some solids in it that will seal it to some extent. That's more than likely what you have on the wet spots.
> 
> Al


Alright I did a wipe off of the wet looking spots and it went down a little bit but it still has almost a shine look (or wet look) on the same spots almost as though its slightly sheened. If this doesn't go away completely is it okay to still apply the semi gloss poly?


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## HarryS (Aug 10, 2015)

Anybody?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You should never put anything you are finishing in the sun. Wood is like a cluster of straws and in the sun it can build up pressure in the wood and start ozzing wet stain to make spots. It can also cause the wood to warp. You also should not be putting two coats of stain on. If any stain dries on the surface it can cause adhesion problems. Stain is meant to color the wood so it doesn't bond to the surface very well. Then when you apply a finish over the top the finish bonds to the stain instead of the wood and can peal off. If you think there might be dried stain on the surface you might wipe the top off with lacquer thinner to remove this before topcoating.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

HarryS said:


> Alright I did a wipe off of the wet looking spots and it went down a little bit but it still has almost a shine look (or wet look) on the same spots almost as though its slightly sheened. If this doesn't go away completely is it okay to still apply the semi gloss poly?



Well now your talking to the wrong guy. I never use poly on anything especially a table top. So many other easier finishes to apply that will make the wood and its beauty shine through. Semi gloss is just going to muddy up the finish. Just use gloss and rub it out to lose the sheen. You need to rub it out anyway.

Al


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