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Drying finish on humid days

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2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  OggieOglethorpe 
#1 ·
Use the dehuidifier

I had a problem with polyurethane and lacquer on finished wood projects drying - especially when it was humid outside. I used to put them on a special rack in the furnace room but I recently tried putting them in the output air of the dehumidifier and it works just great.
You might want to try that on rainy days to get the finish to dry so you can put on multiple coats in one day!
 
#2 ·
That is a great tip Jim. I have a dehumidifier and I mine for that purpose often. I live in a very wet climate here, and before I had the dehumidifier it could take as long as 3 days to get finish to dry. In dry weather, just 24 hours.
 
#3 ·
Jim, although, here in So.Cal, we don't have very many 'humid' days, so I'll just stash this tip into my memory bank and try to remember it… I don't have a dehumidifier… have never owned one… LOL

BTW, my 'Furnace room' is my shop… (garage)... but it doesn't output any heat into this area… only the house… LOL

Thank you very much…

LOL
 
#5 ·
Yes, Ron, that is a symptom- the lacquer turns white when it is real humid. I had that happen and I had to strip the part and wait for a dry day to recoat. Luckily it was not a stained piece. That is hell if you have a big piece of furniture and you are spraying lacquer with a gun and it gets milky. I had it start to happen and stopped spraying and got out a hair dryer to remove the moisture to save the work I already had done.

Joe you may not have that problem in California but here in Michigan it rains about every other day now!!Keep this tip in mind, you may move to Seattle!!

Mike, you're way ahead of me. I just thought of that this month while waiting for 2 days for lacquer to dry which usually takes a few hours. I'm using it right now to get teak oil to dry. I'm thinking , does it really dry????
 
#8 ·
Thanks for sharing this outstanding and time-proven tip!

If you have "blushing" in the future using solvent lacquer, don't strip… Try spraying the piece with very thin finish on a dry day. The moisture will often release itself.

Many providers also sell "blush remover" in spray bombs, for smaller areas.
 
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