I stripped my cabinets and applied three coats of stain, but the cabinet doors still feel sticky after two days of drying. Should I go ahead and apply the polyurethane finish and hope for the best? -Lauren

Hi Lauren,

If you used a penetrating oil stain, you may have allowed the stain to build up too thick a coat on the surface of the wood. Penetrating wood stains are not intended to be a surface finish. If applied too thickly, they won’t dry properly and will remain tacky to the touch. This can also happen if the wood wasn’t stripped and sanded completely down to bare wood, since the stain will sit on the surface rather than soaking into the wood.

To remove excess oil stain from wood, simply apply another coat of stain, allow it to soak in for a few minutes, then wipe it off. Any excess stain will redissolve and come off, leaving only the stain that penetrated into the wood.

If almost all the stain comes off when you wipe it, the surface probably wasn’t sanded enough. Remove the remaining stain by wiping the wood down with mineral spirits or naphtha (be sure you have plenty of ventilation and don’t work around open flames), followed by wiping with a clean cloth. Allow the wood to dry completely, sand the piece down to bare wood, and apply a coat or two of stain, wiping off any excess.

If you applied the stain correctly, and it still remained tacky, it could be due to rainy weather or high humidity. Give it a few more days to see if it improves. Another possibility is that the stain was old or came from a bad batch.

In either case if the tackiness doesn’t go away, wipe the wood down with mineral spirits or naphtha to remove most of the stain, let it dry thoroughly, then try again using a fresh can of stain.

Good luck with your project,

Further Information

• How to Refinish Furniture (video)
• The Proper Approach to Refinishing Old Furniture
• How to Apply Polyurethane Finish

Tags: , finishing, penetrating oil stain, refinishing cabinets, stain, staining

7 Comments on “How to Solve Problem of Wood Stain Not Drying”

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1. Crystal Says:
   November 27th, 2010 at 10:09 am

   Hi. I bought miniwax polyshades stain to use on a dresser I got off craigslist. I stained the whole dresser and it came out fine but this one side. The first time I did it I put it on too thick so i had to strip it and resand. I have now put another coat on and this time there were a few thick spots, so I went over them with a brush that I dipped in paint thinner. I let the side dry but it’s been 2 days and it’s still tacky. How can I solve this?

2. 

   Ben Erickson Says:
   November 30th, 2010 at 9:04 am

   Hi Crystal,
   Miniwax polyshades is little more than tinted polyurethane, so your drying problem has to do with the varnish type finish not drying rather than the stain. My guess is that either the can of finish was bad or that it was very humid when you applied it. Your best bet is probably to strip the side again and apply a fresh, thin coat of polyurethane from a new can when drying conditions are favorable. Good luck with your project!

3. Tod Hank Says:
   April 14th, 2011 at 5:16 pm

   I applied three coats of minwax oil based stain to quatersawn oak sanded boards. My last coat looks great and matches my fireplace. The only thing is it is a little tacky, but not wet – sticky. I am going on vacation for three weeks. Will it be dry by then. Has a shinny finish, but want to use polyacrylic satin to dull the finish. Do not want to strip it, since the color matches perfect. What to do? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. 

   Ben Erickson Says:
   April 15th, 2011 at 9:41 pm

   Hi Tod,
   As noted in the article above, wood stain is made to soak into wood, not sit on top of it. Time will probably not make the tackiness go away. Minwax stain should dry flat, if it has a shiny sheen, it was put on too thickly. If you try to finish over it with a brush, some of the stain will probably come off on the brush and give the surface an uneven look. You could spray several light coats of finish over the stain, but the adhesion between the finish, stain, and wood will not be very high. Your best bet is to go over it again will another coat of stain, then wipe it off lightly with a dry cloth while the stain is still wet. If it’s not dark enough, use a darker stain, or mix two stains together to get the color you need. Once it dries, topcoat the surface with polyurethane. If it’s still not dark enough, apply one or two coats of the proper shade of Minwax PolyShades, which has colorant in it. PolyShades will make the grain opaque the more coats you apply, so limit it to one or two. Good luck with your project!

5. Bill Says:
   January 20th, 2012 at 8:43 am

   I thank you and wish I had researched @ your site first.
   New to doing it myself and trying toi learn. You were very helpful.

6. shelby Says:
   April 17th, 2012 at 6:48 pm

   We recently wanted to refinish our hardwood floors. We used Minwax oil based stain after all the necessary sanding was done. We did probably 800 square feet. In some places it has absorbed into the wood and other placed it is shiny, but dry and not tacky to the touch. Which is better in this case as we did a larger area? Mineral spirits or applying new stain and wiping?

7. Jon Thompson Says:
   May 22nd, 2012 at 9:21 am

   Hi, we just moved into a house where they stained the hardwood floors with minwax. The stain did not absorb into the wood because the floors already had some kind of seal on them. The surface of the floors is tacky and you can scrape the stain off with your finger… We have a 8 month old baby and I’m concerned about the fumes of the unabsorbed stain and if she crawls around on them. I don’t notice a smell coming from the stain but I’m not sure. Should I be concerned about this??

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