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My old boss swore by thinning shellac with denatured alcohol, but I think that's a mistake
He'd say 'it dries faster and lays flatter' every time, but on a humid day last August, a whole tabletop I did got cloudy and stayed tacky for a week. Has anyone else had problems with that mix in damp weather?
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hayden_rivera1mo ago
Last summer I tried that exact mix on a cabinet door and it never fully cured. It felt like sticky plastic wrap for a full month, and I had to strip it all off in the end. Humidity just kills it.
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adams.vera23d ago
Did you check the humidity levels when you applied it? I've found that even slightly damp weather can mess up curing times for oil-based finishes. A friend of mine swears by only doing this kind of work when the humidity is below 50 percent, and he keeps a cheap little gauge right on his workbench. I think a lot of people forget that drying and curing are two different things, and humidity drags out both.
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wright.taylor1mo ago
Yeah, it's like people get stuck on one way of doing things and ignore the weather. I see it with my neighbor who insists on watering his lawn at noon in July.
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