How long should a pigmented stain dry between coats?

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,
If I want to apply several coats of a pigmented oil stain, and I want the process to be as effective as possible, how long should I wait for each coat to dry (after wiping off the excess) before applying the next coat? I'll be applying each coat with a brush and wiping each coat with a clean rag.
Louis

[Howard Acheson]

Pigmented oil based stain contain a resin (varnish) added to adhere the pigment to the wood. Without the resin, the pigment would dust right off when the mineral spirits evaporated.

What this means is that an oil based pigment stain effectively seals the pores of the wood with the first application. Subsequent applications will not be further absorbed and when you wipe off the excess, you will remove all the pigment you just applied.

Do not even consider NOT wiping off the excess. Oil based pigment stain that is not wiped, will never fully dry.

One way to get slightly more stain coloring, you can sometimes use the technique of lightly sanding the prior coat to open up the sealing of the prior coat. Another thing to try is to use a gel stain which is more like a paint. But the thicker you apply an oil based pigment stain, the more you will obscure the grain and figure.

What are you trying to accomplish?

[Steve Schoene]

Listen to Howard. The only reason to even apply a second coat of oil based stain is if there are missed areas the first time around. I suppose manufacturers sometimes mention second coats, but my guess is that's mostly to sell more product.

[Jeff Myers]

I wish I'd seen this thread sooner, I'm trying to finish some display shelves with Minwax Ebony wood finish. ...following manuf. directions i applied first coat, wiped excess and it dried nicely,,,applied second coat next day and 24 hours later is still tacky, i tried to wipe excess off the second coat but
it was very tacky and not coming off easily, i must've waited too long to start wiping,,it was about 10-15 minutes as i was trying to get the darkest ebony color i could. I rubbed off as much as possible but 24 hours later it was still tacky, i'm finishing in an unconditioned basement, it's not too hot or humid,,,about 76 degrees.
Now, if it's still tacky tonight(48 hours after second coat) how should i proceed? Can i remove the excess with mineral spirits maybe???
Should i let it dry longer and hope it will(but Howard's comments indicate it will never dry).
Next question,,,if it is dry tonight and i want to apply a wipe on poly, i did
notice there's some raised grain or bubbles on the surface,,,should i sand
out with 400 or 600 and wipe dust with mineral spirits or sand of the nibs with steel wool...and still us mineral spirits to clean off dust before the poly?
Thanks in advance for any assistance in this.
-Jeff

[Steve Schoene]

The time to use the mineral spirits to remove the excess was right after you first noticed the stain was too tacky to remove just by wiping. Now, if it is still tacky there is just a chance that mineral spirits, will remove the stain. If you can live with the muddy finish that results from leaving the excess on the surface you should wait until the stain is fully dried--at least a week.

If the finish is unattractive from the stain applied as a paint, then you need to strip it off entirely using a methylene chloride stripper. Then start over.

In general, to achieve dark colors on a hard wood, use dye not stain. Pigment particles are too large to penetrate well, and once the first coat of stain is one the wood is mostly sealed, and more stain won't "take". Neither will dye at this point.

This is perhaps a good time to reiterate a basic rule of finishing. Always make samples on scraps of the same wood, starting with wood preparation and continuing all the way through the top coat. This is the place to catch problems, not on the project.