How long for a stain to dry?

[dennis thompson]

Yesterday I stained some pine with Minwax oil based stain, I did not wipe it off since the color,as applied, was what I wanted. It has been about 20 hours & many spots are still tacky, it has been very humid here with some rain. I'm doing the work in my garage shop.
My questions are:
Did I make a mistake in not wiping it off? (looks like it)
Should I just wait a little longer?
Should I wipe it down with a rag dipped in paint thinner?
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Dennis

[Steve Schoene]

Yes, you made a mistake in not wiping it off. The binder that holds the pigment to the wood is quite soft and very slow curing, and doesn't make a very good base for the top coat. Leaving it on also obscures more of the natural wood grain than is necessary. I would strip it off and start again with a better program.

Pine doesn't take pigmented stains like the Minwax very well, often with a lot of blotching. If you need dark on pine you need to start with a dye. Dye doesn't obscure the grain and can control the darkness by how concentrated a mix that you make. Then you can seal that dye and use a pigmented stain as a toner, wiping virtually all of it off, to increase the depth of finish.