Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - stain isn't drying!

My boyfriend and I have been redoing hard wood floors in his house, and we approached the staining step without enough preparation. He is staining the wood red mahogony, and because he really liked the dark color, he did not follow the directions on the can and wipe off the excess stain. The floors were supposed to dry in 12 hours, and it is now one week later and most of the floor is still wet, or at least has excess sticky residue that comes off on your finger when touched. A few boards are dry around the edges on various other spots, but I feel like there is the possibility that the floor will never dry. I need to have the room polyurethaned and painted so that I can move my furniture in two weeks from today (Saturday, June 5).

Do you have any suggestions on how to get off the sticky residue so that we can begin to apply polyurethane? Our only solution thus far has been to turn up the air conditioning and to use a dehumidifier. If we get really desperate, we might try laquer thinner to remove the stain.

Please email at jfmarcu@learnlink.emory.edu if you have any solutions!

Hire a professional!!!!


Your fixing to have a BIG mess!!!!!!


Your going to need to strip the excess and resand, after popping the grain with a wet rag. Something you best let a professional tackle.


Teach your boyfriend to read!!!!!