Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Polyurethane tacky in places

Saturday we applied Minwax's Super Fast Drying Polyurethane for floors at about noon. We actually ended up using slighly less than the coverage reccomended, so I don't believe we got it too think. Two rooms setup and dried in under 12 hours, the other two still have tacky spots as of today. I'd say that probably 95% of the room is perfectly dry, with 5% still tacky. How common is it for a product that's supposed to setup in 3-4 hours to take almost 40 hours now? I'm worried about the second coat. If we let the first coat get rid of it's tacky-ness, then screen it. Can we wipe it down with a rag damped with mineral spirits like the directions say? or will the mineral spirits return the tacky-ness to these spots? And once we put down another coat, do you think we can expect the same trouble, or should it set up more quickly?

I ask because our lease is up on Thursday, so we need to move in by then. Which is why we went with the super fast drying to begin with.


Getting worried....

:confused: :confused:

In areas where finish was applied too thick, it will take longer to dry. Do not apply new finish until previous finish is completely dry. Drying times also tend to vary depending on humidity conditions and if temperature is cold. Increase ventilation or turn up temperature or both. Air moving over surface will expedite drying. Do not do this during application of finish. When buffing for next coat, if finish does not powder, it needs more time to dry. Check label for 'cure' time before you can move furniture. Some manufacturers require several days. Do not rush the polyurethane. Perhaps you can arrange with the owner of the leased property to allow you to pay for a couple extra weeks' rent to allow the floor to properly dry and cure.

Humidity and dew point. If your close to dew point, the off gassing of the finish will cool the air right above the floor, creating a dew point.

Thick pools, will take forever to dry.

Well, after 60 hours minwax reccomended that I rub down the areas that were still tacky with a little mineral spirits. That removed almost all of the tackiness. Then I screened and then wiped the entire floor with mineral spirits. Let that dry and put down another coat of Polyurethane. The second coat was dry everywhere within 24 hours (possibly earlier, but 24 was the soonest I could check on it). Just screened, wiped, and put down a third last night.