Posted by Minni on August 05, 19104 at 16:24:54:
In Reply to: Desperate for polyurethane expert - still sticky!! posted by Minni on August 05, 19104 at 16:02:31:
: I already posted this SOS on another board, and now posting here in the hope that there may be an expert [old timer?] here who can help. It's been more than a week already, & my floor is still sticky.
: This is the URL of my other post:
: http://boards.hgtv.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=1084078532&f=2074011632&m=999105123
: And here's the initial post on that thread:
:
: This is an update of my previous post ("vinyl over hardwood").: I wound up getting some non-pro boys to do the sanding & polyurethaning for $125. It wasn't done well, but rather blotchily, with areas of raw wood left undone. It will need another coat.
: But I'm most concerned that the floor is still sticky & hasn't dried since Thursday, even though it was cool on Thurs. & I put on the attic fan. It's a tiny 9' x 10' room on the north side of the house, with exposure/windows only facing north. The windows had been opened - so air should have entered thru the screens to dry the poly out. Yet it still hasn't dried. Anyone have any clue why? The polyurethane was newly bought at the local hardware store - labeled "Benjamin Moore High Gloss 428 00"
:
: In case Perry is reading this, I phoned Ben Moore but the girl wasn't any more informative than any of the respondents to the post I've had thus far.
: I do know that when I was at WalMart, a guy who looked to be in his 80's assured me that Ben Moore poly is the best and that it will dry eventually - but that it takes a long time in this humid weather. What a difference there was between him and the snob at Ben Moore. He was all patience - she couldn't wait to hang up.
: Getting back to the subject, today was quite cool & breezy here in the NYC burbs, and I had the attic fan going (it had conked out the other day but now fixed itself). It was on all day & still is. In fact I'm sorta shivering, and the cool air doesn't seem to be humid. At least I don't think so.
: But when I walked on the poly in my stocking feet the floor was still tacky in some spots.
: I'm so full of dread - wondering if the floor will ever dry! Is there any old timer here - or ANYONE - who can give me feedback? I was crying today, that's how nervous I am.
: A couple of times already, despite the strain on my painful leg muscles, I crouched down in several tacky parts of the room & tried scrubbing away the stickiness with a clean rag. I kept running up & down to the basement to adjust the heating vents of several rooms for maximum heat in that room & turned on the heat full blast in sweltering weather. I needed to use a screwdriver to adjust the vents. I had to remove the masking-taped coverings I'd placed on the vents to prevent fumes. And much much more. It's a nightmare.
: Can someone give it to me straight? Is it possible that the Ben Moore high gloss poly might *never* dry? If so, is there a non-costly, preferably fume-free, solution?
P.S. If by a miracle it ever does dry, should I return the 2nd can of Ben Moore and get MinWax instead to 2nd coat? Or should I rather use the Ben Moore due to its better quality even if it takes forever to dry?