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Varnish turned gummy because I ignored the weather

I put varnish on a walnut chair during a rainy day. It stayed soft and sticky for days. I had to sand the whole thing off, which was a huge pain. An old timer at the shop said to always check the humidity first. Now I look at the forecast before I start any finish. This one tip saved my next project from the same mess. I learned my lesson the hard way.
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4 Comments
jason_hall
jason_hall1mo ago
Checking the humidity is good advice but you don't need a gadget for it. My shop is in a basement and I can just feel when the air is thick. If my skin feels damp or the wood feels cool, I wait. Sometimes you just learn to read the room. A forecast is a guess, but your own space tells you the real story.
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max_brown
max_brown1mo ago
Grab a cheap hygrometer to check the actual shop humidity too.
3
shanen31
shanen311mo ago
When you say you can feel the damp air in your basement shop, has there ever been a time your senses were off and you applied finish when you shouldn't have? Do you still check a forecast as a backup, or do you trust the feeling completely now?
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caleb27
caleb271mo ago
Feel your pain on trusting senses over gadgets.
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