Ok, so I'm quite the noob, I admit.
Here's what I done.
Finishing my first build Zigmahornets, I put a couple coats of this... finishing stuff I had lying around. A colourless, water based product.
Coat, dry, sand, coat again. But it's not building up. Then I see from the label it's called a "top coat".
Oh, so, maybe I need something else. Voila. I find this Ikea oil based product I'd used ealier to finish some little utility drawers I got from there.
I put it on.
24 hours later, it's still, ahhhh, wet. No evidence that it's fixin' to dry.
I thought maybe it's because the stuff is old. Then it occured to me, I may have made a blunder. Oil based over water based product. Somewhere from the back of my mind there's a little voice that's (only now) suggesting that could be a no-no.
What have I done? And, more importantly, what CAN I do now?
My humble (if not grovelling) thanks, in advance.
Brenton
Here's what I done.
Finishing my first build Zigmahornets, I put a couple coats of this... finishing stuff I had lying around. A colourless, water based product.
Coat, dry, sand, coat again. But it's not building up. Then I see from the label it's called a "top coat".
Oh, so, maybe I need something else. Voila. I find this Ikea oil based product I'd used ealier to finish some little utility drawers I got from there.
I put it on.
24 hours later, it's still, ahhhh, wet. No evidence that it's fixin' to dry.
I thought maybe it's because the stuff is old. Then it occured to me, I may have made a blunder. Oil based over water based product. Somewhere from the back of my mind there's a little voice that's (only now) suggesting that could be a no-no.
What have I done? And, more importantly, what CAN I do now?
My humble (if not grovelling) thanks, in advance.
Brenton
If the oil finish has not yet dried, it shouldn't be too hard to remove with a petroleum based solvent. Sandpaper or steel wool abrasives alone will get clogged, and won't remove all the product. I'd suggest a volatile lacquer thinner or automotive paint "gun-wash" cleaner as opposed to paint thinners (mineral spirits). With adequate ventilation, the more volatile solvents tend to evaporate more quickly, and are certainly more aggressive.
This'll definitely be messy and stinky, so ventilation and lots of disposable cloth rags (not paper towels) , rubber gloves and perhaps a respirator will be in order.
Remove the drivers and tightly stuff the driver cut-outs with rags or paper towels to prevent contamination of enclosure stuffing.
Use coarse rags or steel wool along with the solvent to strip the oil finish. Once it's completely removed and dried, you need to decide how you want to refinish the boxes. If you want an oil based finish, you'll need to completely remove the water-based product first. A random orbit sander (starting at 150 or 220G) would be your best bet. To assure penetration and adhesion, you want to see dry wood swarf (sanding dust) before applying any new finish material.
Remember to safely dispose of rags used with any oil based finishing products ( or in a salute to the little old Horn maker, add them to your next outdoor bonfire)
- that's a joke
This'll definitely be messy and stinky, so ventilation and lots of disposable cloth rags (not paper towels) , rubber gloves and perhaps a respirator will be in order.
Remove the drivers and tightly stuff the driver cut-outs with rags or paper towels to prevent contamination of enclosure stuffing.
Use coarse rags or steel wool along with the solvent to strip the oil finish. Once it's completely removed and dried, you need to decide how you want to refinish the boxes. If you want an oil based finish, you'll need to completely remove the water-based product first. A random orbit sander (starting at 150 or 220G) would be your best bet. To assure penetration and adhesion, you want to see dry wood swarf (sanding dust) before applying any new finish material.
Remember to safely dispose of rags used with any oil based finishing products ( or in a salute to the little old Horn maker, add them to your next outdoor bonfire)
- that's a joke 
Wha' DIYa know? said:
What's the substrate? Solid wood? Veneer? MDF?
And, if wood, what species?
Two coats with sanding between isn't much. You shouldn't be surprised that you don't have much buildup. Too late now, but continuing with your top coat applications would have done the trick.
However, now that you have applied oil, probably the easiest thing to do is just remove any uncured excess oil with solvent, and leave the boxes in a warm (sunny) spot for a few days to cure and dry out. Then make some decisions.
If you are using veneer, sanding to a stage where you can re-finish from scratch is probably not an option at this point.
It sounds like you want a 'shiny' finish. Oil is a poor choice for this. You might consider a solvent-based varnish or lacquer for proceeding forward from this point. While you are waiting for your boxes to dry out and 'settle down' you can make up some test panels from scraps, using the same finish combo you have on the boxes. Then you can test various finish ideas for adhesion and compatibility without messing with the enclosures.
Cheers
John
The Zigmahornets aren't that large a surface area that it would be too difficult to strip them down to the raw veneer ply surface (substrate as VictoriaGuy calls it). As I mentioned above, it'll just be a bit messy, as the two different types of existing products require different removal methods.
Once that's done and stroke sanded to 220G, if you're looking for an easy to apply semi to glossy finish, I can highly recommend the Mohawk aerosol spray nitrocellulose lacquer. It gives a nice slightly amber finish, and as a true solvent borne spray is quick drying and builds very nicely with 2-3 coats.
http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=430
Once that's done and stroke sanded to 220G, if you're looking for an easy to apply semi to glossy finish, I can highly recommend the Mohawk aerosol spray nitrocellulose lacquer. It gives a nice slightly amber finish, and as a true solvent borne spray is quick drying and builds very nicely with 2-3 coats.
http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=430
Wha' DIYa know? said:
FWIW, I don't think you'll find a true spray lacquer at Home Depot - most likely they'll have Zinser shellac, or Tremclad / Varathane polyurethanes (which is probably close to what you've already used)
The specific product I've used before is:
http://www.richelieu.com/produit/detail.php?fr=pgr&no=M1020412
If you're interested, the distributor in Calgary for Mohawk Finishing Products is:
Richelieu Hardware
5211 52nds Street SE
403-203-2099
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