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Been seeing a lot of talk about using a hair dryer to speed up stain drying
I was super skeptical until I tried it on a maple table leg last week, holding the dryer about a foot away on low heat. It actually worked and cut the wait time in half without raising the grain. Has anyone else tested this on oil-based stains versus water-based?
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david8216mo ago
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is how the room's humidity plays into this. If the air is already damp, the dryer might just be fighting a losing battle and you could end up with a spotty finish. It probably works best in a dry shop. Also, moving the dryer around constantly seems way better than just pointing it at one spot, which I could see causing problems.
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sage_perry6mo ago
Man, you are SO right about the humidity. Tried drying a coat in my basement once and it was a total mess, just would not cure right. Moving the dryer around is the only way to go, otherwise you get those weird dry spots next to gummy patches. It makes a huge difference to keep the air moving over the whole piece. Your point about the dry shop is spot on, some environments just work against you from the start.
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piper1756mo ago
Yeah, cutting the wait time in half is a huge win. I read a woodworking blog that said low heat is key for oil-based stuff, but to be way more careful with water-based because the extra heat can sometimes make it set up weird or get tacky. They recommended a cool setting for those.
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