Hi,
Im new to the board and Im having a problem with the finish on a 30" flooring medallion that I recently installed. I assembled the medallion using white oak, cherry, and brazillian walnut on a 1/2" baltic birch base. I routed out the shape in my floor which is white oak with a cherry stain and gloss finish. I installed the medallion and stained it with the cherry stain and allowed it to dry. I applied one coat of Minwax clear gloss (oil based) to the medallion 4 days ago. The poly on the walnut part of the medallion has yet to dry. The remainder of the medallion is totally dry. Is this normal or did I do something wrong? I would like to sand it and apply one more coat if it ever dry.

Thanks in advance

Oil and brazillian walnut don't work well together. It may never dry.

Gary knows more about this, but it has something to do with the oilyness of the wood, that being brazillian walnut, and several other exotics, that are oily in nature.

What Perry said.

Any suggestions on finishes. The medallion looks really nice, I just cant walk on it . If I sand just the medallion and refinish it with water based products do you think this will solve my problem? Will a sanding sealer followed by poly work? I am stumped.

Thank

Yeh, I'm afraid that is the case. The oils in the wood interfere with the oils in the finish. When finishing some of those oily exotics, waterbased sealers have performed well. So would a shellac universal sealer. If it doesn't dry, you will have to sand that goo off and start over. If you sand it off, when your done sanding, wipe the raw wood down with acetone right before you're ready to seal it. Wipe it down with a soft cloth dampened with acetone, wait about five minutes for the acetone to evaporate, then apply the sealer, either waterbased or wax free shellac.

I appreciate the help you guys have given me, this thing has had me stressed out all week. I will sand it down and follow the step you have outlined.

Thanks again.

Stressed?

Geesh. I don't blame you, that would put me over the edge. Hang in there, and in the end the challenge will add to the appreciation. Since you've already experienced adhesion issues, I'd heed Gary's advice and use shellac as sealer before you go for a finish. Good Luck!!

De-waxed shellac? Gee. who makes such a thang? hoho

Park's Universal Sealer and Zinsser's Seal Coat (both the same product, different label) are wax-free shellac. If your are going to use shellac, you could substitute de-natured alcohol instead of the acetone. Just allow a few more minutes as the alcohol doesn't evaporate quite as quickly as acetone.