How To Dry Wood Stain Faster [Oil & Water Based]

The beauty of wooden furniture or boards can be enhanced by a great deal by the process of staining. There are various types and colors of wood stains. And with the perfect combination, you can pull out the glamour from the piece you’re working on and give your wood the look that fits perfectly with the vision you had in your mind.

Now, wood stain is a type of liquid paint-like substance that if applied correctly, penetrates the body of the wood and binds within. Unlike paint, it doesn’t stay on top of the wood only. So it soaks the color into the wood itself, making it less likely to go away.

The time the stain work stays in the wood is long. But so is the time it takes to dry after the application on the wood surface. You can’t use your piece before the wood stain dries off completely. As valuable time is, we all want to wait for as little as possible for the wood stains to dry.

So today we’ll gonna go through some simple tricks on how to dry wood stain faster and get better results.

The Things That Drying Time Depend On

a) Temperature

Temperature plays a vital role in how long the wood stains take to dry. Experts say that if the environment around the stained wooden piece is warm the stain work is more likely to dry faster than if it was in a cold environment.

In warmer weather, the chemicals in the wood stains tend to evaporate at a faster pace.  The solvent from the wood is then vaporized leaving the solute inside. The solute is the rich color that we see after the wood stain job.

b) Humidity

The second most important thing influencing the drying time of stain is humidity. Humidity is the measure of moisture in the air. So it’s clear from the definition that in a more humid environment, there will be more moisture in the air. This quantity most of the time determines how long stain takes to dry outside or inside.

Keeping these two parameters in mind, here are some tricks that you can use to speed up the drying time of stains.

7 Ways to Dry Wood Stain Faster [Oil & Water Based] & Polyurethane:

1. Using Heater

An easy way to dry the wood stains faster is to increase the temperature by using a permanent or portable heater. It is a great way to dry wood stains faster if you are working indoor. By turning the heater up the temperature gradually increases.

This results in all the liquid chemical that was inside the stain to start heating up. After it reaches the right temperature, it evaporates leaving only the solute behind. This results in getting an A-grade stain job on the wooden piece with very low drying time.

The faster you can get the air in the isolated room warmed up, the quicker stains will dry. So if the room is small or the temperature is high, both will work in the favor of faster drying. But remember not to overdo it, as way too much increase in temperature is bad for your skin and as well as the finished texture of the wooden piece.

2. Decreasing The Humidity Level By Air Conditioning

As we now know, humidity plays a big role in the dying time of the stains. With lower humidity, the air tends to draw out all the moisture from where ever it can to make equilibrium. And this is where indoor air conditioners come into play.

If you are using an automatic air conditioner, chances are you already have low humidity inside the room. You can manually turn down the humidity also by the remote. After the room reaches a low humid state, it will start operating the solvent from the wood stain and dry it out much more quickly. Read Also: 7 best finish for kitchen table

3. Using Dehumidifier

If you don’t have a proper air conditioner in your workplace then it’s wise to go for a portable dehumidifier. It is a great way to lower the humidity in an isolated system. This works the same way as the air conditioner but has a wider spectrum of control over the humidity.

4. Creating A Greater Flow Of Air

The other thing you can do to ensure a greater rate of drying wood stains is to create a consistent flow of air on the area where the recently stained wood piece is placed. You can achieve this by placing a fan in the room.

This will result in constant airflow. Airflow will move the evaporated solvent particle away from the wooden piece and make room for new drier air to sponge out more solvent. Otherwise, the place will get damped and the rate of wood stains drying will decrease significantly.

5. Ensuring Proper Ventilation

Stain not penetrating wood properly is the result of not having proper ventilation. You want to make sure that the wood properly absorbs all the applied stains. To do that, you will need to provide proper ventilation to the room.

In a well-ventilated room, there will be no leftover fumes from the evaporated solvents and the stains will penetrate and get absorbed quickly. This will result in a good speed of the wood stains drying.

You can simply open a window or two to ensure proper ventilation. Even though the rate at which ventilation impacts the speed of drying is low, but it sure is more than nothing.

6. Placing The Piece Outside

Think about it. If the outside environment is warm and less humid, dry, and usually have perfect ventilation, why not giving it a chance if possible. Many people ask, ”  how long does wood stain take to dry outside? “. The answer to that question is somewhere between 24-72 hours.

So it is advised not to move or touch the stained surface for at least a day. And if the natural environment is positive, placing the stained wood piece outside may be the perfect idea to dry wood stains quickly.

7. Using Oil-Based Stains

Water-based wood stain takes much more time to dry than oil-based ones. The rule of thumb is to let the stain dry for as long as 72 hours before applying water based polyurethane to ensure absolute safety. But practically you can get away with much less time.

For oil-based stains, you must let the wood stain dry for at least 8 hours before applying polyurethane. And for water-based stains, you must let it dry for a minimum of 24 hours before applying polyurethane.

Read More: Staining Wood Dark: 7 Tips to Get Darker & Richer Finish.

Final Verdict

In a world where time is money, wanting to do your job as quickly as possible is only natural. As most of the time, the application of wood stains is only a part of the whole project, having to wait until it gets dry is bothersome. So knowing how to dry wood stain faster is a must.

Staining your wooden pieces can change the whole look of it. A good job of wood staining can multiply its beauty and can make the woodwork much more vivid. So now that you know all the secrets to make your staining much more efficient and less time-consuming, get to work. If you have any more tips on how long to let stain dry before polyurethane, let us know in the comment section below.

Last Updated on September 2, 2021 by Rogers Weber

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