Reprinted with permission of Ron Bryze, author of "The College of Wood Finishing Knowledge: a Guide to the Business of Finishing Wood." Ron has over 35 years of experience and offers classes in wood finishing. Learn more at his website, www.ronbryze.com.
Temperature certainly does affect the dry time of both stains and finishes. An important step in the drying process is the evaporation of the solvents from these liquids. Only after the solvents evaporate can the liquid level out and start to form a film. The higher the temperatures, the faster the solvents evaporate… Think pot of water on a hot stove, only a lot more flammable. So if the temperature is lower than normal, then the solvents evaporate more slowly and it takes longer than normal to dry...
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