Epifanes Rapid Clear - Have I got myself a dodgy tin?

[alexincornwall]

Hi all,

I've been using Epifanes Rapid Clear for quite a few years - it suits my amateur wood coating skills and general lack of time/patience. Have never experienced a problem and have always been happy with the results - until now...

I have recently removed my oak companionway steps and brought home for a little freshening up. They weren't in bad nick but the leading edge of each step was showing some wear. Not entirely sure which product they'd been varnished with as the last coating would have been before my ownership. Anyway...

Attempt one -

Brand new tin of Rapid Clear, stored at room temperature and shaken/stirred thoroughly
Sanded back to almost bare wood with 80 grit on an orbital/multi sander
Finished with 240 grit
Vacuumed thoroughly
Used a tack cloth to remove any residual dust
Applied one thin coat of Rapid Clear
Allowed to dry in our extension (ambient temperature probably 20 degrees C)

The stuff just would not dry. Rapid Clear claims a re-coat drying time of 5-6 hours which I've always considered optimistic but not a million miles off. 24 hours - still very tacky, 48 hours - not much better - 72 hours, still tacky. Decided against coat two as I wasn't liking what I was seeing. Recounted my steps and concluded that the only thing I'd done differently was use a dedicated tack cloth. Decided that the cloth must have contained something that the Epifanes didn't appreciate (it was quite... tacky).

Attempt two -

Removed coat one using white spirit applied with a cloth
Allowed to dry thoroughly - tackiness and varnish virtually gone
Started over, this time with 180 grit, which took it back to almost bare wood. Chose 180 grit as I considered a little extra key might be useful
Followed all steps as per attempt one, minus the tack cloth and used a damp microfibre instead
Reapplied coat one - even thinner this time

18 hours later - still a little tacky. Nowhere near as bad as attempt one but why isn't this stuff drying? Epifanes recommends against thinning down the first (or subsequent) coats but I'm beginning to wonder. I'm half tempted to simply crack on with the next coats, put the steps somewhere peaceful, warm and dry and leave them for a week or so, but my better judgement tells me that something isn't right here.

Any ideas please?

 

[Concerto]

I had a similar problem with a varnish. I bought it some years earlier and never opened the can. When I applied it, it was sticky for a long time. I contacted the manufacturers and they said the varnish was old and undergone a chemical change. They did mention an addative, which I cannot remember the name of, that could be added to the next coat. I was only applying a single coat to seal the wood and a couple of weeks later it had dried fully.

It is possible that your new can had sat on the shelf for years and new stock placed in front with every delivery. Things like this can happen and I remember my daughter, whilst at uni working in a supermarket, she found a box of chocolate bars on the shelf that were over a year out of date.

My advice would be to talk to Epifanes and your supplier. They will probably replace the varnish to keep a customer satisfied.

 

[alexincornwall]

I had a similar problem with a varnish. I bought it some years earlier and never opened the can. When I applied it, it was sticky for a long time. I contacted the manufacturers and they said the varnish was old and undergone a chemical change. They did mention an addative, which I cannot remember the name of, that could be added to the next coat. I was only applying a single coat to seal the wood and a couple of weeks later it had dried fully.

It is possible that your new can had sat on the shelf for years and new stock placed in front with every delivery. Things like this can happen and I remember my daughter, whilst at uni working in a supermarket, she found a box of chocolate bars on the shelf that were over a year out of date.

My advice would be to talk to Epifanes and your supplier. They will probably replace the varnish to keep a customer satisfied.

Thank you. Yes, I spoke to Epifanes in Holland shortly after posting, very friendly and helpful. Gave them the batch number which was apparently manufactured in April 24’ so no issues there. They were a little mystified so have gone away to test the batch at their end.

 

[Supertramp]

I use Epifanes. I use normal satin mainly for interior wood and whilst it dries slowly, it is properly touch dry after 24 hours. When building up coats, I take care to leave plenty of time between coats - 2 coats in 24 hours is ok but add more too quickly and you can get "wrinkly" patches. It needs more time to cure or dry. The Satin varieties need really well stirred to distribute the 'satin bits' properly.

When building thick coats up I have used gloss polyurethane varnish (not necessarily Epifanes) and added two or three satin Epifanes coats on top with no issues. But that's because satin doesn't build up as well.

 

[Poignard]

I have been using Epifanes Rapid Coat (which I think is the same as Rapid Clear but with the addition of a teak-coloured stain) and never had a problem with unusually long drying times.

I think you're right to contact the manufacturers.

The only thing I can think of is ask you if the room where you tried to dry the steps is well ventilated.

I have found that when I have varnished things with rapid Rapid Coat in my garage they took longer to dry than if left outside, although admittedly not as long as you have experienced.

On warm breezy days in Brittany I have been able to get 3 coats on and dried on exterior woodwork in one day.

 

[johnalison]

I don’t know abut this product, though I have used other Epiphanes stuff. I had trouble with delayed drying when varnishing my tiller at home. I think that I read somewhere that some modern paints dry by curing, which needs humidity, rather than by evaporation of solvents. I found that doing my varnishing in the relative damp of the garage was much better than in my dry centrally-heated house.

 

[Yngmar]

Allowed to dry in our extension (ambient temperature probably 20 degrees C)

What's the relative humidity in there? I've had this phenomena in a garage where nothing would dry right, spray paint, varnish, nothing. Moved it out in the sun and wind and it was dry in a few hours. When I put a hygrometer in the garage I found out why - the place was very damp. It's not just the temperature. Humidity matters too. And ventilation.

 

[alexincornwall]

Thanks for all of the replies on this, very helpful. The good news is that my problems appear to have been solved - it was indeed the room I'd selected that the rapid clear didn't agree with. I did have windows open but there obviously wasn't enough air flow.

Moved the steps to another part of the house for coat two which allowed for a good flow of breeze and the second coat was touch dry within a couple of hours. I'm now four-coats in and everything is looking good. I would never have guessed that the ventilation would play such a key part to successful application.

 

[Hadenough]

Thanks for all of the replies on this, very helpful. The good news is that my problems appear to have been solved - it was indeed the room I'd selected that the rapid clear didn't agree with. I did have windows open but there obviously wasn't enough air flow.

Moved the steps to another part of the house for coat two which allowed for a good flow of breeze and the second coat was touch dry within a couple of hours. I'm now four-coats in and everything is looking good. I would never have guessed that the ventilation would play such a key part to successful application.

Had the same issue with Rapidcoat. being impressed with its performance on our exterior teak I decided to use it inside on the wheelhouse. It does not like confined spaces! I found that it prefers ventilation more than temperature. Great product though.