Arm-R-seal and Varathane

Did you mean to post a picture? Or explain the issue?

Did you wipe off the excess stain after about 5 minutes?

-- Nathan, TX -- Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

In my experience, this is not unusual. The solvents in the poly will dissolve the stain and streak it. This is a bigger problem if you don’t sufficiently wipe off the excess stain. You can prevent the problem if you apply a thin coat of shellac Seal Coat before the poly. This “locks” the stain in place. Stains are supposed to have a binder in them for this purpose. Maybe some are more effective than others. I haven’t tested.

Was it gel stain you used? If not it sounds like it wasn’t wiped away enough.

I always wipe off the excess stain after 5 minutes as Nathan suggested. I generally wipe it off, then follow with a clean rag for a second wipe off. I also let it dry overnight, then wipe it down one more time before applying Arm-R-Seal. There still will be some stain that shows up on the applicator, but not enough that the stain on the wood looks streaky or uneven.

-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"

One thing I’ve found with Varathane stains that have sat for any length of time is they have to be stirred quite a bit. The suspended pigment settles to the bottom of the can and it can thicken up quite a bit depending on how long it sat. I use strips of plexiglass to stir so as not to lose pigment being soaked up in a piece of wood.

It is Varathane’s Premium stain. I did have to mix it quite a bit, there was a lot of pigment at the bottom.
I let it dry for about 30hrs and it was dry and the clear coat applied with no wipe off. I’ve never had to let a stain dry that long. I’ve used Minwax and a commericial stain while at a cabinet shop and usually only had to dry overnight. Sounds like Varathane is a longer drying stain. Thanks for the replies.