Finishing fix needed QUICK!!

[LYU370]

Putting the final touches on a cradle. It's poplar, one coat of reddish brown dye, then one coat of cherry gel stain. Let both dry 24hrs, then last night I put on the first coat of Seal-A-Cell, noticed finger prints on a couple of pieces. Looks like the seal-a-cell may have dissolved some of the stain (just guessing) and came off on my glove?? Did I leave it on too long before wiping off? But the big question, any idea how I go about fixing that? And what's even worse, the baby shower is this Sunday and I still need to put more coats of finish on.

Thanks!

[atgcpaul]

Putting the final touches on a cradle. It's poplar, one coat of reddish brown dye, then one coat of cherry gel stain. Let both dry 24hrs, then last night I put on the first coat of Seal-A-Cell, noticed finger prints on a couple of pieces. Looks like the seal-a-cell may have dissolved some of the stain (just guessing) and came off on my glove?? Did I leave it on too long before wiping off? But the big question, any idea how I go about fixing that? And what's even worse, the baby shower is this Sunday and I still need to put more coats of finish on.

Thanks!

Give them an IOU. I have never found gel stain to be sufficiently dry in just
one day. Make sure you're putting the gel stain on in a warm area or it will
take even longer to dry. You'll obviously have to fix the finger print areas
but you need to let it dry longer. Also do it on scrap at the same time. When
you think you're ready for Seal-A-Cell, work on the scrap first. If the coast
is clear, then work on the cradle.

I've never worked with Seal-A-Cell (it's solvent based wipe-on, right?). You
can spray on a coat of dewaxed shellac, then put on the Seal-A-Cell or
switch to something else like lacquer. The shellac will dry fast and make a
barrier between the stain and your final finish so it won't "melt" again.

Paul

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Gel stains are great for certain projects where you want the finish to sit on top of the wood to even out the color. As you have figured out, certain solvents, such as mineral spirits in Seal A Cell can cause the gel stain to become somewhat liquid again.
Repair to the area would include either using mineral spirits to blend the areas together or spot treatment with the gel stain. Seems just putting a little gel stain in the affected area and wiping it until it matches surrounding area would be the way to go.
You do not need to leave Seal A Cell or Arm R Seal on the surface before wiping off the excess. While there is some penetrating oil characteristics to Seal and Arm R I believe the amounts left behind after wiping off are adequate. There is particularly no point in leaving the coat on the surface to penetrate as 1) you have gel stain sitting on top of the grain and 2) you are using poplar so there is no grain to pop or real finish depth issues.
Paul, makes a good point with the spray on shellac for future projects, however seeing as how you have already put the first coat of finish on the project, shellac probably isn't going to help too much. Once you have repaired the gel stain in the affected area with additional coat of gel stain let it dry 24 hrs. Then try a light coat of Seal A Cell just in those areas, blending into surrounding areas. Let that dry to 12 hours, then begin additional coats of Seal A Cell. 3 coats should be sufficient.
Side note you probably figured out is don't touch any finish before it is dry, regardless if you are going to wipe down at a later point. Also, as noted the shellac is a great idea with gel stain since gel stain will not react with the alcohol solvent in shellac as much as it does with a mineral spirits based finish.

[LYU370]

I normally never use a stain, usually just go with the bare wood finished with seal-a-cell & arm-r-coat. Just looked on the General Finishes website, think I goofed....

An unusual combination of oils and urethanes, Seal-A-Cell Clear for decades has served craftsman as the best way to get the that "natural" look on beautiful woods that aren't to be stained. The oils penetrate deep within the wood to highlight the warm natural look and the urethane insures a deep hardness. Follow with multiple coats of Arm-R-Seal topcoat. Seal-A-Cell can be wiped on or applied with a foam brush.

Oops.... Live & learn.

[drumpriest]

Yes, I think you are correct about goofing, it's very confusing though if you arn't familiar, so you certainly shouldn't feel bad. A stain will do much the same sealing as Seal a Cell, Arm R Seal is probably what you were wanting, though I don't use it for stained projects either.

Arm-r-seal is nice, but the included oils are really only there for helping color natural wood. If a stain is used, might as well go with a wipe on poly, quicker dry time, easy to apply, etc...

You weren't wrong about dissolving the stain though, that certainly can happen when applying a topcoat. The stain really needs to cure a bit before applying a topcoat, or you'll find that your finish lightens significantly, or could become uneven.

Just what I've experienced.