How Long Does An Oil Based Stain Take To Dry?

How Long Does An Oil Based Stain Take To Dry

Want To Share This?

Oil based stains do require a bit of drying time but there may be a bit of confusion when it comes to the CORRECT amount of drying time...

There are many variables to drying times when it comes to oil based stains and there are the "recommended" times.

But there is also a minimum time standard that a lot of people use and the application process can actually dictate the drying time as well.

I will tackle all of these questions in this article and give you the recommended time frame per the manufacturer recommendations, what other woodworkers say and some other helpful info along the way. Hope you find it constructive!

The Standard Oil Based Stain Dry Time (Generally Speaking)...

It is important to note that standard drying times will have an "ideal temperature range" of around 70 - 80 degrees and 50% relative humidity. The standard dry times are pretty similar across the board when it comes to oil based stains and is as follows:

Indoors: Most oil based stains will be dry to the touch in 1-2 hours and a recoat can generally be applied in roughly 2 hours. A recommended time of 8 hours (minimum) is recommended before applying a topcoat.

Outdoors: The average dry time for outdoor stain (or outdoor projects that will be receiving stain) will range from 24 - 72 hours generally.

A Look At Different Manufacturer's Oil Based Stains (Dry Times):

I always like to get a small list of manufactures that make the specific products or tools I am looking at to get an "overhead view", if you will, to see some of the common elements (dry time in this case) and that gives me an accurate representation, for the most part.

Minwax Oil Based Stain Dry Time:

Minwax has many different oil based stains that are available in a liquid form, a gel form and an aerosol but they are all oil based stains. They also have a few variables when it comes to their oil based stains (standard stain and performance stain).

Minwax's Standard and Performance (Oil Based) Stains: The drying time for Minwax's standard and performance stains require the same amount of "recommended" drying time for all of them which is 8 hours but re-coat times will vary depending on what product you use (2-12 hours on average).

Minwax's Gel (Oil Based) Stains: The gel stain that Minwax makes requires a more significant amount of drying time, 24 hours! The re-coat time required for the gel stain is between 8 and 10 hours, in case you were wondering.

What Varathane Stains Take:

Varathane has a similar assortment of stains, like Minwax and a standard stain (liquid), an aerosol and a gel based stain. They all differ when it comes to dry times as well, between the different products.

Varathane does not give a recommended dry time for clear coating when it comes to their standard stain but they do for their gel stains, so I am assuming they are along the same time frames.

Also note that Varathane gives their dry times in a controlled environment that is between 70 degrees and 80 degrees and 50% humidity.

Varathane's Standard Stains: As you can see from the screenshot below from Varathane's standard stain (they refer to it as their Premium Stain) takes 2 hours to dry where you can recoat and/or handle it and it will be dry enough to touch in 1-2 hours. It does not state how long it takes to dry before you can apply a topcoat, like the gel stain chart (below).

Varathanes Standard Stain Dry Time

Varathane's Gel Stains: Varathane's gel stain does take the same amount of time to dry, when it comes to being able to handle it and apply a recoat (between 1 and 2 hours) but requires a minimum of 8 hours to dry before you can apply a topcoat.

Varathanes Gel Stain Dry Time

Behr Oil Based Stain Dry Times:

I wanted to mention that during my research Behr lists all of their "wood stains" in a specific category. But these were not oil based but also acrylic based.

I just assumed that these are the products that people were inquiring about but they did not realize that they were acrylic based, so a heads up before reading on.

Behr's Wood Stains

Behr's stains were pretty easy to navigate the dry times because nearly all of their products had the same recommended time frames. Out of the many different products that Behr offered, the standard answer was:

Behr stated that you will need approximately 1 - 2 hours until the stain was dry to the touch, at which point you can apply another coat (recoat) if you wanted to.

They called for 24 - 48 hours before light foot traffic could be used on the surface, which probably is referring to wood decking, etc.

Finally, a 72 hour recommendation was made for the stain to completely cure.

What About Cabot's Oil Based Stain Dry Times:

Cabot had a lot of different types of oil-based stains to choose from but as I started researching the various drying times it really seemed to boil down to one recommended time frame...

Cabot's website literature recommended a 24 hour dry time for most of their oil based stains. Some of their stains recommended a 24 - 48 hour dry time, like their Australian Timber Oil.

Here are some of the products that had a 24 hour (minimum) drying time recommendation:

  • Cabot Gold
  • Cabot Australian Timber Oil
  • Cabot Solid Color Oil Deck Stain (#1600 Series)
  • Cabot Solid Color Oil Deck Stain, VOC (#7600 Series)
  • Cabot Semi-Solid Deck and Siding Stain (#1400 Series)
  • Cabot Semi-Solid Deck and Siding Stain (#17400 Series)

The above examples are just some Cabot stains that had that 24 hour recommended dry time but I just wanted to list a few specific examples so that you had a pretty good idea of what the "general consensus" was.

Osmo's Recommended Dry Times:

Osmo Oil Based Wood Stains

Osmo is a stain that I am not too familiar with myself, I must admit. But a lot of people were inquiring about their oil based stains and the amount of time it takes to dry.

There was a very specific answer which stated that they recommend 12 hours at 73.4 degrees (F) and a humidity level of 50%. They also stated that if the temperature was lower and/or the humidity was higher, the drying time could be longer than that 12 hour recommendation.

Interior Stain VS Exterior Stains...

Interior and Exterior stains were a little bit varied when it came to dry times and I assume a lot of that is due to the environment.

In an indoor setting, the air is usually warmer and can be controlled with a much lower humidity level (depending on where you live).

An outdoor environment will have temperature fluctuations, as we all know and can differ by 20 degrees or more in some cases.

 The humidity levels are usually higher too, especially when you consider the ambient moisture in the air that is present, especially at night and in the early morning hours.

In general an "outdoor stain" will take a little longer to dry and I have seen that the general time frame is usually extended to 24 - 72 hours, compared to the 6 - 24 hour indoor general time frame.

How Can I Speed Up The Drying Process?

There are certain ways you can speed up the drying process but it is important to note that sticking to the recommended drying time is always your best bet.

Stain penetrates the surface so if you speed up the process, it won't allow the stain to penetrate as deep, among other things that can also happen. With that disclosure out of the way, let's get down to how you can speed up the process...

Higher temperatures: Manufacturer's usually use an "ideal temperature" when citing their dry times for their stains and these are usually around the 70 - 80 degree range, or somewhere close to that.

If you were to have the piece you are working on in an even warmer environment (80 - 90 degrees), then it would cut down those drying times significantly.

Be careful of too extreme temperatures that exceed 90 degrees, as the stain can dry in minutes but will have very little penetration into the surface and the end results could be unexpected (in a bad way usually).

Use a fan: A fan is a good way to promote drying the stain and will not have as severe adverse effects like an extreme temperature would.

Oscillating fans will work better than a stationary model due to the constant movement and a more even drying pattern.

Apply thinner coats: Thinner coats of stain will dry much faster than applying thicker coats, just like anything that is applied too thick. In some cases, people who apply a stain too heavy can wait 1-2 days and still report that the surface is "tacky to the touch" and is very counterproductive.

You can apply the stain and then take a clean cloth/brush or applicator pad and wipe off the excess. You can do this several times if you want to make sure the stain is as thin as possible. You do run the risk of taking off stain as well using this method.

Want To Share This?

About the author

Ryan

I have been in construction nearly my entire life and have a fascination with tools and love when they make my life easier. Match that with my "research addiction" and you create something like this website!

2comments

Leave a comment: