polyurethane tortoise table question

[Plowmandust77]

I've used 3 coats of Poly oil based minwax fast drying on my tortoise table. It has been drying out in my basement for about 3 weeks, and the it smelled cured until I turned up the ceramic heaters on. Now it's been about a week, the fumes have went down considerably and I burp the tank and run fans in the tank every day. The heat gets up to 82-to 84 degrees.

Will this just take more time? I've noticed a drastic change in the fumes since the heat as been cranked up.


Thanks for any help

 

[Yvonne G]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question, but that sure is a nice-looking table. Too bad it's so big. It would help to put it out in the sun.

 

[KevinGG]

@Markw84

 

[Markw84]

Not sure what temp you had before where the enclosure is located. Polyurethane normally needs temps of at least 65f to cure at all, and 75f+ is recommended with less than 50% humidity. If cooler and more humid it takes a lot longer. When applying additional coats, did you let it get dry to the touch before adding the next coat? If it was still tacky, the will greatly increase your times to cure it now. If temps are below 65f, it probably will not cure properly at all until the temperatures rise.

Whenever I paint an inside to an enclosure, I crank up the heat in the enclosure to facilitate curing. Once your temps are above 75f and humidity is below 50%, it should be OK in 5-7 days. You want the surface to feel completely smooth, with no tackiness. There will still be some smell of fumes even when it is fully cured, and safe to use. That takes a while to go away.

 

[Plowmandust77]

Im going to add my fan and close the table up. I see roughly 80 plus. The smell is very faint but taking no chances.

 

[Shaif]

Beautiful enclosure. How big is it? Very nice!

 

[Plowmandust77]

Its 12 feet by '32 inches. Thanks

 

[Plowmandust77]

Added a 250 watt ceramic heat emitter I had laying around and put it into the middle fixture. The temp in the table is roughly 99 degrees, unless if they hydrometer is pegged! Seems like its curing very rapidly now.