so I've been refinishing an interior bench. The bench had a very old polyurethane/resin finish which I sanded completely off, there was nothing other than bare wood when I stained it. I stained the wood with a maroonish oil-based stain and let dry for 24 hours. I used a tack cloth to remove any residue that might have fallen on it and it felt good and clean, ready for the urethane finish.
I mixed 50/50 urethane with the safer mineral spirits they have out now (the more environmentally friendly stuff) for the first coat and I brush applied it lightly last night. I wanted to do a light sanding and apply another coat of 100% urethane this morning but parts of the finish from last night were still tacky while the majority of the bench was perfectly hard like I expected it to be.
Granted it's cooler (winter time) now but it's inside the house and parts of the finish dried just fine. Should I give it more time or should I use the mineral spirits to remove the tacky finish and reapply? Could the tack cloth have left some of its waxy residue on the wood which would cause the finish not to soak into the wood? I didn't rub the tack cloth into the wood by any means, just a light touch to pick up the crap.