We DO NOT recommend adding any drier accelerants or Japan Driers into any Waterlox products. In actuality, the drying of Waterlox is relatively quick for a conventional solvent-based product and most surfaces are dry within a few hours. The real concern is about getting a proper cure of each layer. See the drying, curing and ventilation guide for very detailed information about the drying and curing process.
Japan Driers/Oil Drying Agents
Oil drying agents, usually labeled as Japan Driers, can be found in many hardware stores. They are usually a metallic salt that helps oil based products pull in oxygen to help cure the coating.
Film-Forming Products
Waterlox film-forming (ORIGINAL, H2OLOX, MARINE, UNIVERSAL Tung Oil Sealer, and URETHANE) products already contain metallic driers and have been optimized to dry quickly, but not TOO quick. Additional driers may cause the surface to dry too fast and may inhibit the ability of the entire film to cure all the way through. This would actually cause more problems than having too little driers. Improper through cure can lead to softer films, lingering odors, tacky finishes or other problems.
Other Waterlox Finishes
The remaining Waterlox finishes (TRUETONE and PURE Tung Oil) actually contain no driers. Adding driers to these products would help them to cure faster, but because they lack the proper amount of resin (or don’t contain any resin as in PURE Tung Oil), they will not cure “tight” enough to make them waterproof. Adding driers to these products will usually result in water spotting.
