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Haze (the technical term is blush) is caused by too many coats applied too quickly. A recoat time of 12 hours is not enough dry time when applying over an EXISTING finish. To remove the blush or haze, you can either wipe the area with a strong solvent, like xylene or lacquer thinner, or you can try sanding out the haze and then reapply the topcoat.

White haze can develop when preparing an existing lacquer finish for re-coating. The haze needs to be removed before applying another finish.

To correct during oil based applications such as Gel Stain, sand lightly with sandpaper or a gray Scotch-Brite pad and then wipe down the surface with mineral spirits. Once the mineral spirits has dried completely, apply Gel Stain.

To correct for water-based applications, just sand lightly or scrub with a gray Scotch-Brite pad and wipe off the dust. Never use mineral spirits when using a water-based finish.

While Gel Stain can be applied over an existing finish, it was originally engineered for raw wood surfaces. We prefer applying the Gel Stain over a slip coat of mineral spirits instead of topcoat as shown in this video, "How to Apply Gel Stain to Raw Wood"

GF advises extra care and prep when applying any finish over laminate surfaces because they are specifically designed not to mar and therefore they are not very "sand-able", making adherence difficult.

In addition to this non-permeable surface factor, General Finishes Gel Stain is an oil-based product, and it is more difficult to obtain proper drying characteristics over a dense manufactured surface such as laminate. Gel stains, as all wood stains, were formulated to go over raw wood which has an "open" surface and can absorb some of the stain.

Hazing or a cloudy appearance can occur when applying a super matte finish over dark colors. In the paint industry, we call this DOI – Distortion of Image. The waxes that give Flat Out Flat its soft feel and the additional matting agents in the formula do not allow light waves to completely refract outward when used over dark colors. Plus, dark colors naturally absorb more light. DOI does occur over light colors, you just can’t see it. Best practice is to always test your finishing schedule before completing the entire project to make sure it meets YOUR satisfaction.

Water Based Stains will always exhibit a bit of bleed through. When glazing with any color over water stains, we recommend some type of seal coat is applied first.

A slip coat provides a very temporary barrier to apply stain over raw wood with less drag.

For example, we like to use a slip coat of mineral spirits when applying General Finishes oil-based Gel Stain to a raw wood surface to allow the stain to slice across the surface more easily. Or a slip coat of General Finishes Water-based Extender when applying our water-based wood stain.