Same thing has happened to me..I found that in the winter scales take longer to cure (sometimes up to a week) due to the colder temps in the garage shop. In the summer it takes less than half the time. It is bette to pull them inside and put them in a closet (for the smell) to cure in the warmth. Adding to that I had to pay more attention to the mixture amounts in the winter..because of how tacky the end state would be...Of course saying all that, I have still screwed up quite a few scales. I am looking for a better finish. I been satisfied the most with Gun Stock finish so far..It takes more coats, but hte end state is the nicest... for me anyway, I am sure the pros have better stuff..I just haven't cracked the code yet...Good luck.