Thread: gel estapol over oil not drying?

Absolute Novice finisher here! Looking for assistance please.

I've turned some Salt and Pepper grinders on the lathe, (Sassafrass and Huon Pine) then sanded to 600, then oiled with Howards Orange Oil to bring out character of sassafrass. So far, so good. Colour changes show up beautiful. Pieces have a real smooth finish.

I didn't want to wax these as they are soft timber, and supposed to get handled a lot when put in use, so....

I had some Estapol Gel (wattle I think ??) that says its good for uses where you don't want runs etc. Tried to put a fairly thick coat on with smooth bristled brush and left 1 day to dry.

Some parts dried, some still felt tacky to touch. It looked like some of the spots were bare of finish even though I know I covered every part.

I decided on a second coat despite slight tackiness as tin says recoat in 8 hours and it'd been 24. I used a strong light over the piece to ENSURE i covered it all.

2 days later, same result. Some bits still tacky, some not as shiny and don't appear to have finish on them at all.

Temp here in Sydney is about 16deg max each day but raining slightly. Tin says not to use under 10deg.

What'd I do wrong? Was this the wrong finish over the oil???? Do I just need more drying time, or more warmth for coat to cure? Is the oil preventing Estapol from bonding to some parts??

I was planning on using EEE to smooth back afterwards cause the dry bits feel pretty rough compared to the finish I has before.

HELP!!!! Can I fix, or have I stuffed them?

(NB Picture shows them after they were oiled, before Estapol)