u/CryptoDanc3r

Never worked with gel stain before. I recently decided to re-finish an old dining table. I stripped, sanded, applied regular thin layer solvent based stain. Then I asked the salesman in a paint shop what he would recommend to finish in my case. He sold me on the clear gel stain.

One top coat later, it looks great, but the surface is soft and tacky. It's been a week after application.

I now want to re-finish with actual hard varnish. Would I be okay lightly sanding and applying the varnish or should I strip the top coat?

It would be awesome if I don't have to re-do the base dye stain completely.