diff --git a/src/lib/custom-style.html b/src/lib/custom-style.html
index ff791d650b..b3c86533b6 100644
--- a/src/lib/custom-style.html
+++ b/src/lib/custom-style.html
@@ -145,8 +145,18 @@
         // Allow all custom-styles defined in this turn to register
         // before applying any properties. This helps ensure that all properties 
         // are defined before any are consumed.
-        Polymer.RenderStatus.beforeNextRender(this, 
-          this._applyCustomProperties, [e]);
+        // Premature application of properties can occur in 2 cases:
+        // (1) A property is consumed in a style created before it is produced. 
+        // In general, we require custom properties to be defined before usage
+        // for elements so this case is only to be slightly more like native
+        // custom properties where this construction is supported.
+        // (2) A set of in order styles (A, B) are re-ordered due to a parser 
+        // yield A wait for textContent, making B go before A. This case
+        // can occur with native or polyflled webcomponents.
+        var self = this;
+        requestAnimationFrame(function() {
+          self._applyCustomProperties(e);
+        });
       }
     },
 
diff --git a/src/lib/render-status.html b/src/lib/render-status.html
index 493c76dd74..c4735260cb 100644
--- a/src/lib/render-status.html
+++ b/src/lib/render-status.html
@@ -50,8 +50,6 @@
     },
 
     _afterNextRenderQueue: [],
-    _beforeNextRenderQueue: [],
-
     _waitingNextRender: false,
 
     afterNextRender: function(element, fn, args) {
@@ -59,11 +57,6 @@
       this._afterNextRenderQueue.push([element, fn, args]);
     },
 
-    beforeNextRender: function(element, fn, args) {
-      this._watchNextRender();
-      this._beforeNextRenderQueue.push([element, fn, args]);
-    },
-
     _watchNextRender: function() {
       if (!this._waitingNextRender) {
         this._waitingNextRender = true;
@@ -79,14 +72,12 @@
     },
 
     _flushNextRender: function() {
-      this._waitingNextRender = false;
-      this._flushRenderCallbacks(this._beforeNextRenderQueue);
-      this._beforeNextRenderQueue = [];
       var self = this;
       // we want to defer after render until just after the paint.
       setTimeout(function() {
         self._flushRenderCallbacks(self._afterNextRenderQueue);
         self._afterNextRenderQueue = [];
+        self._waitingNextRender = false;
       });
     },