diff --git a/src/mol-gl/webgl/context.ts b/src/mol-gl/webgl/context.ts
index 4d2e8f8c832270c0b2ae4c23494cb597c06bcf22..fd74e707c6e300b2de593f1dd52fe63d0591c242 100644
--- a/src/mol-gl/webgl/context.ts
+++ b/src/mol-gl/webgl/context.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ const tmpPixel = new Uint8Array(1 * 4);
 
 function fence(gl: WebGL2RenderingContext) {
     return new Promise(resolve => {
+        gl.finish()
         const sync = gl.fenceSync(gl.SYNC_GPU_COMMANDS_COMPLETE, 0)
         if (!sync) {
             console.warn('could not create a WebGL2 sync object')