Exploration of the CA finish

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Brooks803

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Those of you that know me know that I'm a PR guy. I hardly ever turn wood...although I have an excellent stash of it :cool:. Well earlier this month I did a CA finish demo for our turning club and it got me thinking about levels of finish on CA. I myself prefer a non glossy finish on wood over the super duper shiny finishes we typically see/put on CA. So these past couple days I turned a series of wood pens and put different finishes to see what looked best.

Oh...and I did an open flame finish on one :doctor: :ghost: :biggrin:

Let's start with the typical super duper shine. This one is a Blk Ti Zen with a Stabilized Spalted Norfolk Pine blank:

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Then I went for a semi gloss finish. This is a Blk Ti/Chrome Aero with another Stabilized Spalted Norfolk Pine blank:

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After that I went for a Matte/Satin finish. I used a Gold Ti Stretch RB with an awesome piece of Amboyna Burl:

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Lastly is the Flame Finish. This was done just like the duck call flame finish on youtube only I did it with a butane torch. You do have to be careful of how close you get to the blank bc you can blister the CA if you get to close/hot. The only sanding I did on this was 400grit dry to smooth the CA. Nothing else was done after the flame finish. It gives a WONDERFUL flat finish. Perfectly smooth. (Caution! I did this on CA that had been curing for several days. Try this as your own risk!). I'll see what I can do about a short video on what I did later this week. Chrome Executive BP with Dyed Box Elder Burl:

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Thanks for looking! Comments/Critiques/Questions are always welcomed!
 
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Tom T

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Really nice, all 4 of them. Thanks for showing the different types. At your level they all the finishes look real good. Really nice work.
 

Rodnall

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At first I only wanted to do a matte finish on wood, thinking I wanted the wood to look like wood. But after trying a glossy finish on a burl pen, I find the glossy finish helps to show off the grain and chatoyance on those special blanks. I still prefer a matte finish for the rugged look on woods like Bocote or Cypress.
 
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Thanks for letting us enjoy these pens. They all look great. Is it a matte/satin finesh on the flame finesh? Or is it the light? Really looking forward to the video. Thanks.
 

avbill

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I just finished a spalted maple with a high gloss CA finish Did n't like the look. I took 0000 steel wool and took the gloss off and the pen looks great. ~~ You do not need to have CA finish glossy al the time
 

MarkD

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Nice work Jonathon. Can you explain what you did to get the semigloss and matte finish?

One thing I have tried in the past to get more of a matte finish is to go through the micro mesh as usual but then work backwards until I get the shine ( or lack of ) I'm looking for.

The flame finish sounds interesting. I'll have to try it on some scraps out in the driveway!
 

76winger

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Thanks for sharing Johnathon, I may be weird in that I tend like all of the gloss levels, but I think each has a place.

If I had to lay down some preferences, I would tend to favor the high-gloss finish on the higher-bling-level components while the satin and matte finishes might feel more appropriate for pens with with less bling factor. Mostly, I think a pen looks a little out of balance when the body has more shine than the components attached to it.
 

1080Wayne

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Interesting how we all see things differently . In my hands , the first two would have been semi-gloss , and the last two full gloss . All look good enough that you should chuck some more wood .

Not totally clear on the flame finish . Was the sanding before or after the flame finish ?
 
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Those of you that know me know that I'm a PR guy. I hardly ever turn wood...although I have an excellent stash of it :cool:.

I do my best to help him in the storing of said stash!!!:biggrin:


These pens look awesome you should see them in person the flame finish will blow you away
 

SDB777

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Who would have thought it.....Jonathan has wood, um....I mean he turned some wood on the lathe:wink:


That is a stash that deserves some respect...all wonderful timbers used!! And every finish has a level of quality far above and beyond 'typical' too!!!



On the 'flame polish'....how many layers of what kind of CA(thin, medium, thick) did you use, and what was your 'cure time' before the torch?




Thanks for the 'demo'!








Scott (where's the popcorn, this video is gonna rock) B
 

Hendu3270

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Everyone of these looks great. I was hoping you would explained your process for each method as well for the non-glossy creations.
 

Brooks803

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Thanks for letting us enjoy these pens. They all look great. Is it a matte/satin finesh on the flame finesh? Or is it the light? Really looking forward to the video. Thanks.

The flame finish has no gloss/shine/sheen/etc. to it. If I handed it to you and said it had a CA finish on it you wouldn't believe me. You can't see any reflection in it nor does the light bounce off of it. It looks like bare wood that's been sanded perfectly smooth.

Wow! Just wow! Those look awesome. Is that pine the stuff I stabilized for you?

It sure is Jeff! It turns so easily and I don't have to worry about it turning to powder anymore. Btw...how's that bowl blank doing? Still sopping wet or has it dried out some?

Who would have thought it.....Jonathan has wood, um....I mean he turned some wood on the lathe:wink:


That is a stash that deserves some respect...all wonderful timbers used!! And every finish has a level of quality far above and beyond 'typical' too!!!



On the 'flame polish'....how many layers of what kind of CA(thin, medium, thick) did you use, and what was your 'cure time' before the torch?




Thanks for the 'demo'!








Scott (where's the popcorn, this video is gonna rock) B

Thanks Scott. I used my typical CA finish on all of them. 2-3 coats of thin to seal the wood. Then 6-8 coats of medium. I do use activator between coats so just to be safe I let it sit for 3 days before trying the flame finish. I don't think it'd need to sit that long though, but I would experiment first on something plain and away from the shop! I'm prepping a blank to video today so hopefully I can have it done by the weekend.

Everyone of these looks great. I was hoping you would explained your process for each method as well for the non-glossy creations.

Yeah I guess I should have given those steps in my description huh? We had a bad storm last night and I was just able to post this before losing power. But either way here are the steps I did for each finish.

Super gloss: Start with 400grit and work up to 12000mm then I use PlastX to really shine it up.

Semi Gloss: Start with 400grit and only the first 5 MM pads (I want to say I stop with the burgandy one). Then I apply some EEE ultra shine paste wax to take out any small scratches. Then apply PlastX.

Matte/Satin: Start with 400grit and work up to 800grit but I add EEE to the sandpaper at each grit. Then I do EEE by itself on a paper towel. If it's still dull looking I'll add PlastX, but typically I don't.

Flame: Only smooth out the CA with 400grit and then apply the flame. NOTHING else touches the blank.
 

Hendu3270

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Everyone of these looks great. I was hoping you would explained your process for each method as well for the non-glossy creations.

Yeah I guess I should have given those steps in my description huh? We had a bad storm last night and I was just able to post this before losing power. But either way here are the steps I did for each finish.

Super gloss: Start with 400grit and work up to 12000mm then I use PlastX to really shine it up.

Semi Gloss: Start with 400grit and only the first 5 MM pads (I want to say I stop with the burgandy one). Then I apply some EEE ultra shine paste wax to take out any small scratches. Then apply PlastX.

Matte/Satin: Start with 400grit and work up to 800grit but I add EEE to the sandpaper at each grit. Then I do EEE by itself on a paper towel. If it's still dull looking I'll add PlastX, but typically I don't.

Flame: Only smooth out the CA with 400grit and then apply the flame. NOTHING else touches the blank.

Awesome! Thank you sir. Gonna have to check out this flame deal.
 

Bigj51

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It sure is Jeff! It turns so easily and I don't have to worry about it turning to powder anymore. Btw...how's that bowl blank doing? Still sopping wet or has it dried out some?.

Jonathan,

The blank is drying out nicely. It should be ready to stabilize really soon. Fortunately I live in a very very dry climate. If I could drill a 1" hole part way down the middle that would aid in drying the center. If you are making a hollow form then this would not hurt the piece at all. Let me know if you want me to do that.

Jeff
 

MarkD

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I used my typical CA finish on all of them. 2-3 coats of thin to seal the wood. Then 6-8 coats of medium. I do use activator between coats so just to be safe I let it sit for 3 days before trying the flame finish. I don't think it'd need to sit that long though, but I would experiment first on something plain and away from the shop! I'm prepping a blank to video today so hopefully I can have it done by the weekend.

Super gloss: Start with 400grit and work up to 12000mm then I use PlastX to really shine it up.

Semi Gloss: Start with 400grit and only the first 5 MM pads (I want to say I stop with the burgandy one). Then I apply some EEE ultra shine paste wax to take out any small scratches. Then apply PlastX.

Matte/Satin: Start with 400grit and work up to 800grit but I add EEE to the sandpaper at each grit. Then I do EEE by itself on a paper towel. If it's still dull looking I'll add PlastX, but typically I don't.

Flame: Only smooth out the CA with 400grit and then apply the flame. NOTHING else touches the blank.

There are a number of products that we use to remove scratches from our CA and acrylics finishes. PlastX, IEEE, Novis polishes, OneStep polish, and others. I know that some are more abrasive than others. It would sure be nice if we could somehow figure out the grit of the abrasives in these products and then we can decide which product to use for a specific need.
I have often wondered if a product I'm using is actually putting more ( all be it very fine ) scratches on a finish than the last product removed.
 

bobs pens 1

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I would like to ask a couple of questions on this excellent tread. What speed do you use when you start using your 400 grit? Do you use the same speeds on the pads and the polish or do you speed them up on any of them.

How long should you let your blanks dry be for wet sanding?

I tried last night and today about 10 hours. Is longer better?
 

Brooks803

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Bob I'm putting my answers below in red to keep it all organized.

I would like to ask a couple of questions on this excellent tread. What speed do you use when you start using your 400 grit? Do you use the same speeds on the pads and the polish or do you speed them up on any of them.

I stay at the same speed the entire time. Around 1300 RPM

How long should you let your blanks dry be for wet sanding?

Most say 24hrs or overnight. If you're using activator it cuts that time dramatically. Sometimes I don't wait at all and go straight to wet sanding. I've yet to have a problem doing this.

I tried last night and today about 10 hours. Is longer better?
 

Brooks803

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Oh...and I have been working on a video. I didn't like how things went yesterday so I'll be trying again tomorrow. Today I've got way too much casting to do :at-wits-end::biggrin:
 
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