First attempt at CA finish, came out better than I thought

[remington590]

This is a pic of an olivewood slimline I recently finished with CA. It was the first time I've attempted a CA finish and after applying coat after coat and not being pleased with the results, I finally gave it a rest for the night, came back the next day, sanded it down again and started over. I applied three coats of mylands wood polish, two coats of EEE Ultra Shine Polish, and 8 coats of thin CA all with a blue shop towel and this is the result. It is the best finish i've ever been able to achieve, do you guys feel like this is a good finish or should I have applied more coats or done something differently? I'm always looking to improve the quality of my pens and any constructive criticism is always welcomed!

 

[OOPS]

It certainly is a beautiful piece of wood. Sometimes we get lost in our quest for a "good and shiny finish" that we aren't sure if we've arrived when we get there. Is it shiny enough for you? Then you've been successful. IMHO, I like a little less shine on Olivewood because the grain looks so beautiful that I don't want to interfere with excess glare. Other people will differ. I don't see anything wrong with your finish at all. If I had done the pen, I would have stopped after the Mylands and the Triple E. If that wasn't shiny enough, I would have used a coat of semi-gloss or satin polyurethane. I guess its just a matter of personal preference. Some of the members in my turning club want their Olivewood pens to look as natural as possible, so they use Walnut Oil or Orange oil and don't typically put additional finish on. Other members use wipe-on poly for additional protection, but minimal shine.

I hope this helps. As you make more pens, you will decide how YOU want them to look.

 

[BSea]

That looks like a good finish to me. I think 8 coats is plenty. I think sometimes people tend to over think when applying CA. The best way to learn is to try it start to finish. Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect along the way. Once sanded, most if not all imperfections will go away. Most real problem occur because people think it isn't right, then proceed to sand off the CA. This results in white CA powder getting into voids. With olive it isn't much of an issue, but with other woods, it can be a real problem.

 

[robutacion]

Not that easy to see the finish from that pic but, I recognize that wood...!

The shape and fit looks pretty good and I'm wondering if all the troubles you have been having to achieve a good CA finish, has to do with all that stuff you are putting on the wood before you actually use the CA, more is not always better and I think that a common CA finish with 2 thin coats and 6 to 8 medium coats, will be enough to get you a nice supper deep/gloss/shiny finish.

You have to also remember that, even though Wild Olive is not as oily as the Olive tree itself, is always better to wipe the wood with acetone before applying the finish (prevention...!).

Well done.:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

 

[remington590]

Thanks everyone, I've got about 20-30 various wood blanks that I recently found hidden in my stash that I'm gonna keep experimenting the CA finish with. I will try out the tips you guys gave me and make notes of which woods look good with which finishing procedure I use.

 

[OOPS]

Sounds like a good plan. When I first started turning pens, Russ Fairfield told me the best way to practice is to NOT make pens. He told me to take some blanks, turn them so they are rounded, then practice sanding, micro mesh or whatever, then practice finishing. He said you could buy a dowel from Lowes and cut it into pieces and practice until you get the finishes the way you like them. I did not buy dowels, but I did make rounded blanks and try various finishing methods, and it was time really well spent. As a bonus, I can now refer back to some of those rounded blanks to see what Danish Wood Finish looks like, or Enduro. I found there is so much to learn that it is nice to have a few of these "reminders" around. Also, don't be afraid to keep posting. That's how we all learn!

 

[edstreet]

Olivewood, lets see here, this is a wood that has a very long time honored tradition of having no coating on it and it still looks good. At most oil it and you are good to go for a very long period of time.

A well sanded and buffed olivewood yields some truly remarkable sensations on the feel and you will be very hard pressed to find anyone who dislikes that feel. Having a coating on there hinders this fact. However not all olivewood would be ideal under this setup.

As previously mentioned that is a good amount of product on there, couple that with olivewoods natural oils and you have a less than desired surface for a CA finish. Also a CA finish would hinder the olivewood's anti-bacterial properties.

I have to say, there is nothing you can find wood wise that will trump olivewood's silky smooth feeling when well sanded.

 

[Dale Allen]

That pen looks great and I too really enjoy olivewood.
My concern would be the application of the CA over the polish.
I have done something similar in the past and the edges of the CA began to turn white and peal away from the blank, as though there was not a good adhesion.

 

[JohnGreco]

Nicely done. The thing with CA is you can ask 10 people how they do it and you will get 10 different answers. Is any one of those 'the' answer? Best bet is to experiment and see what you like and what sells for you to your customers. Do some craft shows, get direct feedback from shoppers and go from there. CA is a great, durable finish. It can be frustrating sometimes, but worth it in the end imho.