Liberty Plexi-tone Finish Hemlock Acorn Blank

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TonyL

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Mar 9, 2014
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First time using a mixture of Plexiglas and acetone (thanks to thewishman).
We all know where the Liberty comes from.
Blank is from MarkD - red with hemlock acorns I think. I love his blanks.

No wet sanding. Abranet to 600, then Tripoli compound, white diamond, and two finer compounds from Caswell (6163, and 6165). Then Maguire's 105, 205 and Rejex. The 105 and 205 wasn't necessary. Rejex is just synthetic wax used to protect and slightly deepen the shine. All visible scratches were removed after the buffing (10 x magnification).

Applied 40 coats of plexi-tone in about 6 minutes. No accelerator.

Questions, comments, criticisms are all cheerfully welcomed.
 

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TonyL

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Mar 9, 2014
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Thank you all.

I have am too inexperienced with the finish to provide a fair appraisal of its durability, colorlessnes, etc. over time.

As far as the application/cost, I found it easier and more forgiving then CA in terms of:
Not getting things stuck together that you don't want to
Not needing accelerator (I understand that one doesn't need it for CA either)
It's very inexpensive (assuming it holds up)
Less sanding...no real ridges to speak of (again, can be overcome with CA too).
Time: you can apply 30 to 40 coats in less than 10 minutes (less than 5 once you get going).

I found getting a application consistency/viscosity less than half way between thin CA and medium CA to be one of the keys to it. The acetone has to evaporate quickly to allow for the next application of "plexi-tone". Too thick and that won't happen, too thin and you will just be applying acetone.

I think just like a CA finish, experience will serve as my best teacher and time will tell.

I am going to finish several all-wood pens over the next few days and see how it goes.

Thanks for the comments and questions.
 

Charlie_W

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Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
5,918
Location
Sterling, VA USA
First time using a mixture of Plexiglas and acetone (thanks to thewishman).
We all know where the Liberty comes from.
Blank is from MarkD - red with hemlock acorns I think. I love his blanks.

No wet sanding. Abranet to 600, then Tripoli compound, white diamond, and two finer compounds from Caswell (6163, and 6165). Then Maguire's 105, 205 and Rejex. The 105 and 205 wasn't necessary. Rejex is just synthetic wax used to protect and slightly deepen the shine. All visible scratches were removed after the buffing (10 x magnification).

Applied 40 coats of plexi-tone in about 6 minutes. No accelerator.

Questions, comments, criticisms are all cheerfully welcomed.

Tony, I think you need a cheat sheet so you don't forget where you are on that long list of steps! Go answer the phone, come back and you can't remember where you left off!......start over.....go get some coffee.......start over....go to the bathroom.....start over....maybe there is an app for your phone!:biggrin:

Anyway, Nice looking job on the pen!
 

KenV

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Oct 28, 2005
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4,720
Location
Juneau, Alaska.
I finished chuckling about hemlock acorns. The hemlock trees in the back yard are shedding cones this time of the year and I get to sweep them up. Hemlock trees are conifers.

We also have water hemlock that grows in the wet sites (the juice of which Socrates drank) and they do not have acorns either.

Neat pen well done!!!!!!!
 

MarkD

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Jan 24, 2011
Messages
2,293
Location
Sayre, PA
Nice Pen Tony!
The finish looks great.
May have to give that method a try when I get back to making pens.
 

TonyL

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Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
8,904
Location
Georgia
Thank you both. Your blanks are among my favorite.

And it's not my method...any member was kind enough to share it with me (and answer about 50 phone calls from me...ok, maybe 40!). Ken, either the hemlock pcs are perfect for turning or Mark has a lock on a practically void-less process. I did use my Thompson for these and did coat with plexi to maintain some strength as I turned (or the illusion of strength...I also had my grinder go out on me which has since been replaced, but not mounted LOL).

Hi Charlie: I don't know what you mean..."Hey, there goes a squirrel!"....but happy to provide the details. Actually, I will paste the link later. "Hey, that squirrel is trying to bury my acorn pen!" :).
 
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