African Blackwood...HELP!!

[Tubby]

Question folks,

I was attempting to put a CA finish on some pen blanks I had done in African Blackwood and I keep getting the dredded "Ghost" finish.[xx(][xx(]I drill the blank slow, watched for heat buildup also. I have NEVER had a problem with my CA finish on any wood until now. Virgil attempted it several times as well with no luck.[}] Is there a trick I am missing or need to use another finish on this wood?? Any advice would be appreciated.


Thanks

Ed Jordan
Wichita Falls Tx

 

[Scott]

Hi Ed!

If by Virgil you mean Don, well, if he can't get it to take, then you otta just throw the thing away! [}]

You will find some pens that just will not take a CA finish. Maybe it's the oil content in the wood, or the condition of the surface of the wood. Could be the humidity in your shop or the temperature. There are times when I've accounted for all these things, and it still won't take. Maybe it's the phase of the moon or the color of my aura!!!

First of all, don't let one ornery pen get you down! Take all the precautions you can think of - use nice fresh glue, wipe down the wood with acetone before applying the CA (and let it dry!), take extra care in every step. I have had CA work just fine on blackwood. You will probably be successful. But do understand that no matter what anybody says, there are pens that don't work out, and we don't know why, but they just don't. This is a good excuse for keeping spare brass tubes on hand for every kit, so you can 'chuck' the recalcitrant one into the trash bin, and turn something else.

Good Luck!

Scott.

 

[davidrei]

Did you use liberal amounts of DNA before putting on the CA? I'm thinking it could it be that the oil in the wood is accelerating the curing. Blackwood is very oily (at least the stuff I have is)

 

[JimGo]

I agree with Dave. I've successfully done CA finishes on Cocobolo, Lignum Viate, and African Blackwood, but only after I gave them a good wipe-down with DNA first. If you don't wipe it with DNA (Scott's suggestion of Acetone may also work; I haven't tried that), the oils can get in the way and you'll get a junky finish.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by davidrei
<br />Did you use liberal amounts of DNA before putting on the CA? I'm thinking it could it be that the oil in the wood is accelerating the curing. Blackwood is very oily (at least the stuff I have is)

My thought also. My experience with African Blackwood is it doesn't need a lot of help, very nice wood all by itself. Can almost leave nekkid. I think almost any finish other than CA would work fine.

 

[Tubby]

Thanks for all the replies. Yes Don actually attempted to apply the finish 2 times last night (using DNA between grits while sanding) and it still looked awful. Looks like I have a new pen, or some nice looking firewood[B)]

Ed Jordan
Wichita Falls Tx