Dull finish

[RyanNJ]

I made up 3 jr gents for a customer out of amboyna burl from blanks that he provided me and the finish is dull on one, is there anything that I can do to make it shiny and make a happy customer

 

[1080Wayne]

Did you do anything differently on that one ? What pre-finish steps did you do ? What kind of finish did you use ? You won`t get answers without giving information first .

 

[renowb]

CA? Need more info.

 

[RyanNJ]

Ca finish and then wax. The pen is assembled at this point

 

[Lenny]

If there was some moisture present it may have clouded the CA finish. Your best option may be to disassemble it (fairly easy with the right set of punches) and mount it back on the lathe to be sanded down and refinished.

 

[leehljp]

How many coats of CA? Thin, medium or thick? Over the years here, we often see this problem when someone applies 2 or 3 or 4 CA layers with Thin or even medium. And applied with paper towel, more CA goes into the paper towel than on the wood. It is easy to have a "shine" that wipes off after a few days when there is not enough CA applied to begin with.

Calipers will help. Measure the sanded blank and then again after a few layers of CA and again after several. This way, you will know that you have a good built up layer of CA. Of course measure it after buffing so that you will know that you did not sand it back down too far.

 

[RyanNJ]

I usually do 7 coats of medium and check to see if it needs more

 

[jd99]

It's moisture most likely, as said above.

I used to have the same issue.

Here's my method.

Wipe the blank down with DNA.

I put 8 to 10 coats of thin, I use accerlerator after the 4th or 5th coat

then 8 to 10 coats of Medium, use accelerator same as above.

I stop the lathe and look at the finish after the first 4 or so if I don't have a shine, I know something is wrong and i fix it.

Then I let the CA cure a minimum of 24 hours, then wet sand, and mm, and polish with tripoli.

Here is one I did last night, I get this type of finish on all my blanks, even Cocobolo, which some say you can't do CA on.

Hope this helps.

Additonial note, I also seal the ends with CA right after I square the ends up (before I turn), that way there is no way for water to get soaked into the exposed end grain while wet sanding.

 

[leehljp]

Did you by any chance put the finished pens in a pouch, bag or box within 24 to 48 hours after finishing? The finish will sometimes dull when put into a box, bag or pouch too soon. Having a senior moment, I forget the term that is used when the CA does this, but it does happen. On several occasions, I have had a beautifully finished pen get dull on flights across the Pacific. If I finished a pen, and within 24 to 48 hours later put them in a bag in my luggage or carry on bag - then upon arrival back in the States, a recent finished pen would be dull.

CA needs to be cured for 48 hours to a week. The kicker is that some will do just fine while one pen will cloud or dull. It sure bugged me that 5 pens would be perfect and one would be dull.

Let me add in that it was not the "altitude" for me, as this problem of dulling and clouding in a bag, box or pouch has happened to many, when done before it was properly cured. This has been a topic on this forum for several years now. Not sure if this is the cause for you but it is another possibility.

 

[jd99]

Good point I forgot about the bag issue, it's true I had it happen a couple of times also.
Now I leave the pens sit out for a day or two to finish curing.

 

[danrs]

I appreciate the info here also. I have experience the same kind of dulling. Do you need to stand it up to cure it?

 

[jd99]

I appreciate the info here also. I have experience the same kind of dulling. Do you need to stand it up to cure it?

when I finish the blanks, I stand on end to let them cure, the finished pens, I just set on the plastic bag, and put them on a table in the house, after a day or two i put them back in the bag.

 

[Lenny]

Yes, that could be it ... I use to put my completed pen right back in the plastic bag "to protect it" :frown:

Unfortunately, the off-gassing of the CA glue can cloud the finish when sealed up like that!

 

[RyanNJ]

Thanks for the help!