Engraving - Need Advice!

[JoeyPerot]

OK...I had an olive wood pen engraved for a good friend of mines 44th birthday. I picked the blank up today and it looked great. I applied my CA finish BEFORE I had the engraving done as that is what the engraver recommended.

I assembled the pen today and went out a little later to grab it and noticed that some sort of oil/glue had gotten onto the blank and damaged the CA finish. I buffed it out on my buffing wheel as best I could but it left a small dull spot on the blank that I'm just not happy with.

So...here's my question...

Would it be a mistake to try and put more coats of CA (granted I can remove the clip from the blank) to both fill the engraving and fix the dull spot?

I'm concerned that by trying to disassemble the pen and put on more CA I may end up doing more damage and jeopardizing the look even more.

This blank has also been a "problem blank" from the start...just nothing was easy with this one...and I'm a little gun shy to even mess with it.

Thoughts?

Anyone in the Katy, TX area with experience CA/Engraving that might be available to assist? Have to get the pen to my friends wife by Sunday.

 

[thewishman]

In my experience, it may be easier to start that barrel over from scratch. Do you have another blank and do you have an engraver that could get it done in time?

If the answers to those questions is no, I wouldn't chance it. If you do have a backup plan, go for it.

 

[jttheclockman]

Joey it is tough giving someone advice on something like this because of the value to you and not being able to see the damage. But a couple things of note. If at all possible to just move the clip to cover the dull spot would be a quick fix. The other thing is did you fill the engraving with colorfill or did the engraver do it?? If you want to chance it you can first try filling the engraving with CA and let it dry and cure. Do not rub this because most colorfill will run or smear. Then add a layer or two of CA and finish and polish as normal. What this will do is now make the engraving flush with the top coat of the pen. You will not be able to feel the engraving. But before you add any more layers you need to clean the finish off by sanding very lightly or else the CA will not adhere to any polish you put on the pen when finishing.

These are just information points an it is your decision as to what you want to try. But one other thing, sometimes we are our worst critics. What our eye is drawn to most people would not even notice. Good luck.

 

[keithbyrd]

I think More4Dan is from Katy - don't know if he has experience with this or not but I suspect he does.
It is unlikely that the dull spot is on the surface - it could be oil on the blank. When I finish oily woods like olive I always wipe it down with alcohol to remove any oil residue, let it evaporate for a couple hours and then finish.
On this one you may have to sand it back down and refinish.
Depending on the size of the spot and style of clip JT may be right - move the clip!

 

[JoeyPerot]

Thanks Fellas...

I think I'm going to go ahead and give the pen to my friends wife so she'll have something to give him on his birthday. I'll start working on another and then replace it once I have it completed to my liking.

The spot is small and I seriously doubt anyone else would even notice it...my wife had trouble seeing what I was so upset about.

I also think I'll bring the next blank to the engraver sanded only and then apply the CA over the engraving. Will need to do some more research on that as this is my first engraved piece.

Thanks for your advice!

Joey

 

[BCnabe]

I have only done one but I sanded it, had it engraved and then did CA over that.

I was very happy with how it turned out.

I ended up putting enough CA on it to fill in the engraving until you couldn't feel it.

 

[campzeke]

The spot is small and I seriously doubt anyone else would even notice it...my wife had trouble seeing what I was so upset about.

You guys sound like my wife and I. I see the flaw and she says it looks good to her. Sometimes wonder if I am too picky. To me, a pen is meant to be used ... every day. That means every day the owner will be looking at it. If there is a flaw there, they will see it. Just my 2 cents...

 

[JoeyPerot]

I totally agree. I also understand that most people see paying $45-$75 for a pen is quite out of the ordinary. So...when someone spends that kind of money on an item they aren't used to spending more than $2 on I want to make sure they get the value they expect.

We're our own toughest critics but that's also what makes our products exceptional.

 

[farmer]

Your engrave

OK...I had an olive wood pen engraved for a good friend of mines 44th birthday. I picked the blank up today and it looked great. I applied my CA finish BEFORE I had the engraving done as that is what the engraver recommended.

I assembled the pen today and went out a little later to grab it and noticed that some sort of oil/glue had gotten onto the blank and damaged the CA finish. I buffed it out on my buffing wheel as best I could but it left a small dull spot on the blank that I'm just not happy with.

So...here's my question...

Would it be a mistake to try and put more coats of CA (granted I can remove the clip from the blank) to both fill the engraving and fix the dull spot?

I'm concerned that by trying to disassemble the pen and put on more CA I may end up doing more damage and jeopardizing the look even more.

This blank has also been a "problem blank" from the start...just nothing was easy with this one...and I'm a little gun shy to even mess with it.

Thoughts?

Anyone in the Katy, TX area with experience CA/Engraving that might be available to assist? Have to get the pen to my friends wife by Sunday.

This is laser engraving ? and you did the finish first ?

Take the piece to a trophy shop ,, have then laser engrave the wood .
Have them burn it in deep , Acrylic paint the laser engraved letters , sand the pen to get straight lines on the burnt in letters then put the finish on ...

 

[TurtleTom]

I usually leave it and say "I screwed up here, but hey, it's a learning process."