Small Cracks in CA finish

[StuartCovey]

Ok, so I recently noticed a problem I'm having. This has only happened to three pens out of the, probably about 150 pens, I've made in the last couple months.

Small cracks are starting to show up in the three pens that I made well over a month ago. The pens were not even made at the same time.
I attached some pics of what I mean.

Is this too much accelerator? What I don't get is why it doesn't show up for a month. And why it only appears in a few random pens.

Right now I'm using about 3-4 coats of thin CA and then 3-4 coats of medium CA on top of that with a spray or two of accelerator between each coat.

Back when I made those pens I think I was using all medium CA.

 

[1080Wayne]

Were all three x-cut materials ? They will move differently with changing temp/humidity conditions than lengthwise grain .

Very thick finishes can take a long time to cure . I suspect use of an accelerator gives a fast start to the cure but may not have much effect on the endpoint .

 

[Olsarge]

I think if you searched "cracked ca" in the search box on the home page, you will probably get more information on the subject than you want. I know I did.

 

[StuartCovey]

I know this has been dealt with before. And I just used the search box and found several previous threads. But none of them experience the cracking developing a couple months after making and assembling the pen.

I have changed the way I apply the CA since when I made those pens, so all I can do is hope that they won't crack in a month. And hopefully I haven't sold the pen by then.

 

[TBCbushings]

If mine crack its right away. I found out that its old ca glue. I use new glue and problem goes away, but I am not sure if that was a fix but it worked for me. I have not had one show up months later with cracks only right away...
Brian

 

[Ted iin Michigan]

Although your pics show the cracking a bit different than I am used to seeing, cracking almost always suggests to me that there is an issue with the CA. And very often it has to do with age of the CA. Some folk will say that they can use old CA but when mine gets into its 5th month and there is quite a bit of "air" in the bottle, it's time to get a new bottle.

I had some nasty issues until I changed my protocol (love that word!) and (so far) the issues have not recurred.

By the way, I use Stick Fast CA - almost always thin - with a shot of accelerator every 2nd or 3rd coat. I use the canned accelerator (not the pump spray) as I think it gives better thin coverage.

 

[StuartCovey]

Although your pics show the cracking a bit different than I am used to seeing, cracking almost always suggests to me that there is an issue with the CA. And very often it has to do with age of the CA. Some folk will say that they can use old CA but when mine gets into its 5th month and there is quite a bit of "air" in the bottle, it's time to get a new bottle.

I had some nasty issues until I changed my protocol (love that word!) and (so far) the issues have not recurred.

By the way, I use Stick Fast CA - almost always thin - with a shot of accelerator every 2nd or 3rd coat. I use the canned accelerator (not the pump spray) as I think it gives better thin coverage.

The CA being old is definitely a possibility. I think I might have been using older CA on those pens, but am not positive.
I'm using new CA right now and have been for the past couple of weeks, so I will wait and see what happens.