Adding to the list of CA Questions

[Wheaties]

I've tried a couple different ways with different results, but Here is my one question:

After I apply some medium CA with a paper towel, one coat at a time, making one pass each layer, it looks like you would expect. Semi-smooth but in definate need of sanding. So I go to sand and no matter where I start grit wise, I get the whiteness and it will NOT go away. What is going on and how do I not do this?

I have tried sanding from every range of grits all the way up to 12,000 MM and it's still white????

 

[JimB]

Soem pictures might help. Are you talking about some white like scratches or a lot of white as in the whole pen? You may need to clean your MM. You may have some material in it from the previous grits therefore you are never really getting to the 12000. You can also try a plastic polish after the 12000 MM. I find that eliminates any residue and eliminates any very fine scratches that are left. I use HUTS.

 

[Wheaties]

Sorry I don't have any pics at the moment

It's more like a white residue. I can lick my finger and rub it and it disappears for about 5 seconds then fades back to how it was. I don't get what the CA is doing?

 

[ed4copies]

Are you sure you are not leaving "paper towel dust", then covering it with the next coat (making it permanent)??

 

[Wheaties]

Are you sure you are not leaving "paper towel dust", then covering it with the next coat (making it permanent)??

Yeah, it looks good (or how it should) until I go to sand it.

Would curing time have anything to do with it? Maybe I need to let it sit longer (it's dry to the touch though)?

 

[hilltopper46]

CA has a stage where it has set but has not yet reached its final hardness. If you try to sand during this stage it will go white and gummy.

It won't act exactly the same way each time because of temperature and humidity differences.

I know this all too well. It took me way too long to learn. I still find myself doing it occasionally.

You can let it set longer, or, hit it with accelerator after it sets for a few (5 to 10) minutes.

I've started wet sanding CA lately and I think the water may also help it to get past this stage.

 

[Wheaties]

CA has a stage where it has set but has not yet reached its final hardness. If you try to sand during this stage it will go white and gummy.

It won't act exactly the same way each time because of temperature and humidity differences.

I know this all too well. It took me way too long to learn. I still find myself doing it occasionally.

You can let it set longer, or, hit it with accelerator after it sets for a few (5 to 10) minutes.

I've started wet sanding CA lately and I think the water may also help it to get past this stage.

I know it depends, but how long is long w/o using accelerator?

 

[jttheclockman]

Med CA takes alot longer to dry than thin CA. I always use the thin stuff and 4 coats is all that is needed. I suggest you also smooth it out more so by rubbing back and forth a few times. It will get some heat build up and help the CA start its drying process.

 

[igran7]

Are you wet sanding? I wet sand all my wood pens after I've applied CA to them. Basically once you put the CA on you have sealed the wood with plastic. At that point you treat the pen the same way you would polish up a plastic pen. Just dont apply as much pressure on the wood pen cause the CA is considerably thinner and you will "eat" through the plastic finish quickly.

 

[bitshird]

Several things, first don't start with medium CA, thin soaks into the pores of the wood and seals it like Joe sais, just let each coat begin to set, (finger dry) then put on the next coat, after three or four coats of thin, wet sand through 800 start with 400 then 600, Now apply 1 or two coats of Medium let it set a while or use accelerator, I use a cheap air brush, accelerator goes further that way, then wet sand again. I don't have any micromesh I just wet sand to 2000 and polish with chrome oxide on a commercial buffer, even better, look at William Young's tutorial on you tube for using BLO CA it works, 10 to 15 minutes to finish a pen and it really pops the grain, I still use CA straight on some wood/acrylic variants, but most everything else is BLO/CA and it looks great, it pops the grain even enhances Amboyna Burl dramatically, and gives a good hard durable finish.

 

[Wheaties]

Several things, first don't start with medium CA, thin soaks into the pores of the wood and seals it like Joe sais, just let each coat begin to set, (finger dry) then put on the next coat, after three or four coats of thin, wet sand through 800 start with 400 then 600, Now apply 1 or two coats of Medium let it set a while or use accelerator, I use a cheap air brush, accelerator goes further that way, then wet sand again. I don't have any micromesh I just wet sand to 2000 and polish with chrome oxide on a commercial buffer, even better, look at William Young's tutorial on you tube for using BLO CA it works, 10 to 15 minutes to finish a pen and it really pops the grain, I still use CA straight on some wood/acrylic variants, but most everything else is BLO/CA and it looks great, it pops the grain even enhances Amboyna Burl dramatically, and gives a good hard durable finish.

I have used William's method with some success. I get great grain color, but I lose the shine the next day or so. Am I applying too much BLO? Tonight I did this method but used very little BLO. I will see what it looks like tomorrow.

Thanks for all the tips thus far!

 

[RussFairfield]

I always let the CA set for about 2 minutes until I think it has cured, and then give it a spritz of accelerator to make sure.

 

[John Eberly]

CA

It works for me to use thin CA and do two coats at a time. After the second coat, squirt some accellerator on your finger and wipe it back and forth on the blank. Don't spray it directly on the blank unless you like sanding out waves or pebble texture. Repeat, two coats at a time, until you have about 10 coats on. Don't worry about sanding until you have a good build up.

Never use any grit coarser than 400 on CA. If you need 220 to smooth the surface you're not applying it carefully enough. You'd be better off to clean up the CA with a sharp skew rather than sand with coarse paper.

Sand using 400 grit wet-or-dry from the paint section of your auto parts store. Wet sand until the surface is glassy smooth, then turn off the lathe and wet sand lengthwise - just a once over to get the turning scratches out.

I usually apply one last coat of thin CA after sanding just to get the smoothest finish possible for MM.

Now wet sand through the Micro Mesh grits. Wet sanding keeps the work cool, clears out loose abrasive grit, carries away dust, and keeps your nose clean.

I do my sanding at 875 RPM, lowest speed for my el cheapo lathe. After I'm done sanding, I use EEE and Shellawax at high speed (3000) for a final coat. You need to be VERY CAREFUL at this stage to avoid burning the finish.

 

[hilltopper46]

After the second coat, squirt some accellerator on your finger and wipe it back and forth on the blank.

I generally try not to shoot at peoples' posts or disagree with another way of doing things, but there is a safety aspect here that should not be ignored. This will, in certain circumstances, burn your finger SEVERELY. You will get a blister. This scares me. DON'T try this until you have a real good working knowledge of CA and accelerator and how they interact.

I had something similar to this blister my finger and I was wearing a neoprene glove at the time (there was a hole in the glove when everything cooled off).

 

[jimbob91577]

My 2 bits - I finished the lower barrel of a redheart pen last night - I put 2 coats of thin CA on it and hit it with 600g dry sand paper to make sure the pores were sealed. I then put 3 more coats of thin CA on followed up with 3 coats of thick CA - accelerator after each coat of thick. I then sanded w/ 400g to knock the ridges down and get a smooth surface. From there I wet MM up through 12000 and clean with a cloth rag - done. All applications were done with dixie napkins folded into thirds. I think I used 3 all together.

I call this variation 11,382 of the CA finish...

 

[Steve Busey]

Zachary, I didn't see mention of what type of wood you're finishing. Some exotics have an oily component that might cause the clouding as well. Wiping the blank down with some acetone or accelerator before applying the CA might make a difference.

 

[Wheaties]

Zachary, I didn't see mention of what type of wood you're finishing. Some exotics have an oily component that might cause the clouding as well. Wiping the blank down with some acetone or accelerator before applying the CA might make a difference.

Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that. I do wipe all my blanks with acetone, and it was Paduak that I had trouble with. I had more success with Bocote, which is backwards from what you would think.

 

[jkeithrussell]

The thing that stands out to me from your original post is that you only make 1 pass with medium CA. That is probably causing the CA to sit in a wet lump on the barrel. I use medium CA, no BLO, but I make several passes using light but steady finger pressure. Maybe 4 total passes -- stop just before the CA starts to cure. You will learn from experience when you have made enough passes. That smooths the CA and helps it start to cure. When the smoky vapors start to rise from the paper towel as the CA cures, I spritz the barrel with CA (I use aerosol version), then wipe down with a clean spot on the paper towel, then repeat however many times it takes.

 

[Wheaties]

The thing that stands out to me from your original post is that you only make 1 pass with medium CA. That is probably causing the CA to sit in a wet lump on the barrel. I use medium CA, no BLO, but I make several passes using light but steady finger pressure. Maybe 4 total passes -- stop just before the CA starts to cure. You will learn from experience when you have made enough passes. That smooths the CA and helps it start to cure. When the smoky vapors start to rise from the paper towel as the CA cures, I spritz the barrel with CA (I use aerosol version), then wipe down with a clean spot on the paper towel, then repeat however many times it takes.

Ok, I will try that. I had made multiple passes before and end up with my paper towel coming apart on the blank. How do I combat that?

 

[jkeithrussell]

After the second coat, squirt some accellerator on your finger and wipe it back and forth on the blank.

There is no reason to use your finger. Paper towels are cheap. If you use aerosol accelerator, it doesn't cause the problems that are associated with spraying liquid accelerator on the blank. If you want to save money and use liquid accelerator, you can buy a spritzer from Harbor Freight which is about the same difference as aerosol.

Edit to add: something like this. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65297

 

[jkeithrussell]

Ok, I will try that. I had made multiple passes before and end up with my paper towel coming apart on the blank. How do I combat that?

Work a little faster and take the paper towel off the blank before it starts to set up. It's just a matter of practice/experience until you get a feel for it. If the paper towel grabs, just wait until it is fully cured and clean up with steel wool. I should mention that I apply CA with the lathe on the slowest speed setting -- 500rpm on my lathe.

Using medium CA and making as many passes as you can helps in several ways. If CA is piled too thick, it tends to crack or spiderweb when it cures. By thining it out, you reduce that. Also, you get less CA gummed up on and around the bushings which makes for a cleaner end of the blank when you are done. It also makes the surface a lot smoother which helps the subsequent coats go on better.

There are as many ways to apply CA as there are people who use it. You just have to keep experimenting until you find a process that works for you.

 

[Wheaties]

There are as many ways to apply CA as there are people who use it. You just have to keep experimenting until you find a process that works for you.

Hmm... That's what I keep hearing. LOL. Thanks for the help so far! It definatly steers me in the correct direction. I have another method in my head with CA I want to try, so I guess the experimenting continues...

 

[jkeithrussell]

One last thought. You are in the plains where it tends to be dry (lower humidity). At least lower humidity than we have in Houston. CA cures faster in lower humidity, so you may need to use a little more CA to give yourself more working time. I use maybe 2 drops and I have 10 seconds or more of working time. You may need to use 3 or 4 drops to get the same amount of time.