Difficulty With Finish on Porous Woods

[MikeUT]

I'm a month or so in to the hobby and I've probably made about 20. I used to think hand plane collection and restoration was the most addictive thing in woodworking but pen making may be the winner.

Anyways, I am having issues with finish on open grained woods. It doesn't happen every time but I can't figure What I'm doing for this outcome. The photos below are from a Padauk pen finished with Mylands friction polish. I may have sealed it with Shellac but I can't remember. I've had the same problem under CA glue. After I apply the finish and assemble the pen, it looks good. But after a day or two the finish in the open grain turns white.

Like I said, I don't get this result every time, it is probably 50%. What am I doing wrong? Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[1080Wayne]

I would think trapped sanding dust that hasn`t been wetted by the finish applied over top , but would usually show up immediately . Have no experience with friction polish though .

 

[robersonjr]

I usually wipe the bare wood with alcohol prior to applying the finish to rid the pours of any residual sanding residue.

 

[campzeke]

Been there done that .... I found the polish applied in the final step to be the culprit. With a friction polish I don't think you ever fill the open pores in the wood. The polish gets into the pores and turns white when it dries. On a CA finish you can usually fill the pores but if you miss any ... same result. To solve the problem, I turn to the final size and shape as usual. I then wipe the blank down with a little denatured alcohol and let that dry for a about a minute. Then I take a small strip of 220 or 320 sandpaper and apply 3 or 4 drops of medium CA and sand the blank at 200~500 rpm until you feel the CA begin to set and stop. Let the CA set up and cure for 5~10 minutes then sand and finish as usual. This process fills the pores with sanding dust and sets it in place. It is a messy process so be sure to cover the bed of your lathe with something disposable. I use cut up cereal boxes. You will get CA and sanding dust on your bushings but that is easily cleaned off by dropping them in a small jar of acetone for about 15 minutes and wiping them off.

I am sure there are other ways to solve this problem and hopefully someone will share their ideas. This one works for me until I find something better.

 

[Wood Butcher]

One more opinion. I'm guessing that, with the CA, the last coat applied was thick enough that it was uncured when the next coat was applied. The lower coat trying to cure can't and the result is the "haze". I suspected this on a students pens and we removed the finish down to bare wood then reapplied. When reapplying we used thin coats of thin and medium and accelerator. Each coat was tested with a bare finger gently brushing it. If tacky either wait longer or apply more accelerator holding the aerosol can 16 to 18 inches away and use very light burst, 2 or 3. The problem did not return. Keep any moisture, even breathing on the uncured CA will haze it, away from the CA.
HTHs
WB

 

[MikeUT]

Been there done that .... I found the polish applied in the final step to be the culprit. With a friction polish I don't think you ever fill the open pores in the wood. The polish gets into the pores and turns white when it dries. On a CA finish you can usually fill the pores but if you miss any ... same result. To solve the problem, I turn to the final size and shape as usual. I then wipe the blank down with a little denatured alcohol and let that dry for a about a minute. Then I take a small strip of 220 or 320 sandpaper and apply 3 or 4 drops of medium CA and sand the blank at 200~500 rpm until you feel the CA begin to set and stop. Let the CA set up and cure for 5~10 minutes then sand and finish as usual. This process fills the pores with sanding dust and sets it in place. It is a messy process so be sure to cover the bed of your lathe with something disposable. I use cut up cereal boxes. You will get CA and sanding dust on your bushings but that is easily cleaned off by dropping them in a small jar of acetone for about 15 minutes and wiping them off.

I am sure there are other ways to solve this problem and hopefully someone will share their ideas. This one works for me until I find something better.

This is exactly what was happening. I pulled the pen in the photos apart and refinished it with your suggestions and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the great advice.

 

[Jtaylor]

Been there done that .... I found the polish applied in the final step to be the culprit. With a friction polish I don't think you ever fill the open pores in the wood. The polish gets into the pores and turns white when it dries. On a CA finish you can usually fill the pores but if you miss any ... same result. To solve the problem, I turn to the final size and shape as usual. I then wipe the blank down with a little denatured alcohol and let that dry for a about a minute. Then I take a small strip of 220 or 320 sandpaper and apply 3 or 4 drops of medium CA and sand the blank at 200~500 rpm until you feel the CA begin to set and stop. Let the CA set up and cure for 5~10 minutes then sand and finish as usual. This process fills the pores with sanding dust and sets it in place. It is a messy process so be sure to cover the bed of your lathe with something disposable. I use cut up cereal boxes. You will get CA and sanding dust on your bushings but that is easily cleaned off by dropping them in a small jar of acetone for about 15 minutes and wiping them off.

I am sure there are other ways to solve this problem and hopefully someone will share their ideas. This one works for me until I find something better.

Good advice. Never occurred to me to try this. Thank you. My way was more time consuming.


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[Makereality]

I use a Hut liquid polish (smells like beeswax, on the label listed the first and only polish) is used first to fill in the pores, then treat like fricton polish, sanded with 800-1200 grit to the wood. Then seal with shellawax friction polish. That has helped me.


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[tomas]

I have experienced the same issue with CA finishes. On most woods, I use medium CA for all (16) coats with accelerator spritzes between coats. After prefinish sanding, I always wipe the blank down with DNA. For open grained woods, I use two liberal coats of thin CA and then switch to medium CA. This has solved the problem for me.

Tomas