Finishing Question

[GregMuller]

I have just completed my first American style pen useing a stablized blank fron BB. Micromesh up to 12000 and was surprised with the finish at that point. I then used 2 applications of Mylands Crystle polish followed by a coat of TSW. Here is my question. Was any of that necessary. The shine after the micro mesh was great and did any of the products I used add to the finish. I also have the Mylands sanding sealer that I did not use and EEE ultra shine. When useing a Stablized blank what should the finishing procedure be???

 

[PenWorks]

Greg, I would finish a stabalized blank as you would any other blank. Even though it may not add to the shine, it does add protection to the pen. On some of my stabalized pens, I just sand seal, MM sand, and either buff on a wheel with ren wax or finish with Mylands friction polish. Or I will take the time and apply the Enduro poly finish, but that is a 3 day process for me, but results in a very lasting finish. Anthony

 

[DCBluesman]

That's an excellent question, Greg, and one I experimented with a bit last night. I just turned my first stabilized blank last night. Pictured below is my Keb' Mo' model in the Blues-line. It black buckeye burl from Arizona Silhouette.

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After wet sanding with micromesh to 12000, I was very satisfied with the feel and smooth serface, but not so with the gloss. I put some TSW on the pen and buffed it out. I'm much happier with the final result.

My thoughts on this are two-fold. The stabilizing of wood creates a poly structure that permeates the wood, both grain and fiber. I would not be overly concerned about a protective coating for the poly/wood combo, but I do think that additional gloss can be obtained through a high speed buffing. I also think a top coat can only help.

My two cents. [8D]

 

[GregMuller]

Lou,
By a top coat do you mean something like the TSW, Mylands or some other product along the same lines?

 

[GregMuller]

Lou,
One more question. When you wet sand with the MM do you use water or some other liquid&gt;

 

[DCBluesman]

I differentiate bottom coats from top coats as follows. The bottom coat is often a sealer such as sanding sealer, shellac, friction finish, polyurethane, etc. The top coat is your protectant, such as lacquer, polyurethane, Crystal polish, Meguiars polish, Renaissance wax or TSW.

In terms of wet sanding, I use water. It's a fine lubricant and requires no cleanup.

 

[wayneis]

I've got to go with Anthony on this. I've turned a lot of stabilized blanks and I put a finish on each and every one. I started out using CA but now use Enduro poly. With the stabilized blanks, the product that is injected into the blanks does not coat all parts of the wood, you are still turning wood not plastic. You can take almost any piece of hard wood and sand and polish to the same shine you are getting on a stabilized blank but there is no protection. All you are really doing is burnishing or polishing the wood. after a while that shine will wear off as it is used. As an example take a piece of snakewood or maple or cocobolo, most any really hard wood. Sand the same way that you do with a stabilized blank, the shine that you will get will be like what you are getting with the stabilized blank.

Wayne

 

[BogBean]

Wayne,
I did a google for Enduro Poly and found a site that sells it. The product does sound very good. The place where I found it is in California. Do you know of any dealers in the south?
Thanks...Chuck

 

[RussFairfield]

My opinion is that there are a couple qualities at work when we talk about the gloss of a surface. One is "brilliance" and the other is "depth". "Brilliance" is the light that is reflected from the surface, "depth" describes our ability to look down into the surface. A highly polished bare wood (stabilized or not) can be brilliant, but there is no depth. "Depth" is achieved by the film that is applied to the surface.

Figured Maple can be good example of the difference. The polished wood may look good, but a highly reflective film can give the illusion of another dimension.

I think someone already mentioned that the finish provides a protective coating. The best pens are those that look finished when the sanding is completed. The finish is the protective coating. All finishes will protect the wood, some just last longer than others.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

Good lesson Russ, thank you.
Mac

 

[wayneis]

Chuck the only place that sells it to my knowledge is the one who makes it, Compliant Spray Systems. If you get their Poly starter kit it will include everything you need and its only twenty five dollars. You will get a quart of each their sanding sealer and Poly which will do several hundred pens. It will give you a rock hard beautiful finish. This Poly is not like any of the regular poly's that are commonly found in the stores. I have had a couple people tell me that you can't get a long lasting finish using Enduro but they are only going on what they know about regular poly that most of know and they have not tried it. I know several people who have started using only Enduro after trying it doing away with the headaches of CA. If you do a search here you should find an outline of the steps that I have come up with for using Enduro, Jeff was going to put it into an article when he got a chance.

Wayne

 

[wscrivens]

Wayne, thanks for the pointer. The URL for the page with the Starter Kit is
http://www.compliantspraysystems.com/enduro_water_base_coatings/exterior_interior_poly_page1.htm
You have to phone them to place an order, and when I called to order the "starter Kit" he asked if I was a Pen Turner. Apparantly a LOT of us have been calling since your post!

Walt

 

[wayneis]

Walt I hope that you got through their ordering process ok. I have heard lately that some of the people at the Co. are giving some of a hard time. Giving way too many choises when they know exactly what it is that the person calling wants. I would think that they would be happy to sell their product but maybe they don't like selling so many starter kits. Eneryone so far has recieved what they ordered and ended up being happy it was just getting it ordered that was made a little confusing.

For anyone who does call, just tell them that you want the Enduro Poly in high gloss.

Wayne

 

[TonyDentino]

I just ordered the starter kit from Enduro with no problem at all. They asked if I was from Pen Turners and said they would ship it right out.

Tony