Not sure why my CA finishing...

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RSidetrack

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is giving me such a hard time right now. Not sure if it is humidity, temperature or what, but it keeps pulling up pieces of paper towel or fibers from the towel and causing me a lot of headaches as a result. Anyone ever run into this issue? If so, how did you fix it?
 
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what kind of paper toweling are you using? the $1 roll is not a good product to be using. I use the Blue Shop Towel. Plus you may be leaving the towel on the blank too long. the glue is setting up so it is grabbing on to the bit of the towel.
 

RSidetrack

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what kind of paper toweling are you using? the $1 roll is not a good product to be using. I use the Blue Shop Towel. Plus you may be leaving the towel on the blank too long. the glue is setting up so it is grabbing on to the bit of the towel.

Typically I use the Viva paper towels as they have always worked best for me. I have tried the Viva, the regular cheap ones, bounty, and even the Blue Shop Towels. Normally this isn't a problem - I guess maybe the glue is setting faster than I am used too. It seems like I can only hold the towel on for 1-2 seconds before it grabs.
 

ctubbs

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That is the main reason I use BLO. With a small bit of BLO on the brown napkin then the CA, I can hold the napkin on the blank until the CA is set. Works for me, might not for anybody else.
Charles
 

leehljp

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CA suddenly giving a hard time is common when applying it at below 70° ambient temps. As the ambient temp drops to 60° and down to 50°, it gets even more difficult. BUT there will be that one or two blanks that accept a CA finish fine, but the rest . . .

Humidity changes at those temps also affect it.

Is your shop heated and is it staying above 70°?
 
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SteveG

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As CA starts to age (meaning sitting in your shop for periods of time, perhaps in not-the-best conditions), it will start to not do as well as it did earlier. So fresh CA may be part of the solution. Think of this or other things that have changed, either abruptly or gradually, and you will likely find your answer.
 
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I use brawny and started having issue when I had changed nothing about my technique... So I thought. I realized that brawny has a quilted side and a tighter woven side. Experimented a bit and found that the quilted side was more susceptible to leaving fibers in the finish. Now I am careful in choosing the tight fiber side. Have had no issues since. Bought a bunch of the blue towels this weekend. Planning on trying those out.
 

RSidetrack

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CA suddenly giving a hard time is common when applying it at below 70° ambient temps. As the ambient temp drops to 60° and down to 50°, it gets even more difficult. BUT there will be that one or two blanks that accept a CA finish fine, but the rest . . .

Humidity changes at those temps also affect it.

Is your shop heated and is it staying above 70°?

My shop is actually my basement. It is heated, but minimally. Temperature hovers anywhere between 65-70 degrees right now in the winter. Humidity is a huge issue while the heat pump is running. I do have aquariums in my basement which help, but humidity levels have definitely dropped.

As CA starts to age (meaning sitting in your shop for periods of time, perhaps in not-the-best conditions), it will start to not do as well as it did earlier. So fresh CA may be part of the solution. Think of this or other things that have changed, either abruptly or gradually, and you will likely find your answer.

The CA is probably 8 months old at this point - so it may have aged a bit. I will try getting a fresh supply, especially since I just went and tried another blank and it was not pretty.
 

Mark

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(in my limited experience) Most of the time it is due to the age of the CA. I've also had problems occur when the shop gets humid. CA is funny that way.

I had a 3 month period last year, when my central air blower was out. Almost immediately, my CA finish started giving me all kinds of headaches. Cloudy, lumpy, then great. bam, back to cloudy. I just couldn't win. Once the humidity was under control again, the finish started working out fine.
 
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Rolland

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Dec 27, 2010
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Camp Verde, AZ
Being new to the hobby/affliction I don't have all the answers yet so use what ever my wife happens to get in the way of towels. When applying I use a very light coat of BLO with the first coat of thin ca when that sets up I wipe things down and use a folded towel and make one thin pass at a time. wipe a coat on and let it set, never go back on the same coat, then another until I get where I want the finish. I do sand between coats. I have never had a towel leave debris but I only use it once and cut off the end. I found that if I wipe on a coat and go back to spread it again it sticks to the pen and makes a mess.
Thats my story and I am sticking to it until something better comes along:biggrin:
 

jcm71

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Chattanooga, TN
is giving me such a hard time right now. Not sure if it is humidity, temperature or what, but it keeps pulling up pieces of paper towel or fibers from the towel and causing me a lot of headaches as a result. Anyone ever run into this issue? If so, how did you fix it?

You didn't mention how long you are holding the paper towel to the blank or how heavy a touch you are using. Perhaps you are leaving the towel in contact to long in one place on the blank. I use Maker's Mark from Sam's Club (tight woven side) with a light touch, keeping the paper towel moving rapidly back and forth.
 

kovalcik

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Jun 9, 2011
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Barrington, NH
My vote goes to the temperature. In warm weather, my CA finishes go great. Now that the shop has cooled down, I have all kinds of issues. The best advice I have is to use thin layers of CA and wait for it to dry completely before adding the next coat.
 
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