CA Finish problems...

[ChrisinOR]

I've been doing the CA finish for quite a while now. I've been looking at some of my past pens and the finish seems to be failing. Some of them the finish is starting to get cloudy. Others, there are fine cracks spiraling around the pen. Anyone have any ideas as to what's going on?

Chris Nilluka

 

[Marc Phillips]

I will venture a guess....

My guess is that you are applying coats of CA over non-cured or sanded coats...

Safest thing is to sand between coats so each coat of CA has something to adhere to.. and let each coat dry before applying another coat...

Hopefully someone who knows will come along... this is just a guess.

 

[igran7]

Chris, something similiar happened to me a couple of years ago. The finishes on about 20 pens were destroyed because I placed them in those clear plastic storage tubes. Either the finish hadn't cured, the wood wasn't allowed to breath sealed up in the tube or a combination of both caused the peeling and cracking. On some of them I didn't even notice the damage until a couple of days later. I now keep my pens in a very well ventilated area for at least the first week, and never store them in an airtight container for extended periods. Hope this helps.