CA issue

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Jmaxcy

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Mar 28, 2021
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Hi all

wrapping up an ironwood Burl cigar pen and seeing half of my upper tube is white. This is after sanding to 12000 with micro mesh.

I noticed a small white spot at first after going through 12000, figured I'd try sanding -"again through 12000 in hopes it may solve the problem. Apparently it got worse. Could it be I sanded through the CA? Might just try throwing on some more coats of CA in hopes that's the issue. That's my only thought here.

thanks
 

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The way it comes to that clearly-defined wavy edge makes it look to me like you just sanded through the finish (CA debonding from the wood will sometimes also cause white patches at the end, but it's usually patchier and rarely so far down). Layering on more CA might well fix it, although if you were using your micromesh wet there's a chance it won't quite match up unless you sand down the whole thing to match first.
 
Sure looks like you have sanded right through the CA .... notice the good shine on the lower part and the matte appearance on the upper part.
 
Bats said:
The way it comes to that clearly-defined wavy edge makes it look to me like you just sanded through the finish (CA debonding from the wood will sometimes also cause white patches at the end, but it's usually patchier and rarely so far down). Layering on more CA might well fix it, although if you were using your micromesh wet there's a chance it won't quite match up unless you sand down the whole thing to match first.
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That's what I thought. I'll try applying some more CA and see how it looks. Really don't want to have to sand down all the CA though and start back over!
 
I may be way off but the uneven line of CA and no CA makes me think it is not a sanding problem. When I sand thru CA I have a straight line all around the blank, yours looks like it was a problem sticking to certain places. Again, I am just guessing. Oily wood?
 
The uneven line is most likely due to the barrel being not perfectly cylindrical . Very common with burls because of the wild grain variations , and in spalted woods because of hardness variation , and .... , and ... . Stabilization minimizes the risk .
 
Something to watch for: when part of a pen has "sand through" and part doesn't, the follow-up coating and finishing will often cause visible difference where it was once sanded off vs where it was not sanded off. Not readily visible but it will be noticeable to the trained eye.

You don't have to sand it all off. Put it on the lathe and with a flat scraper or radiuses carbide insert, barely touch and scrape the CA off while it is turning, and re-sand the whole thing smooth. THEN re-finish it.

Turning an old or bad finish off is easier and usually quicker than sanding it off.
 
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