Long Term maintenace of CA finish

[sanyalsoumitra]

I keep my few handmade pens for my collection and found that A CA finished wood pen gradually loses its shine over days of regular use. How to restore to good surface finish again? Kindly share your experience.:rain:

 

[Dan26]

I'm not sure. I had a lady show a pen she bought from me after a year of use. The finish on the pen was still pretty shiny, but the finish on the hardware was very worn.

 

[Justturnin]

I have 3 daily carry pens, I keep them in my laptop backpack and they sit on my desk. My kids use them often w/ their nasty little hands too. They are all some of my first CA and it looks as good today as the day I took them off the lathe. I wonder if you sanded through your CA and maybe waxed/buffed the pens. You may be seeing the was shine that wears out. If CA is done right it should last. How do you CA?

 

[edstreet]

Ahh yes, welcome to the next level of design engineering.

Some things you may not be aware of but becomes very painfully obvious is the concept of 'repair'. Not only design for it, plan for it, count on it and expect it but that to should determine what and how you assemble the pen.

Some put bonding agents on the pressed in parts and makes them very difficult if not impossible to remove over time.

If there is a plastic part that will crack, break, wear down and get damaged over time.

If there is any type of finish at all it will get scratched, scuffed, banged, dinged, fade, wear and chip over time.

 

[Rangertrek]

I have ca on some of my first pens and the finish is still shiny. I use a plastic polish as the last step. I also do a hand polish with an eye glass cloth to give them a little touch up if needed. I do this at shows after they get handled by customers to remove finger prints.

 

[lorbay]

I have repaired a couple and what I did was make some custom mandrels to match the threads of the parts used. Worked fine for adding another coat or 2 of CA.

Lin.

 

[Wildman]

Shinny does not equal durability, Ed Street right on the money with his assessment "all finishes get scratched, scuffed, dinged, fade, wear and chip over time. "

With all commercial clear finishes, manufacturers normally provide or recommend a schedule under ideal conditions. Wood workers have to adjust their finishing schedule for actual conditions at their shop. Do not know one manufacturer actually providing fully cured time for their products.

We know most CA manufacturers tell us glue reaches full strength after twenty four hours regardless of viscosity. If getting CA finish sheen fade back you are your finish have to ask couple questions before can pin point any problems.

Wood species, is it closed or open grain wood?

How many coats did you apply?

Did you use BLO or activator while applying CA?

Did you apply wax, too soon?

You may have applied the best CA finish, and your handling causing wear!

 

[Jim Burr]

I have a customer that is very rough on pens. He asked if I could look at one I'd made and see if I could "help" the plating. Poor thing looked like it had been pulled through the sand for a month!! Asking how he used it, he tossed it across the desk into the corner and said "I usually keep it there". Of course I offered the usual care and feeding instructions. At least the CA held up!

 

[Wildman]

Jim, why did you not offer to sell your customer a brand new pen? You did not tell us what kit or plating on pen you sold him.

I do not want to insult my customers, nor admit any guilt on my part so might offer to sell that customer a better pen with better plating!

My approach to life little different than many folks here.

 

[Adillo303]

What a great and timley topics (intended misspellings) these are.

First - Durability and application of CA finish. After spending the better part of a year working on "my" CA finish and reading several threads here, I have realized that most of us do it "our" way. Is there clear cut right and wrong way? I really don't think so. There are way too many variables. Does every manufacturers CA perform the same? I am not a chemist, I am told moisture is an accelerating agent to CA. Does it then perform differently on different days? As mentioned, different woods respond differently. Is a coat of CA the same thickness no matter who applied it? There is a lot going on there.

Had anyone looked into these? Am I all wet?

Second topic pen repair. That is also two sub topics. Hardware repair and finish repair. I see some disassembly threads here and they are very helpful. Has anyone made any special tools? I would love too see a "miniature slide hammer" to pull some of the parts out instead of pressing them out with a punch.

Finishes - which ones do you avoid, why?

Thank you all for the great info you put on this site and this thread.

Andy

 

[chrisk]

A fundamental parameter we never heard about when we have discussions about finish durability (CA or other) is acidity! Every person has a certain percentage of acidity in his perspiration. In other words, what applies to me could not be automatically extrapolated...

Finally, please allow me to quote the late Russ Fairfield: "all (finishes) will look good when new, and (..) some will wear longer than others, but all will succumb to the wear and contact with perspiration and body acids from daily use".

 

[edstreet]

A fundamental parameter we never heard about when we have discussions about finish durability (CA or other) is acidity! Every person has a certain percentage of acidity in his perspiration. In other words, what applies to me could not be automatically extrapolated...

Finally, please allow me to quote the late Russ Fairfield: "all (finishes) will look good when new, and (..) some will wear longer than others, but all will succumb to the wear and contact with perspiration and body acids from daily use".

I have mentioned several times in past post that the human body produces acetone and we all know that acetone and CA finishes does not get along that well. I have even summarized of the possibility that some people would ruin a CA finish faster due to the levels produced.

 

[chrisk]

@edstreet
Are you sure about acetone?
I tried in vain to find some info on the web about acid in perspiration. After what, I asked my dermatologist who surprisingly seemed confused but didn't knew anything about that... Apart looking for another dermatologist I remain quite ignorant...

 

[Wildman]

Russ used to say some people are so toxic, a BIC only thing that works for them.

Think a combination of things leads to pen wear; cheap or soft plating's, people's occupation and actual use or storage.

While not a complete list here what you find in human sweat; water, sodium chloride, urea, -odorants like 2-methylphenol and 4-methylphenol. Not everyone excretes same stuff.

Tried to get a finish durability thread going couple of years ago. While people looked to see what I had to say, no one added to the discussion. I am still looking for the most durable finish.

Lucky for pen turner's pens are consumable, get lost, stolen or wear out. Whether making pens for gifts or sell make the best pen you can and do not worry about it after it leaves you!

 

[TwoCatsPens]

I've gotten in the habit of occasionally (maybe every couple of months) putting just a light coat of furniture paste wax on my wooden pens, let it dry to haze, and then buff off with a soft cloth. I think it helps protect the finish, fills in any tiny scratches / crazing that may occur and protects the metal.

I've got a can of Johnson's paste wax that I've used for years, I doubt I'll ever have to buy another unless I do something dumb and leave the lid off.

I recommend for all the people that purchase one of my pens to give it an occasional shine with paste wax also.

just my .02

Steve