Very beatiful pen. I really like the gloss of the finish. Can i ask how many coats of CA you used? Did you do anything else after the plastic polish, like other buffing? I have really been struggling to get that high gloss on CA. Thanks in advance!
Thanks!
Here's how I did it from start to "finish":tongue:
I started with 240grit sandpaper, once I had the blank smooth I wiped it down with a paper towel with some DNA (denatured alcohol) to clean the dust. Then I did 1 coat of thin CA and quickly proceeded to resand with 240 to create a CA slurry that would fill in any voids. After EVERY grit of both sandpaper and MM I stopped the lathe to cross sand and then wiped down the blank with a paper towel. I moved from 240, 320, to 400. After 400 I wiped the blank with DNA again to clean the blank (this helps alot with oily woods). Then I used Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer (applied with the lathe on). Let that dry for a few minutes. Then I start my CA finish. First I'll do 2 coats of thin CA to seal the blank. After each coat I give a quick spray of CA accelerator. Then I switch to medium CA. For this blank I think I did 8-10 coats of medium CA, also using accelerator between each coat and not sanding between coats. After my last coat of CA I'll sand everthing smooth with 400 DRY sandpaper. I'll check the blank for any high or low spots (shiny spots). If I do have low spots I'll apply a few more coats of CA. After sanding with 400 dry I'll let the blank sit overnight to offgas. After the offgas period I'll then start WETsanding with micromesh beginning with 1500 all the way to 12000. Cross sanding between EVERY grit and also wiping down the blank after each grit. After 12000 I'll apply a coat of plastic polish. McGuires PlastX is my favorite and has worked the best for me thus far. And that's it, no buffing, no renwax or anything.
Hope that helps! If I need to clarify anything just let know!