What happened to my finish?

[Quality Pen]

So my first pen was made last week and today I noticed that the finish started to discolor. You'll see the picture it is oddly a straight line. Maybe this is called ghosting I'm not sure.

But what do you think caused this? It looked great off the lathe!

 

[D.Oliver]

Do you wet sand? To me it looks like the end of the pen blank has absorbed water at some point? It could have maybe happened if you wet sand or use water with micro mesh pads? Just a guess though.

 

[Quality Pen]

I might have wet sand for my first pen... If I had to guess I would say yes I did for this pen.

 

[Cmiles1985]

It looks like water penetration from the end grain. I throw a coat of thin CA over each end of each tube after trimming with a pen mill. That thin coat will seal the end grain so that it won't take up any water or finishing wax.

 

[toddlajoie]

For me it's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but is this a CA finish? If so. it sort of looks like you may have sanded through the CA on the end. What happens then is the blank will look fine through the MM Pads, and polish up very nicely, but over a few hours the part that has no CA on it will dull. Does this band FEEL any different than the other part?

 

[Janster]

....looks as though you sanded "cross grain" vz "with the grain? Be well and good luck............Jan

 

[Quality Pen]

It looks like water penetration from the end grain. I throw a coat of thin CA over each end of each tube after trimming with a pen mill. That thin coat will seal the end grain so that it won't take up any water or finishing wax.

That sounds like a pro tip. How do you ensure it doesn't actually just fall into the barrel though? That thin stuff is like water!

For me it's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but is this a CA finish? If so. it sort of looks like you may have sanded through the CA on the end. What happens then is the blank will look fine through the MM Pads, and polish up very nicely, but over a few hours the part that has no CA on it will dull. Does this band FEEL any different than the other part?

Yes it was a CA finish. I don't think I sanded through the CA. On the surface it doesn't feel different, but the look is quite dramatic in the juxtaposed position it came to. Also, the finish looked ok for at least a couple days. Not until I looked at it again maybe 5 days later did I see this.

....looks as though you sanded "cross grain" vz "with the grain? Be well and good luck............Jan

I did sand with the lathe on then turned it off and went lengthwise by hand. It was, after all, my first pen so I probably could have sanded more!

 

[Cmiles1985]

Sometimes a little gets inside the barrel, but a small file or the pen mill goes a long way. I usually use the pen mill with the appropriate shank and just turn it through the barrel by hand to scrape off excess glue. Most of the glue stays on the wood...or runs down the outside of the blank and adheres my fingers to the blank

 

[Jim Burr]

Couple of thoughts...bruised wood, if you used CA, you sanded through it.

 

[Quality Pen]

Sometimes a little gets inside the barrel, but a small file or the pen mill goes a long way. I usually use the pen mill with the appropriate shank and just turn it through the barrel by hand to scrape off excess glue. Most of the glue stays on the wood...or runs down the outside of the blank and adheres my fingers to the blank

lol... don't feel bad the other day I glued a rubber glove finger tip to my fresh CA finish. :redface:

 

[thewishman]

lol... don't feel bad the other day I glued a rubber glove finger tip to my fresh CA finish. :redface:

Who hasn't done that?

 

[Cmiles1985]

<--- me. Really, how many stubborn old school chemists do you see using gloves?

 

[Quality Pen]

 

[Cmiles1985]

Minus being New Mexico's top meth manufacturer, pretty much.