2 New Cigars & a Question

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Craftdiggity

Craftdiggity

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Mar 10, 2010
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Egg Harbor Township, NJ
First, a Spalted Maple Cigar with ten coats of BLO/CA or CA/BLO, whatever the difference is:confused::

SpaltedMaple.jpg


Second, a Red Raspberry Alabaster Cigar with 5 coats of BLO/CA or CA/BLO...whatever the difference is:confused:

RedRaspberry.jpg


Anyone who bought stone blanks from me, this is the new color I was talking about. It is sweeeeet. My favorite so far.

QUESTION: How do you cats get the CA finish to such a glass-like shine?

These pens are sanded up to 1200, and each has a nice looking finish. 10 coats for the spalted maple, and I could've stopped at 4 or 5 and gotten the same results. Some of the pens I've seen on this site look like mirrors. Now these are the first successful CA finishes I've applied, so I am by no means an expert, but what is the secret? Do I need to keep applying it until it builds up more? Seems like ten should've been enough.

Chris
 
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#1) props for using the term "cats" in a cohearant sentence:cool:
#2)love the alabaster color, REAL nice

As far as the CA shine? are you doing anything to finish them after applying the ca? Most times you can go through most of your sandpaper and MM again, then finish with a plastic polish. If there are enough coats, then is should shine like a mirror, but I personally have had zero luck with a super shiny CA finish on stone. I don't know why, but it just doesn't work well for me. Not that my wood shines much more anyway:rolleyes: but I found it more difficult on stone
 
To be honest, I never thought of applying plastic polish. I'll definitely give it a try. I was unsure of whether I needed to continue sanding since each coat turned out perfectly smooth with no imperfections. I was hesitant to touch it with sandpaper since each coat seems so thin. I don't have MM, so that wasn't even an option today.

Chris
 
I started getting more "shine" when I dropped blo and paper towel from my technique and went to latex gloves and accelerator. I also started using plastic polish and that kicked it up a notch also.

Oh and MM is the bomb and that Spalted Maple too.
 
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Definitely invest in Either MM or one of the plastic finishing pads. Once you apply your CA go back over with your usual sandpaper (I start at 320 if it's fairly smooth to begin with) up to 400grit and then start your MM. You'll want to wet sand with MM and it's best to use soapy water (just a drop of soap in a dish is fine). Then apply a plastic polish, I highly suggest PlastX from mcguires. You can find it on just about any car polish aisle. After that you should have a mirror shine. Here's one I did with 10coats thin CA and following the steps I just mentioned.
 
Why wood?

The question that always comes to my mind when I see the super shiney pens is: "If they want it to look like glass why start with wood?" I want my turned wood pens to look like they were turned from wood. But maybe that's just me.
 
Great looking pens Chris .

Smitty . It has been my experience that while we as woodworkers like the look and feel of wood in a pen the general public looks at it from a different perspective . Shiny sells . Most people like the look of wood but to them a satin finish looks dull , like the pen was not finished well . This is why you almost never see furniture with a satin finish , why table tops are almost always finished to a high gloss . A satin finish is just as durable as a glossy one but the high gloss has a perceived durability . If we are making the pen for another woodworker or pen turner then a satin finish is acceptable or even desired but to the general public a glass like finish will sell faster .
 
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Buffer! Keys the finish up every time! The plastic polish/scratch remover is also a winning way to high gloss.

The pens look lovely! Good job!
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
Smitty,
Also, a good finish shows off the beautiful wood. AND part of wood working, in my opinion, is the finishing.

Chris, When you apply your plastic polish do you do it at high speed?
 
My humble thoughts on ca finishing. The idea is to get a smooth consistent coating of ca on the blank when you are done that can then be polished, not necessarily an equal number of layers on all parts of the pen. In my experience two or 3 thick layers is indistinguishable from 10 thin layers, if both are free of dust, moisture, fingerprints, ect, and are sanded smooth at the surface. If doesn't seem to matter if the coat is thicker in some spots than others, as long as the surface is smooth. Once that smooth surface is achieved, by whatever means, it can then be polished to a very high gloss easily by any of several methods. Keep in mind that polishing is simply the process of removing material down to the level of the deepest scratch in the initial coat, without adding any deeper scratches. IE: if you don't get all the deep scratches out first, you can buff or mm to a high gloss, but it's still going to be scratched. Ideally, each finer grit of abrasive should only have to remove the scratches of the previous grit, not continue the process of removing a preexisting scratch. That way you minimize the chances of sanding through the CA and leaving a patch of bare material, and having to start over.
 
I use a BLO/CA finish, I start with the BLO and then do a layer of CA, and I repeat the BLO then CA until I am satisfied I usually stop around 5-7 layers of Thin CA. it creates a very durable finish that is glass like and last. I occasionally use CD polish on it as well, it is just a plastic polish but it is cheap in comparison to the Plastic polishes you can buy, it works the same.
 
ldb2000 said:
Great looking pens Chris .

Smitty . It has been my experience that while we as woodworkers like the look and feel of wood in a pen the general public looks at it from a different perspective . Shiny sells . Most people like the look of wood but to them a satin finish looks dull , like the pen was not finished well . This is why you almost never see furniture with a satin finish , why table tops are almost always finished to a high gloss . A satin finish is just as durable as a glossy one but the high gloss has a perceived durability . If we are making the pen for another woodworker or pen turner then a satin finish is acceptable or even desired but to the general public a glass like finish will sell faster .
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Hmmmm....maybe that's why I love making "cottage" furniture with a worn look and a flat finish....rather than the hi-gloss of new furniture. I even use "milk" paint. That's the other part of my woodworking hobby.
 
3-4 heavy coats of thick CA, accelerated between coats. Finish with a sharp flatnosed scraper. If needed sand with MM starting around 2400. Then to the buffer and finish with good old car wax.
 
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