c a question

[penmaker1967]

i have started using ca glue for my finshes and the first few i did looked good but lately i they have not done good at all i have been getting white patches in the middle of the pen or it chips in the middle the way that i have been doing the finsh was use blo first then about 6 coats of med ca a shot of accleror (not spelled right) then i go through my sanding pads fro 1550 to 12000 as i said before it worked great for the first few pens then it has gone south bad what am i doing wrong.
any info would be helpful
thanks

 

[jttheclockman]

i have started using ca glue for my finshes and the first few i did looked good but lately i they have not done good at all i have been getting white patches in the middle of the pen or it chips in the middle the way that i have been doing the finsh was use blo first then about 6 coats of med ca a shot of accleror (not spelled right) then i go through my sanding pads fro 1550 to 12000 as i said before it worked great for the first few pens then it has gone south bad what am i doing wrong.
any info would be helpful
thanks

This should be moved to the finishing forum and get more answers there. Good luck because many times this has been approached and there are some very good answers to as why but you will see not all apply to you. Figuring out which one will come down to a trial and error approach on your end. I am sure others will come along with help. Good luck.

 

[ed4copies]

If it worked before, and it doesn't work now--what's different? Different wood? Oily? Not spending as much time "drying" the BLO? Using a different accelerator?

Isolate the problem, THEN try to find help solving---the question you asked offers too many variables to answer without writing a book

 

[Craftdiggity]

I would do two things differently.

First: Eliminate the BLO. I don't think it is a necessary element in a CA finish.

Second: Eliminate the accelerator. This is most likely the culprit. The accelerator is probably introducing moisture into your finish. The CA doesn't like moisture and if you apply the next coat of CA before it dries, you're screwed.

 

[toddlajoie]

Second: Eliminate the accelerator. This is most likely the culprit. The accelerator is probably introducing moisture into your finish. The CA doesn't like moisture and if you apply the next coat of CA before it dries, you're screwed.

I have a slightly different rationale for this same suggestion. I'm by no means an expert on these things, but I didn't think the Accelerator would add moisture (it will cause white spots, so that may be moisture, but could be other issues also...), but I've had problems between layers when using accelerator if you use too much or go too fast. Using too much or using it on too thick of a coat of CA will cause it to turn white, I think from the accelerator causing it to cure/react too fast (try it on a small drop of thin CA on some useless material and you'll see a bubbling, smoking, not pretty finish material...) Also, if you put too much accelerator on the last layer and it has not dried/evaporated before you apply the next layer, the accelerator will react with the new layer CA before it has a chance to adhere to the previous layer, and what you have then is something akin to having 2 separate pieces of plexiglass pressed together, it looks clear, smooth, and transparent, but it's not a single piece...

My experience, assumptions, and understanding of what's going on, take it for what it's worth, but I use Medium for my CA finishes, and find that if I resist the temptation to put too much on, it dries pretty quickly by itself, not much longer than it takes to be sure that the accelerator is gone...

 

[ed4copies]

Another "data point".

After my great corrugata pen started to show white under the CA finish, I set it aside in a safe place. Looked about two weeks later and I thought I could peel off the CA finish. I was right---came off easily with just a fingernail.

So, once the white starts, it MAY just get easy to fix.

I have removed the triton hardware and sanded the blank, will complete it some time. The cap is still perfect.

Don't know WHAT this means, but it was interesting----to me, at least!!