Finishing Advice

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George883

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2019
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311
Location
Peoria, Arizona
I'm having an issue where after applying my CA finish and sanding with micromesh the ends are showing white areas almost like there was moisture or something keeping the CA from adhering to the blank. I'd appreciate any advice you can provide. I'm using Gluboost ( 3 coats Blue and 4 Red). Thanks.

George
 
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If it's an oily wood it's a good practice to wipe the blank down with acetone and letting it dry before applying CA. Also coat the ends with thin CA before turning it to seal the blank.
 
Photos are helpful. It sounds like the ca lifted from the wood. Cleaning the oils with acetone is good practice. It can also have lifted when taking off the bushings. The best solution from here is to turn off the finish and apply new ca.

The green ultrathin is a good first coat to soak into the wood pores and get best adherence to the wood.
 
Todd in PA said:
Photos are helpful. It sounds like the ca lifted from the wood. Cleaning the oils with acetone is good practice. It can also have lifted when taking off the bushings. The best solution from here is to turn off the finish and apply new ca.

The green ultrathin is a good first coat to soak into the wood pores and get best adherence to the wood.
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Thanks, I do wipe down the blank with acetone prior to starting the finish and yes it is the CA lifting on the ends. I'll try the ultrathin.
 
do you use activator? I've heard that using activator on the first coat or two can cause issues like that. I typically alternate coats between using activator when I do a CA finish. Also, making sure to wipe it down after the activator before the next coat to prevent it from immediately activating the glue as it goes on
 
Nothing to add, the good folks of the IAP have given you excellent courses of action and possible reasons. We, well most (certainly I) have been there.
 
The only other thing I have to add to all of the good info above, Is it during assembly or prior? If during assembly, make sure the inside of the tubes are clean so you're not adding to the tightness of the components compression fit. That could cause the blank and finish to crack and lift.
 
I do use activator after each coat of CA and the lifting on the ends occurs before assembly. I'll try using less activator and see if that helps. I didn't have this issue in the past. One other thing could it be due to the CA being kept in a hot environment or being too old? Thanks for all your comments.
 
I found that the CA needed to"harden" over night, before assembly when several layers of CA were used....they are soft when they are white like that....just try laying it out overnight before buffing or assembly...it can't hurt to try, right? Take it off the mandrel, very carefully....if you are using bushings. Delrin cones should not have that issue.
 
moke said:
I found that the CA needed to"harden" over night, before assembly when several layers of CA were used....they are soft when they are white like that....just try laying it out overnight before buffing or assembly...it can't hurt to try, right? Take it off the mandrel, very carefully....if you are using bushings. Delrin cones should not have that issue.
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Thanks. George
 
White ends of CA has a number of potential possibilities, as you can see from above. Another potential is in the seperating/breaking the bushings off from the finished blank. The "snap" does lift the CA off on some pens, particularly oily ones as mentioned above. Sometimes it can be moisture in some form, sometimes it can be oily etc. I had that problem with oily ebony and breaking the CA'ed bushings to the blank. Two basic ways to cure it. 1. Take a razor knife and score the line at the joint of the bushing and blank; 2. use a TBC -turning between centers (and there are 3 or 4 methods of this) and take the bushings off before finishing - this eliminates the "snap" of separating the bushing from the blank of a thickly covering of CA.
 
I used to have to use a skew to cut through the CA glue overhanging the end of the blank before I moved on to polishing the CA finish. It did work to make sure things came apart cleanly and without lifting the finish from the edges.

As I've gotten better and honed my technique for applying CA finish over the last several months, I've found if I take it a little slower by using less CA per layer and doing more layers, I don't end up gluing my blank to the bushings. I do use HDPE "non-stick" bushings that are purpose designed for CA finish, but even with those it helps to be a bit more sparing with each application layer.
 
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