Partly cloudy with a chance of moisture

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J

jarod.johnson

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Joined
Jan 25, 2026
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2
Location
Maine, United States
I'm pretty new to pen turning, and I'm struggling with this blank. It's partly dull, partly shiny. I've already sanded it back down to the bare wood and finished it again, with similar results.

This is 6 or 7 coats of thin CA, polished through all the grits of micromesh. I'm not using accelerator.

I'm wondering if it's moisture from wiping it down in between after sanding. I may have been lazy at one point and wiped it down with a wet paper towel instead of using dna.

Before I sand it down and try it again, I thought I'd ask if that looks like the problem, or if there might be something else I'm doing wrong.
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Welcome to the site. Tell us a little about yourself. One coat of thin CA and then sanding before the next coat? Yep I would say you are sanding through to the wood each time. Switch to medium CA and try sanding every other coat. I usually don't sand at all until after my final coat dries, and sometimes, depending on the results, I don't sand at all. When I do sand I wet sand starting with black MM. What brand of CA are you using? I use EZ Bond. Works for me.
 
Good advice above. For CA I typically use 4 coats of thin that usually soaks in and kind of seals the wood followed by 12 to 16 coats of medium in order to build up some thickness before going to MicroMesh. I wait 90 seconds between coats of thin with no accelerator, but I do give the medium coats one or two quick sprays with an aerosol accelerator. I think you are likely getting the dreaded sand through. Then when I wet sand with MicroMesh, I only spend about 15 seconds on each grit except for the very first. Quite often I do the first grit a second time because there are still small shiny spots that didn't get dulled down with just the first pass. I typically wipe the blank dry after each wet sand so I can inspect the progress. The significant change to a glossy finish for me seems to be after the 7th pad. Then the 8th and 9th pads just make it better and better. I'm sure that you will get a regimen that works well for you. - Dave
 
Thanks for the tips. I actually had a nice coat, all polished up, and it was looking pretty. Then I dropped it on the garage floor and there were a couple of tiny cracks in the CA that I tried to sand out. Two rounds of sanding back and reapplying, and each time it came out cloudy.

I don't think it's sanded through to the wood right now. It has a smooth, plastic feel that's consistent all the way around, so I think it's CA all the way. I'm using Stick Fast CA, and I haven't been sanding in between coats. I usually wait 30-60 seconds between coats. I usually use the plastic bags from the parts to apply the glue, but I tried a paper towel this time around.

I'll sand it back and try again later this week with some of these tips. Thanks all!
 
Can I also suggest considering a different CA. Several CA manufacturers make special formulations for finishing vs gluing. GluBoost is one of them that has a CA for Gluing and a CA based "Fill and Finish" for finishing. StickFast has the same, a CA and a CA Wood Finish. These are designed to be slightly flexible compared with regular CA (less prone to cracking). I personally use both GluBoost Fill and Finish as well as the StickFast CA Wood Finish with excellent results.

Dave
 
CA applications are highly subjective. Each person has a different application pressure from others. With light pressures more CA is applied; with heavier pressures less is applied. The differences can be measured with a good set of calipers,

The same can be said of sanding. More or heavier pressure sands more off.

Why one side shiny and not on the rest? Probably you are using a mandrel. IF using a mandrel, there can be 2 or three reasons:
1. mandrel /bent/warped causing a slight wobble in which it causes sanding on most of the blank and one spot not sanded.
2. too much pressure placed while turning and that causes a similar condition as mentioned in #1 above
3. Too tight of the nut on the mandrel and the blanks are not truly square on the end. Causes the same thing above.

There are a couple of ways to avoid this:
1. buy a "Mandrel Saver" which does one blank at a time and allows the mandrel to slide according to the need.
2. Use a TBC (Turning Between Centers) without a mandrel or mandrel saver. This eliminates all of the above problems

ALSO, there are ways to apply CA without paper towels in which nearly 100% of the CA goes on and thicker layers get on faster. In general, most people who apply CA without paper towels use thin foam pieces purchased at Michaels or or crafts stores. These thin foam applicators spread the CA on smoothly and the CA builds up rather quickly in warm weather or 80° temperatures.
 
I'm coming into this late but have a question. The photo you posted is after you've sanded the CA back to be ready for an application of finish after you dropped it, correct?

What's your general approach to finish with CA?

For clarity's sake... I dry sand with regular sand paper or mesh sanding sheets up to 600 and sand the length of the blank to remove the circular sanding marks before going to the next grit. Once I have it sanded smooth and no marks then I apply 7-8 coats of CA (GluBoost) and polish from there. I've used Micromesh a lot with great results, it's really more of a polishing system because you're wet sanding than it is sandpaper. I've been using Dr Kirk's polishing compounds for a while now too and really enjoy it.
 
My guess is that you're going through the CA with your micromesh, back to bare wood. 6-7 coats of thin CA is significantly less than I put on my pens (I usually do 10 coats of medium). And I'm using micro magic waxes instead of micromesh, so overall I suspect less material removed by abrasives in my process.
 
All the above comments are excellent; parse through those that seem appropriate.

My only additional comment is to be aware of the temperature and humidity in your working area, and where the blank/pen may go in the next few days/weeks.

About 12-15 years ago we had a cold spell in northern Ohio (like what is happening now in many areas - YOU are in Maine). I started a vehicle while in -20 F at 5 AM. Put a pen from my snow suit pocket into the vehicle cup holder, started the vehicle, and watched and heard the CA finish crack before my eyes! It took only a few seconds, but was amazingly complete and efficient... actually kind of artistic 🤣. It was only a work pen, but taught me a lesson.

Have FUN!
 
mark james said:
All the above comments are excellent; parse through those that seem appropriate.

My only additional comment is to be aware of the temperature and humidity in your working area, and where the blank/pen may go in the next few days/weeks.

About 12-15 years ago we had a cold spell in northern Ohio (like what is happening now in many areas - YOU are in Maine). I started a vehicle while in -20 F at 5 AM. Put a pen from my snow suit pocket into the vehicle cup holder, started the vehicle, and watched and heard the CA finish crack before my eyes! It took only a few seconds, but was amazingly complete and efficient... actually kind of artistic 🤣. It was only a work pen, but taught me a lesson.

Have FUN!
Click to expand...
holy smokes, now you're scaring me to send a pen to someone
 
As others have already stated, you sanded off all the CA. The only places with CA left are darker in your photo. Yes, it may still feel like smooth plastic because the CA soaks into the wood slightly. But you're down to wood grain.

6-7 coats of thin CA will likely not be nearly enough.

For proof, try doubling the finish thickness and then sand and see if it doesn't all stay dark and shiny.
 
bugradx2 said:
holy smokes, now you're scaring me to send a pen to someone
Click to expand...
Not to be a worried nelly, but I have sent/received pens from areas with markedly different humidities and there were cracks from a CA finish that was perfect before shipping. Just be aware. For the IAP Collection, I have told folks to wait several months before shipping their pens when the humidity/temp of their area was closer to mine.
 
Reading through this thread has been quite interesting because so many of us have such different CA application processes. I usually only do 5 coats of CA total. I don't wipe or sand with anything between coats and use accelerator. I have always had great results from this method but it sounds like for many this would be too little CA.

I think it honestly is highly dependent on the brand of CA that you use as well as how long you are sanding after and whether you are sanding between coats or not.
If you sand between coats, you'll need more CA. If you use very thin CA, you'll need more coats. Humidity and workshop temperature can also play a huge role in how a finish turns out.

Try more coats and don't do anything to the CA between coats. Maybe sand slightly less at the end. Odds are that after a bit of trial and error you'll find what works for you as so many have. It might be totally different than the rest of us but if it works, it works.
 
The vast majority of my pens were made here in Utah (so extremely low humidity climate), finished with CA, and stayed here in Utah, or at least didn't get anywhere with a wildly different climate. No cracks on any of them after many years.

But I did have one pen that was made in Utah and then shipped to Russia, where I lived for 2 years in cities along the Volga river (so, very high humidity and even wilder temperature swings between summer and winter than we get here in the western US). Still had no cracks or issues. *shrug*
 
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