#4 and first Gluboost...

[tiggere]

This was my first Gluboost try and I am not a fan so far... it might grow on me for sheer speed but it lacks that "wood" feel...I think I should have started with like 30 micron after the thin and worked my way up to the 1 micron (Zona paper)...looks to have some orange peel left to it...I was a little nervous about sanding through...I think it turned out ok though...

The chatoyance in this pen is crazy...the side showing in the picture has a massive flash when you turn it in the light...

Dayacom Euro Satin Nickel kit with crosscut Bloodwood

 

[mark james]

Very nice.

 

[bsshog40]

Nice looking pen. I've never used gluboost but I presume it is just like CA? If so, it's not really designed to give you a wood feel. CA is basically a long lasting plastic coating. It does give off a great finish and it looks like your first one turned out nicely. When I want more of a wood feel, I'll use wipeon poly. It still gives a hard finish depending on how many coats I use, but I can control that by the coats. Another thing to remember, using paste wax, oils, etc... will give you that wood feel but then they will have to be re-coated every once in a while to keep the finish. As I stated, CA is a plastic coating and can stand everyday usage.

 

[ed4copies]

I hope you take this as a constructive suggestion, not criticism.

Looking at the top of the pen, where the light is reflecting, it appears to have dimension (it is not a flat reflection).
I would suggest that, after the gluboost cures for a day, you sand with high grit paper (600 to 1000). A very light sanding, just to make the surface flat and feel good. THEN, I buff with tripoli and white diamond. If you don't have a buffer, you could use micromesh, or the Zona paper (which I have not yet tried) possibly finishing with a plastic polish.

I really need to do a couple more videos on gluboost--I have used it many times and encountered a few issues that have been easily overcome. It can give stunning results!! Don't give up!!

 

[George883]

This was my first Gluboost try and I am not a fan so far... it might grow on me for sheer speed but it lacks that "wood" feel...I think I should have started with like 30 micron after the thin and worked my way up to the 1 micron (Zona paper)...looks to have some orange peel left to it...I was a little nervous about sanding through...I think it turned out ok though...

The chatoyance in this pen is crazy...the side showing in the picture has a massive flash when you turn it in the light...

Dayacom Euro Satin Nickel kit with crosscut Bloodwood

View attachment 227069

Nice job. Keep it up.

 

[tiggere]

I hope you take this as a constructive suggestion, not criticism.

Looking at the top of the pen, where the light is reflecting, it appears to have dimension (it is not a flat reflection).
I would suggest that, after the gluboost cures for a day, you sand with high grit paper (600 to 1000). A very light sanding, just to make the surface flat and feel good. THEN, I buff with tripoli and white diamond. If you don't have a buffer, you could use micromesh, or the Zona paper (which I have not yet tried) possibly finishing with a plastic polish.

I really need to do a couple more videos on gluboost--I have used it many times and encountered a few issues that have been easily overcome. It can give stunning results!! Don't give up!!

That's what I refer to as "orange peel"...it is from not sanding enough to get a flat surface...had I started with the 600 instead of the 1200 it might have done a little better...I was scared to go to far and sand through...I now know that the "blue bottle" is more than enough to keep me from sanding through and I will be a little more aggressive on the next one...it's the feel of the finish that gets me though...I do not have a buffing setup yet but it is something that I am budgeting for in the future...not going to give up and I am 4 pens in so everything is constructive...lol

 

[TonyL]

Thanks you for sharing the picture. The pen is beautiful. I don't think gluboost is formulated to produce a wood feel. It is used to repair/finish wooden musical instruments like guitars. My guitars are all wooden but none have a wood feel. I think one will always wind-up the a typical CA finish unless it is "knocked" down.

I have been using both mercury and gluboost. I find the finish to look the same to my naked eye and magnified (20x) eye. I probably use 30% less coats with GB (8 to 10 with mercury vs. 5 to 7 with GB). Again, beautiful wood.

 

[Sly Dog]

I have sanded through Gluboost a time or two, but not very often. I knock down high spots with steel wool (which I think was done in Ed's video) before using micromesh (wet - I just can't get myself to dry sand yet) and have had really nice results. I wouldn't give up on Gluboost after the first try.
Btw, nice looking pen!
Russ

 

[ed4copies]

I did make a video last weekend, it shows my procedure for GluBoost, you can find it here:

 

[tiggere]

I found out the other day that Zona paper is only one sided...I can almost guarantee you I used the wrong side of at least 3 of the grits...

 

[TonyL]

Another excellent video! Thank you. All that I have seem started with a the blue, then the orange. Apparently, there is more than one one to achieve success. Thank you Ed.

 

[ed4copies]

Honestly Tony, I have tried every combination I can think of and have not had a "failure". Once I got a white spot while finishing. I let it sit overnight and sanded aggressively the next day, then applied again and everything was fine. GluBoost has been used for pens for just over a year. I have had only a couple people report problems that seem to revolve around finishing in high humidity situations. I know of NO FLAWLESS way to finish wood, so I currently believe GluBoost is the best for pens.

Now, we are a dealer for Mercury as well, so I will be testing THEIR product. I like being in a position where no one can claim I back it only because I sell it--now I sell them all, so I have no ox to gore.

 

[TonyL]

Honestly Tony, I have tried every combination I can think of and have not had a "failure". Once I got a white spot while finishing. I let it sit overnight and sanded aggressively the next day, then applied again and everything was fine. GluBoost has been used for pens for just over a year. I have had only a couple people report problems that seem to revolve around finishing in high humidity situations. I know of NO FLAWLESS way to finish wood, so I currently believe GluBoost is the best for pens.

Now, we are a dealer for Mercury as well, so I will be testing THEIR product. I like being in a position where no one can claim I back it only because I sell it--now I sell them all, so I have no ox to gore.

I never doubt your experience - nor thought it would result in failures. Their instructions (GB's) and the Dryer (sp?) videos demonstrate blue ("medium") first, followed by orange. I always prefer the logic of thin first. However, I thought the orange was suppose to fill the small scratches left by the blue (just my own thinking after reading the labeling).


I have a ton of GB and Mercury. I have been performing comparison for close to 3 months now - and have been accelerating both CAs with pump BSI in a sure shot compressed air atomizer. I find I have to use more of the GB accel than others, and the Mercury aerosol cans, I continue to have a problem with (no accel. coming out, although they do cheerfully take it back..I got tired of traveling 5 miles to the RC shop).

I bought a rH monitor for my shop. It is decent one, but I have never calibrated it - so who knows. I find that I apply 8 coats of Mercury to 5 or 6 coats of GB - don't know why, I haven't sanded through, it just looks better to me. Over the last 3 months the rH in my shop has been between 47 and 50, and the temp between 69 and 72.

I have cooked the thin (orange) BG with the BSI sure shot set up. However, since holding it at east 10 to 12 inches away, I have not burnt anything (I do get some on the lathe, but i am fine with that and at 40% off of whatever HL is selling it for, I deal with it. I also like allowing things to sit for 8 to 12 hours (another who knows; at least in my limited mind). I don't think a 3 month, limited-controlled experiment is much of a experiment/test/comparison, but I will continue it until I run out of GB or Mercury.

FWIW.

Thanks again for the video!