Bowman1060
Member
At my day job amongst other things, I sell floor finish to schools, institutions, hospitals etc.
I work a lot with gym floor finish and thought it might be time to try it on wood pens.
Gymnasium floors are typically made from maple and are coated with urethane.
Urethane finishes are either oil or water modified.
Oil based urethane has a yellow pigment in it because of the oil and it gives the finish a look of depth in fewer coats, although it darkens the appearance of the wood. Water based urethane dries clear and can be buffed at high speeds (burnished) to increase the shine when it wears down after months of abuse to increase the gloss. Water based cures in a couple of hours rather than a day. The only problem with water based urethane is that it raises the grain on raw wood (not good) and it is not as durable through prolonged use. OK enough about floors and the day job.
It's been a while since I made pens so I found an old cigar pen I made a few years ago that needed a face lift. I disassembled it and sanded it to 12000 grit. Because it was sealed before, I applied 4 thin coats of water based urethane (recoats on gym floors require only 2 heavy coats) and I sanded lightly it between coats.
I buffed the last coat after it was cured with a blue microfiber cleaning cloth, although I don't think it helped to increase the gloss, it just makes me feel better to buff a pen when I have finished J.
Blue microfiber cloths are used to clean glass and plexiglass because they are softer than other general purpose microfibers.
If this was raw wood I would have used a sanding sealer first.
I don't recommend everyone goes out and gets a pail of gym finish, but water based urethane wood floor finishes are available from paint stores in gloss or satin in smaller sizes. Try a google search on it and see what you think.
I attached a picture.
Steve
I work a lot with gym floor finish and thought it might be time to try it on wood pens.
Gymnasium floors are typically made from maple and are coated with urethane.
Urethane finishes are either oil or water modified.
Oil based urethane has a yellow pigment in it because of the oil and it gives the finish a look of depth in fewer coats, although it darkens the appearance of the wood. Water based urethane dries clear and can be buffed at high speeds (burnished) to increase the shine when it wears down after months of abuse to increase the gloss. Water based cures in a couple of hours rather than a day. The only problem with water based urethane is that it raises the grain on raw wood (not good) and it is not as durable through prolonged use. OK enough about floors and the day job.
It's been a while since I made pens so I found an old cigar pen I made a few years ago that needed a face lift. I disassembled it and sanded it to 12000 grit. Because it was sealed before, I applied 4 thin coats of water based urethane (recoats on gym floors require only 2 heavy coats) and I sanded lightly it between coats.
I buffed the last coat after it was cured with a blue microfiber cleaning cloth, although I don't think it helped to increase the gloss, it just makes me feel better to buff a pen when I have finished J.
Blue microfiber cloths are used to clean glass and plexiglass because they are softer than other general purpose microfibers.
If this was raw wood I would have used a sanding sealer first.
I don't recommend everyone goes out and gets a pail of gym finish, but water based urethane wood floor finishes are available from paint stores in gloss or satin in smaller sizes. Try a google search on it and see what you think.
I attached a picture.
Steve
