Antler CA finish question

[BRobbins629]

Ready to put a finish on an antler pen and would like to use CA. There is still some brown texture left in the blank which I like, but am worried what will happen to this section if I can't sand and polish the CA. Is this the right finish for this? Or will something else work better?

 

[toolcrazy]

The last antler pen I did. I didn't put a finish on it. I did, however us CA to fill the soft spots. And the pen I did turned out with a high polish.

 

[TellicoTurning]

Bruce,
If you have all bone, just sand and polish to highest grit possible.. you should get a good polish... if by brown finish you mean bark, that will sand down some, but if it's irregular it'll be a little bumpy, but will look great. If it's marrow which is porous and usually greyish... fill with CA then polish..

 

[gerryr]

I finish all my antler pens with CA. It produces a higher shine than just antler and it protects the antler from taking on a strange appearance from body oils. I pay extra attention to the buffing step when there's bark and it always comes out fine.