BLO/CA

[dannyshoots]

I have just recently applied a CA finish to a cigar pen. I did not use BLO however. I just applied multiple coats of medium CA and misted a small amount of accelerator. Sanded to 12000 and polished. Very happy with the finish! My question is why do people use BLO? What does it do?

 

[PenMan1]

I just applied multiple coats of medium CA and misted a small amount of accelerator. Sanded to 12000 and polished. Very happy with the finish! My question is why do people use BLO? What does it do?

It is added just to drive people crazy!!!!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Actually, BLO acts as a lubricant and accelerator for the CA. I sometimes use BLO in conjunction with a CA finish, but NEVER on an oily wood like Cocobolo, BOW and Purpleheart. When I use BLO with the woods mentioned above, I always seem to get "ghosts" in the finish.

 

[spnemo]

I only use BLO when the wood needs a little extra pop. Most of the time, CA alone will give it a great finish. Occasionally, the thin CA will not soak into the wood and enhance the grain. In these cases, I will uses BLO before the first coat of CA.

I find that when I use BLO it is more difficult to get a good quality CA finish (it might be due to my technique). I get a great finish from CA alone, so I don't bother with BLO. It is all a matter of what works for you.