CA accelerant

[Brh]

I am a complete novice, only taken delivery of my first lathe last week. So I have been reading posts, reading tutorials, watching videos and practicing with cheap kits before I venture into more expensive terretory. After much experimenting, I think I have arrived at a pretty good finishing regimen, but I know that my finishes can be improved. I'm aware of the adage that if you ask 10 turners how to do something, you will get 15 answers. Some turners use CA accelerant in finishing, others not. Right now, I'm more mystified about the "whys" than the "hows." So those of you in the accellerator camp, I'd like to hear why you find it advantageous. And conversely, those who find it unneccessary, what are your thoughts? Thank you for your insights.

Regards,
Brian

 

[djncas]

I use it because My shop is in my basement and it contains moisture, flash time for the CA in winter is slow ,so I use the accelerator. It cuts flash (drying) time way down. In the summer I usually don't need to use it, its about 1 minute between flash times. If you want to make time between finish and end assembly then use it. If you are taking your time and live in a high humidity area I would not worry about it. Experiment with it see what works best for you.

 

[Rodnall]

I live in a high humidity area and after reading some posts about what's my hurry and how much better not using accelerant is I tried not using accelerant. After 2 days to finish 2 pens, redoing them a couple times each because the were cloudy when I finished them I went back to accelerant. I have found that I don't need it on the first coat on wood and I only need every 2nd application of CA glue. The CA glue also
goes on in thicker coats after using accelerant.
Rod

 

[leehljp]

I am in the "don't use it unless you have to use it" camp. Only in very cool to cold weather, and I have to get a pen finished, and my shop is not up to about 70°. Rarely other than this.

Why these? Experience has taught me to make rational judgements on observation of the results. Sometimes, most times I will try and make the pen without accelerant; if I can't get the right results in a limited time frame, I will use it.

Every new variable you use can cause a combination of problems down the road. The problem is the thinking that because "it has worked so well in the past, it cannot be a part of the problem now." Wrong!

Use it only if I have to, don't use it if I can get by without it.

 

[raar25]

CA is an anarobic fastener. This means it dries faster at least when air is removed. You can see this if you make a puddle of CA on a piece of plastic and let it sit. Medium will still be liquid for quite some time. So if you spread it on your pen in the open air it takes a long time to dry. I have had medium take up to 5 minutes to dry. Thin dries alot faster and as mentioned the first coat or two dry pretty quick (20-30 seconds) so I usually dont use it then either. But I have very limited time in my shop and need to get as many pens done as possible so I do not have the patience to wait 5 minutes for a coat of CA to dry. Note though you should use CA very sparingly, a strong spray will make it turn cloudy.

So thats my basic process. Note as stated the humidity and temp (my wifes patience level) will effect the results so I do change my process to fit the conditions.

 

[lorbay]

For me I use it for speed as I can put about 15 coats on in 5 min. So I use a swab and wipe it on get rid of the swab, spray, get another swab and so on.

Lin.

 

[ALexG]

no accelerator for thin just for medium, in my experience with thin I got undesirable white spots, no problems with the medium

 

[mmoncur]

I use medium CA with no accelerant. I give each coat 15 minutes to dry, but I only do 5-6 coats. Seems to work fine for me, but I can understand the need for speeding things up if you were trying to make production quantities.

 

[Katya]

I use CA without an accelerator. I've had trouble with white spots forming, and reading some of the posts here showed me that it can be difficult to get just the right amount of accelerator. Factors like the distance sprayed from the pen, the size of the drops sprayed, etc. etc. all contribute to whether or not it works properly. I just find that I get more consistent results if I don't use it. I only use thin CA, and wait a few minutes between coats. And I definitely leave it to cure overnight before I start to sand the finish.
FWIW,
Catherine

 

[Brh]

Thanks all,for your replies. Now that I have an idea as to why accelerant may be beneficial, I'll try it for comparison. As I stated, I'm still in experimental mode, trying to define a finishing regimen that works for me. I really appreciate this forum and the exchange of ideas here.

Regards,
Brian

 

[Jeff Leslie]

I think the white spots arising from the use of accellerator arise from applying too much CA in the first place.

It's a difficult ask - particularly with thin CA - to get the right amount of coverage. So many drops with 50+year old eyes.

Often I find that too much CA, either with or without accellerant, results in the white spots and much unwanted sanding.

Otherwise, if you have the time to wait, don't use accellerant, it's too costly.

 

[bradh]

White spots are from spraying too close and big drops of accellerator land on the CA. Spray from further away will solve the issue.

 

[Justturnin]

I use it during my Med CA build up just to speed things along. I only use Woodcrafts Satellite brand with EZ bond CA. I have never had an issue w/ white spots. I think, and this is just me thinking, that it is best to use an aerosol spray over the pump so you get a finer mist and a pump you could get drips and I typically spray from about 2 feet and it is just a burst at a flanking angle not a spray. Also, if you get too much CA on the pen it could react w/ the ambient moisture in the air in the heavy spots and almost foam on you. More thin coats is better than few thick.

 

[Chasper]

When gluing tubes into blanks I use the spray accelerant.

When using CA for finishing I use Bounty paper towels as an accelerant. I hold the paper towel on the back side of the blank and drizzle thin CA on top with the lathe spinning at about 3000 rpm. The CA sets up while I'm rubbing the paper towel on the blank; I rub hard, just a little less pressure than it would take to move the lathe and I rub for 10 seconds per coat. No waiting for drying between coats. I can put on 10 coats in less than 4 minutes. No follow up sanding is required, just buffing with white diamond soon after applying CA.

 

[Janster]

Go to" You Tube" and search for" Fast Stick CA Finishing System" tutorial.
Good luck. I was having trouble using CA untill practicing the Fast Stick method. I like it!....Be well...........Jan

 

[Jgrden]

The acceleration is used for different reasons in my shop., When a Wine Cork top needs holes or divots filled a heavy dose of medium is used and then accelerated. The heavy CA is then sanded down hopefully to an even level and then polished. When finishing a pen using CA/BLO a acceleration is seldom used.
I have, out of three different accelerants found the one at Woodcraft to be the best. Spray on, less waste, and effective. Sorry Monte. You aren't selling it any more any how.
John

 

[mikespenturningz]

I don't use any CA in my shop or very little. It causes me respiratory problems that took weeks to get out of my system. I use DoctorsWoodshop finishes Home for all of my finishing. I know some will say that CA is the only way to go but I have turned well over 200 pens using this finish and use one daily at work for the last year and the finish is still great. My point is there are alternatives to CA! I found you only need the pen turners finish and walnut oil for most of my work!

 

[triw51]

I use BLO with my CA finish, rub the wood with a very thin coat of BLO then 2 layers of thin CA and repeat until I get the rich finish I want (Note: if I don't want the BLO to darken the wood I apply a coat of thin CA first). The BLO acts like an accelerant so I do not use a spray accelerant in my finish.

 

[MaxPen93]

I use the accelerator only after the first 2 coats THIN and maybe like the last coat of MEDIUM ....I spray as far away as I can to prevent the white spots mentioned above.."let the mist" FALL on the pen, also it only takes a little, use just enough to break the tension in the glue...

 

[yorkie]

I apply two coats of thin and don't need accelerant until I get to the medium. I have a second dust extractor that goes through the wall outside and I spray the accelerant (I have found the PSI stuff has the best results and the mist is very fine), I spray it about 6 inches from the blank as it's spinning and let the vacuum pull it over the blank. This uses the least amount and gets the finest, cleanest coverage.

Hope this helps.

I have used BLO between finishes and that works as accelerant too. Be careful of the fumes!

 

[Brh]

Thanks again for all the insights. I gave accelerant a try and found that I didn't like it. My results were even more inconsistent than I am already experiencing with CA/BLO. Most notably were the random white spots. With the accelerant, I feel like I'm just complicating matters, so I will continue to fine tune my process.

Regards,
Brian