CA/BLO on stabilized blanks

[jbpaul]

I have recently started turning stabilzed blanks for my pens. I follow the same finishing sequence as with unstabilized wood. Immediatley after completing the finishing process the stabilized blanks are gleaming with a beautiful glass finish but an hour or two later the finish appears more satin. It is not ghosting or scratches from the abrasive but they just don't seem to keep the depth of shine that I get with regular wood. The pen still looks very nice, but nothing I do seems to bring back the full luster. Pens turned from unstabilized wood in the same session still have that deep glassy finish.

Here is my finishing procedure:

-turn to shape
-sand from 180 to 320
-micromesh to 12000
-apply three coats of CA/BLO
-let cure for 10-15 minutes
-micromesh to 12000
-apply 2-3 coats of TSW buffing between
-wipe with DNA between all sanding grits

Is the resin possibly reacting with the finish? Would a coat or two of sanding sealer help? All ideas and opinions welcome.

Great forum, by the way!!

 

[leehljp]

I think you are sanding down to the wood. All it takes is .005 or .006 out of round on a thin build up of CA to sand through. This is hardly perceptible to the eye or by hand feel when sanding, but it will wear through in spots. It will shine too, for a short while and then fade out.

I think that 3 coats are not enough, but it "can" be done.

 

[Texatdurango]

I don't know about the resin reacting with the CA but I doubt it. It's also hard to give suggestions on the internet since we have no way of knowing how much CA you have put on or how you wipe right back off! You saying "apply three coats of CA/BLO" really doesn't tell us much since that is a subjective amount. As an example, my one coat is probably thicker than most peoples 6 coats and I put on several coats!

I've done my fair share of CA finishes and have gotten a few compliments so am confident in what I am doing. That said, I would suggest trying a few changes to your process to see how you like the results because in my opinion I see a LOT of overkill!

Stop sanding at 1000 or 1500 grit (give the CA something to adhere to), apply one or two coats of Mylands sanding sealer to bring out the color, apply a little thicker CA than normal, depending on how smooth you applied the CA, start lightly sanding at 320, 400, 600, 1000 then micro mesh 3200 and 4000 then polish with Novus polish http://162.42.234.18/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31744

I think you will be pleased with the results.

 

[rherrell]

Wait 24 hours before buffing.