Ca Finish Again !! Help

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Pen Man

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Does CA & BLO only work for some people ? [V]
My shop is always 62 degrees to 75 degrees [8D]

This is what I have tried :(

1. Finish one pen barrel at a time.
2. Start with 2 drops of BLO on a folded Bounty paper towel and apply with lathe running on slow.
3. Using the same spot on the paper towel hold it under the spinning blank and apply LIGHT pressure to the blank. At the same time apply drops of thin CA while moving from one end of the tube to the other. Total drops-about 3-4 on a thin Slimline, about 6-8 on the long barrel of a Cigar.
4. Once I get to the end of the barrel QUICKLY put the bottle down and at the same time move the paper towl back a forth rapidly.
WARNING-THIN CA WILL SOAK THROUGH THE PAPER TOWEL TO YOUR FINGERS AND NOT ONLY STICK, BUT ALSO BURN!!!
As soon as the bottle is down I grab one end of the paper towel allowing the other hand (the one with the finger that is about to be stuck and blistered) to let go and grab farther down the paper towel.
5. Keep moving back and forth. The paper towel will feel like it is starting to stick to the blank and after a few more moments it starts to get smooth again. Keep going back and forth for about 15-30 seconds after this point.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 until 5-7 coats are finished.
7. The finish on first couple of pens I got to this point was not completely smooth so I started at 4000 MM and went up. The last few I did were smoother so I started at 8000 MM.
8. The finish I got was a nice satin. I added a couple of Hut PPP and got a gloss finish.

FINISHING WITH CA/BLO

1. After sanding to 12000 MM, burnish with brown paper if desired.
2. Speed 700- 800
Use thick CA.
3. Put CA on paper towel, wipe onto wood.
4. Put BLO on towel, wipe on wood until curing odor is noted.
5. Wipe off excess with clean towel.
6. Sand lightly with 600 grit to remove the gloss.
--------------------
7. Repeat above steps 1 through 6.
--------------------------
8. Repeat steps 1 through 4.
9. When curing odor is noted, speed up lathe to high speed
while wiping with paper towel until dry.
10. For high gloss, may use paper bag paper, or buff with white diamond.

My method in nut shell is as follows:
-1800 RPM-
Sand with 240, 320, 400 Grit papers.
Wipe down with denatured alcohol (DNA)
Apply a thin sealer coat of Thin CA with 400 grit paper.
New sheet of 400 grit smooth out.
Wipe down with DNA.
MM through 12000 (DNA as needed between coats to remove sanding debris. Usually between each three of the MM.)
Two coats of Myland's cellulose sanding sealer.
MM last four grits through 12000 again.
DNA
-Slow lathe to 500 Rpm. ( or Slowest setting).-
Apply two coats thin CA with Costco Paper Shop towel.
Air dry only betweencoats (NO ACCELERATOR).
Apply Two Coats of Thick CA, as smoothly as possible.
Air dry betweencoats. (If you do need to use a light application of
ACC, I wait at least 1 minute after each CA application, and only
use the Aerosol from a distance. I don't have any issues with cloudiness
or bubbles this way. The pump ACC does not work for me)
-Speed lathe back up to 1800 RPM.-
Sand with 320 Grit(Sometimes 240 grit if I went crazy) to remove any ridges, swirls etc.
Sand with 400 grit.
DNA
MM through 12000.
Hut Plastic Polish applied with paper shop towel

NO DNA!
 
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I use boiled linseed oil with CA as a finish and apply the CA immediately after the oil. It's the oil and CA mixed together that produces that wonderful slick glass like shine. Those that use boiled linseed oil on top of the CA use it while the CA is still wet to get the mix. But, we all do what works for us. There is no one correct way. CA can be used without using boiled linseed oil. Many use it that way. So, letting the oil dry is the same as using CA without the addtion of the oil.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Originally posted by bradh
<br />If you put BLO or DNA down first, you need to allow drying time before you move on to the CA.
Brad
Click to expand...
 
I think it was Old Griz who told me about using BLO to "pop the grain" and then burnish it with a paper towel or cardboard to heat it and effect a rapid drying action. Then proceed with whatever method of CA or other finish application you want. This may or may not work on some woods that are heat sensitive, however. FWIW.[:)]
 
Originally posted by its_virgil
<br />I use boiled linseed oil with CA as a finish and apply the CA immediately after the oil. It's the oil and CA mixed together that produces that wonderful slick glass like shine. Those that use boiled linseed oil on top of the CA use it while the CA is still wet to get the mix. But, we all do what works for us. There is no one correct way. CA can be used without using boiled linseed oil. Many use it that way. So, letting the oil dry is the same as using CA without the addtion of the oil.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Click to expand...

I should clairify myself Don. I used to do my finish the way you did, but sometimes I ended up with dull patches. Russ pointed out in a recent post, that the dull patch could be from putting CA over fresh BLO.
Now I pop the grain with BLO and then let it sit and dry a few hours. I then proceed with CA and BLO the same as you for the rest of the process. It is only slightly different than you do it and I have not been doing it this way for too long, but I have not had the dull patch problems since I made this change.
Thanks for your input, I find it is only by comparing these differences that I learn to fine tune the finish.
Thanks,
Brad Harding
www.HardingPens.com
 
Brad,
We shall ever be fine tuning our finish....finish seems like the wrong word because there is no end to our fine tuning...we always want to do a better finish. Good luck to you and me and the rest of us in our fine tuning.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Originally posted by bradh
<br />
Thanks for your input, I find it is only by comparing these differences that I learn to fine tune the finish.
Thanks,
Brad Harding
www.HardingPens.com
Click to expand...
 
I have a "formula" for applying a CA finish that was taught to me by Fritz McCorkle at WoodTurningz. I would be willing to email it to anyone who is interested. I have been making pens for about 13 years, when a slimline was all there was, and using/teaching the CA finish along with pen turning at the local Rockler store for a few years. Here are some things I have discovered:
1. CA has a shelf life of around 20 months (per Star Bond Adhesives)
2. Ca is best stored unopened in a refrigerator above freezing.
3. I never put a cap on my CA, it hardens in the absence of oxygen.
(I have left the container open for as long as a month without using
it and it was fine)
4. Except for the thick, I use the very small tips on the bottles available
from Highland Hardware or they come free with the Star Bond 2 oz bottles.
5. Put the recently used paper towel aplicator in a container of water or
you can have a fire.
6. Use sand paper to remove the CA from you fingers if the debonder
ain't getting it done.
7. Use the aerasol accelerane and hold it at least a foot from the blank
being finished.
8. Too much accelerator will always foam and or pitt the CA finish.
9. A dull spot is caused by too thin of a spot in the finish and needs
to be resanded, re applied Ca and finished out.
10. Too much pressure with the towel when applying will create a
finish too thin and it will be sanded through.
11. Too much pressure with the Micro Mesh will "burn" a white spot
and must be turned off to remove it.
12. When applying the CA keep the paper towel moving rapidly with
moderate pressure and use a clean, dry are for each application.
Get on and get off with the towel or you will streak the finish badly.
13. Very important..have a fan or dust collector or better, both running
to push the CA fumes away from your face. Breathing this stuff can't
be good for you.
14. After going through all of the Micro Mesh grades I apply Novus
Plastic polish, about 4 drops per pen, and buff with a clean. dry
cotton cloth. It's amazing. I have never had a finish come off
and have a pen that I carry almost every day and the finish looks
as good as when I applied it two years ago.
15. If the bushings are glued to the end of the blank tap them lightly
on the lathe bed while rotating it and after a few raps it will come off.
16. Protect the lathe bed from the CA with cut up file folder strips held
with magnets. The magnets also hold the bushings iin the order they
came off the. Got mymagnets from Rockler.
17. Always work pens with the tip either to the left or right. No
thinking about whether the long blank goes right or left because the
tip is always at the same end.
blanks if you will use three of them.
18. I never use BLO or DNA. I don't want to risk compromizing the
surface of the wood/antler/plastic or whatever. I have always seen
these products as contaminates to the CA bond.
I'm sure I could post more but don't want to be redundant more than I have been. Now understand, these are my ways of doing it, your way is just as good and works just as well. If there is any of this that helps that's good too. Later.
Wood Butcher
 
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