CA finish at the ends of the barrel

[mhall]

Hello!

I have tried to find a good answer to this question, and I know it has to be here somewhere, but I can't find it. Anyway, here is my problem. With a CA finish everything is going fine, and the blank looks phenomenal except on the ends. I have used wax coated bushings, the delrin bushings, I have tried cutting the blank from the bushing, etc, but I am occasionally getting what looks to be the CA finish coming off of the end of the pen blank.

I am sanding the pen blank to a 600 grit sandpaper, then using denatured alcohol and BLO. I am putting two coats of thin CA on first and then 10 coats of medium CA. All with a paper towel. I am using an accelerator between coats. Once the CA process is done I am detaching the blanks from the bushings and then using Micro Mesh to finish. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you!

 

[Parshooter11]

Hello!! I've given up using accelerator on pens...seems like it provides too much risk of making the CA more brittle/less stable over time. The 10 coats of medium CA MAY be too many....I've cut back on the number of coats to about 6-8..and use thin CA. Just my two cents.. good luck!

 

[TonyL]

I have used between 5 and 20 coats of medium CA, but always start with one coat of thin, especially on the end around the brass tubes. If I don't think there is enough on the ends, I will place few drops of CA on a paper towel laid out on a table and dabs the ends in it, then immediate blots the end. I don't use accelerator on my first coat of thin and on the ends. Otherwise I use accelerator. I also started making sure that my MM was not so wet when sanding. This seems to works for me. I don't use BLO any more. I did experience just what you did though before using the above method. Good luck.

 

[BJohn]

I use the DNA when cleaning my blanks between grits of paper. But may I ask when are you using the BLO?

 

[mhall]

I am using the BLO after the denatured alcohol.

I will try dipping the ends in CA prior to applying the CA on the full surface and see what happens.

So, you don't use any oil at all and just apply the CA directly to the wood? Prior to applying the CA, what is your final grit of sand paper used?

Thank you for the help.

 

[Charlie_W]

Sounds like you are applying CA with your bushings in the blank. If you apply your CA with the blank either between centers or with tapered delrin finishing bushings, there is no bushing issue....no wax on the ends of the blank either.
Realize that a little CA will roll over the ends of the blank and need to be sanded/squared before pen assembly.
As mentioned, blot the ends of the blank with thin CA to seal them. You don't want moisture getting in under the CA when wet sanding or just ambient moisture causing problems later on.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Personal opinion, spend the $11 for a dead center and ditch all bushings/mandrels when doing your finish work.

The white ends are typically caused by the CA lifting from whatever process you use to part the ca from the bushings.

 

[VotTak]

I wanted to start using BLO/CA finish and ended up exactly as you did. As I see that problem is because CA does not stick properly to underneath level of finish when BLO is used.
BTW when I used BLO/CA combination I have never experience that nice finish, it was always without any gloss. Tried different speeds, different time of application, different paper towels, nothing worked for me. So, I stick to plain CA with accelerator.
What I do I put all the layers of CA needed let it become hard and remove it from bushing. This piece will go for final MM sanding and buffing next day. That works for me. One more thing I always apply some wax on bushing before I put blank on them and start putting CA on the blank. Make it easier to disconnect busing from blank.

 

[mhall]

Thank you.

Funny, I am in the process of getting the materials to finish between centers as we speak.

By the way Carl, you have some beautiful pens and a very nice website.

 

[Charlie_W]

Thank you.

Funny, I am in the process of getting the materials to finish between centers as we speak.

By the way Carl, you have some beautiful pens and a very nice website.

Good move! You should see a difference in your finishing.

 

[Charlie_W]

I wanted to start using BLO/CA finish and ended up exactly as you did. As I see that problem is because CA does not stick properly to underneath level of finish when BLO is used.
BTW when I used BLO/CA combination I have never experience that nice finish, it was always without any gloss. Tried different speeds, different time of application, different paper towels, nothing worked for me. So, I stick to plain CA with accelerator.
What I do I put all the layers of CA needed let it become hard and remove it from bushing. This piece will go for final MM sanding and buffing next day. That works for me. One more thing I always apply some wax on bushing before I put blank on them and start putting CA on the blank. Make it easier to disconnect busing from blank.

My concern is that if you wax the bushings, wax gets dragged onto your blank as you apply the CA....not exactly the best surface for the additional coats of CA to adhere to in my book. See previous post regarding applying CA with out bushings.

I only use CA. Did not even try using with BLO.

Gook Luck!

 

[Carl Fisher]

Thank you.

Funny, I am in the process of getting the materials to finish between centers as we speak.

By the way Carl, you have some beautiful pens and a very nice website.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

I never had much success with adding BLO to the mix. When I do CA, I typically just hit a few quick layers of thin and then a few layers of medium and leave it at that. If it's an especially oily wood, I'll just friction finish or if I must CA (segmented work) then I'll give it a good wipe down with denatured alcohol and it helps.

Ask 3 turners how to accomplish a task and you'll get 17 different answers :wink:

 

[VotTak]

I wanted to start using BLO/CA finish and ended up exactly as you did. As I see that problem is because CA does not stick properly to underneath level of finish when BLO is used.
BTW when I used BLO/CA combination I have never experience that nice finish, it was always without any gloss. Tried different speeds, different time of application, different paper towels, nothing worked for me. So, I stick to plain CA with accelerator.
What I do I put all the layers of CA needed let it become hard and remove it from bushing. This piece will go for final MM sanding and buffing next day. That works for me. One more thing I always apply some wax on bushing before I put blank on them and start putting CA on the blank. Make it easier to disconnect busing from blank.

My concern is that if you wax the bushings, wax gets dragged onto your blank as you apply the CA....not exactly the best surface for the additional coats of CA to adhere to in my book. See previous post regarding applying CA with out bushings.

I only use CA. Did not even try using with BLO.

Gook Luck!

Charlie,
Thanks for your reply. I will definitely change my approach to this problem and I will consider that suggestion. Appreciate that. I'm still learning... mostly on my mistakes... some of them are costly... it is always better to get good advice (like I just got from you) and save frustration.

 

[CaptainJane]

use delrin/nylon/Teflon bushings

Howdy
As another has already said, when you are applying your CA, use the non-stick bushings. Then you will not have the problem on the ends.

I am pretty new at this, but my CA finishes have been great.
I use sandpaper to 600, then Abranet mesh to 600.
Then, I switch to the non-stick bushings.
Next, I apply the CA, about 20 thin coats, and let cure several hours.
Next, Abranet mesh again
Then, wet sand with the color coded pads.
Finally, plastic polish, Maguire's 100 and 200.

 

[mhall]

Awesome advice. With the non-stick bushings I was still having problems. I tried the coating the ends method last night, and that made things better. I also cleaned my bushings in acetone and I think that will help. I have 60 degree centers coming next week. That should help a lot. I just did a European pen in lacewood maple and that turned out great. The pattern I have seen is with dark woods more than the light woods. The maples I have done have worked out great.

I will keep going. This is a lot of fun to me and my imagination is running wild with what I can do.