CA Finish Cracking
- Thread starter Lmstretch
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Brian G
Member
Most likely, yes.
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
Yes, I had two zipped cases with about 25 pens in them. Took them to an establishment where my daughter worked to show off. I decided to take them to the car for safe keeping (winter time) When I looked inside the cases they were all cracked. They say the brass tubes expand in extreme temperatures. Hot or cold.
jttheclockman
Member
Sorry but the answer is yes.
JohnU
Member
If it's the wood that cracked, it's probably the change in temp and humidity. If it's the CA that cracked, it could be the brand of CA you used and how hard or brittle it got over the years from not being flexible and possibly too much accelerator.
Flintski22
Member
Question for the experts: If the pens are gradually moved until they reach the temperature of the new environment, would this prevent them from cracking?
For instance, if I had a pen outside in cold weather and moved it into a garage that was a little warmer, waited a bit and heated the garage, and finally moved the pen inside, would this prevent the pen from cracking since the change in temperature is very gradual?
For instance, if I had a pen outside in cold weather and moved it into a garage that was a little warmer, waited a bit and heated the garage, and finally moved the pen inside, would this prevent the pen from cracking since the change in temperature is very gradual?
jttheclockman
Member
Experts? I am sorry there will be no one here that can tell you how a pen will react under any conditions. Every CA is not the same. Every coating and layers is not the same. Everyone's method is not the same. Use of accelorator or not may or may not play a roll. I would think maybe and this is a long shot but a scientist who has studied things like this may. There are people who have studied finishes in general under various scenerios. Wood itself acts differently from species to species. Way too many variables. The only thing people here can definely tell you that extreme cold and heat can have an effect on the finish as well as cracking of the wood because we all have seen it. There are many woods that will crack even if they had no finish on them. Remember too add this to the list of unknowns what adhesive was used to glue tubes in. This is important because wood movement in extreme weather can crack a finish. Remember CA is a top coating. It is not an oil that sinks into the wood fibers and adheres to them. like a Danish oil or others. Would a more flexible CA perform better who knows? Again too many variables. We try to avoid the extremes and that is the best we can do. There is no perfect finish for a pen. At least I know of none. Now all this is my opinion and I have been told many times I am wrong so take it for what its worth. By the way the very first part of your question, I believe there would be no moving. Extreme would have cracked that pen right away. Same for heat.
leehljp
Member Liaison
About 5 - 6 years ago, there was one brand of CA that had several people here with the complaint of cracking. I was a one of those. I have been using CA of different brands for 20 years off and on - I don't do a lot of pens, just enough to satisfy family and friend's needs. Having said that, I learned 10 - 15 years ago that I generally could not use 8 oz of CA thin and 8 oz medium before it went bad. Therefore I began using different brands in smaller amounts 4 oz or 2 oz for a long while.
With that in mind, back about 5 or 6 years ago there was one brand that several reported having cracked CA. To be honest, I forgot which brand that was. I use stabilized blanks, but that does not always stop expansion and contraction. I don't know what the others used - be it stabilized, non-stabilized, green, fully dried etc. But it did come down to the individual brand. AFTER this happened and several reported it here, then it stopped being reported here, as though (a presumption) the company made an adjustment in their CA formula, OR there could have been one bad batch run that several of us had.
IN the spirit of John's post above, this does not mean that it was necessarily a bad batch, but could have been just circumstantial for each of us. That CAN happen. I just remembered - I do believe the brand was Stick-Fast and it was close to the time you mentioned your being created. It wasn't long until the multiple posts of cracked finish here stopped - so a possible bad batch or similar climate condition over a wide area.
With that in mind, back about 5 or 6 years ago there was one brand that several reported having cracked CA. To be honest, I forgot which brand that was. I use stabilized blanks, but that does not always stop expansion and contraction. I don't know what the others used - be it stabilized, non-stabilized, green, fully dried etc. But it did come down to the individual brand. AFTER this happened and several reported it here, then it stopped being reported here, as though (a presumption) the company made an adjustment in their CA formula, OR there could have been one bad batch run that several of us had.
IN the spirit of John's post above, this does not mean that it was necessarily a bad batch, but could have been just circumstantial for each of us. That CAN happen. I just remembered - I do believe the brand was Stick-Fast and it was close to the time you mentioned your being created. It wasn't long until the multiple posts of cracked finish here stopped - so a possible bad batch or similar climate condition over a wide area.
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