CA Finish Issues

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candy1land

candy1land

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Sep 25, 2009
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Location
Long Beach
I don't know what wood this is. The picture I took the day I did the finish - CA thin Stick Fast 10 coats. It was my first time doing a wet micro mesh sand on CA. So the bubble looking thing showed up during my sanding. Wasn't sure what that was about - got some input - didn't have time to sand it down and start over yet. A week later I pick it up and now it looks like the video I took today - all over the tube. What the heck happened and how do I fix this? Same thing? Start over? I've never had a CA pen do this and I don't want to have it again - is this the wood? Or the CA? Thanks!

https://youtu.be/UnFx7F6ob2I
c9e82d3402d7e6c47be057e4d3cec58f.jpg




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I quit using StickFast for that exact same reason. Go to a local hobby shop and pick up some thin and medium BSI CA or purchase another brand from one of the online suppliers. The wood looks like Cocobolo or Rosewood to me. Both can be difficult to finish. Be sure to wipe down with Denatured Alcohol after sanding to remove surface oils. Then don't touch it and apply the finish.
 
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I speculate that water wicked underneath the CA. Did you seal the ends with CA before you started your wet sanding process?

When I damp sand (just a few drops of water works; you don't need to drench it), I seal the ends by placing a piece of paper towel on some waxed paper, dropping some thin CA on the paper towel, and then dabbing the ends of the blank in the CA a few times.

After I'm done damp sanding, I re-face the ends of the blank so they are flat.
 
Concur with Cocobolo or some variant of Rosewood. Also concur with not using Stickfast. Good for tube gluing only IMHO. Are you sure the CA was completely dry before you started wet sanding?
 
I have found three curses of CA glue that lead to this type of issue.

1. Oily wood. Campzeke is right. Wipe it down before finishing. I prefer acetone. I used to use DNA but had issues of dull spots still. Acetone seems to work better for me.

Oily woods require several wipings.

2. High humidity at application time. My shop is in my basement in the south. That equals humidity. I either wait or run the dehumidifier till it is 50 percent or less.

Any form of moisture is a killer. I try not to even directly breathe on the blank during finishing.

3. Glue application. I also like BSI medium. My woes with application went down dramatically when I stopped using paper towels. ( i was using viva). Started using hobby lobby foam sheets cut in one inch squares. Make sure you do not apply to much at once. We use four drops on the foam for the first run. Three for the second. And two drops for all remains. Since then life has been happy.

When disaster strikes get out the skew and take it off. There is no other magic cure. Then go through the steps again.

One lesson that I was slow learning. Fix the problem when it first appears. I used to think maybe it will go away if I add a few more layers of CA. It doesn't. More layers of finish only makes more to take off. And it adds to the frustration of additional wasted time.
 
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Rosewood/Cocobolo both are oily woods. Years ago I had this happen regularly. Acetone helps as mentioned. Acetone can be purchased in most hardware stores in the paint thinner section.

I figure you are using a mandrel. If so, that is also part of the problem. When taking the bushings off, the CA breaks at the joint of the blank and bushing. This causes "lifting" of the finish on the oily wood. My and some other folks remedy was to go to "turning between centers" or TBC. This allows finish to be applied without the need for bushings - which cause the "lifting" bubbles, along with the oily finish.
 
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