CA Finish

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TBCbushings

TBCbushings

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Joined
Nov 7, 2009
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Location
Hampton, Va.
I made a cigar pen a month or so ago and the ca has fogged up in a few spots and cant figure out why... I used the stick fast ca from woodcraft and accelerator had a great shine and was super clear but not now :(. Hope the great wealth of knowledge can help... I think I wont use that ca again.....
Brian
 
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I've been using that same stuff the entire time I've been turning, and the only problems I encounter are operator error. One thing (And this is only theory) if you turned it, it looked great when inside the workshop and in the house at the time, and then it took a while to look at it under different lighting, the fogging could have been there the entire time. That's why I try to inspect everything under direct sunlight before I put it away. SUNLIGHT HIDES NOTHING. Another thing could be moisture in the wood trying to work its way out.
 
The fogging is REAL bad and was not there before....It almost looks like milk....I have done alot of ca but this is the first....@#%#%
 
All I can think is moisture in the wood coming up to the surface under the CA. Or some weird off-gassing. I dunno. Has it happened to any other pens done with that CA?
 
My first guess is that the walnut was still a little wet. Excess moisture can cause that effect.

My second guess is that the pen has been dropped and the impact has caused the CA to separate from the wood at the point of impact.
 
I've had this happen several times to me too. The finish was crystal clear and several days later there would be foggy spots or streaks in the finish. I've reduced the amount of accelerator I use between applications (although I don't feel this was the problem) and I let the blanks sit for a while after applying the ca before I mm & polish them. I would also wipe off my blanks after final sanding and prior to ca with denatured alcohol. Maybe I wasn't allowing them to dry out completely before the ca application. Now I wipe them off with DA crank the lathe up to max speed for a minuet then take them off and let sit for a short time before finishing. So far no more fogging. I use the Hot Stuff line of ca glues.
 
My guess also, would be excess moisture in the wood before CA'ing it.

IF the wood was not sealed well on the ends (or has a very light coating of CA) and has been in a shirt pocket during humid conditions, or in sunlight or heat after being in a humid environment, then that might be a cause also.

IF Russ were still here, he would be telling you that accelerator is a major cause too.
 
I finished another pen with the same chunk of Walnut and same CA no problems. Been completed for a month or so...I was going to give it to a customer but glad I didnt now.....It is a cigar label pen ...#$%^#
 
In law enforcement, we use ca to develop fingerprints. We WANT it to fog them. As long as ca is gassing, if contained in an enclosure, ziplock bag, plastic box, etc it can cause fogging, especially on areas touch by your body. or an area that may have any sebaceous secretion. If it remained in the open air after you finished it, this would not likely be the cause
P.S. Heat and Humidity expedite the gassing process.
 
joefyffe said:
In law enforcement, we use ca to develop fingerprints. We WANT it to fog them. As long as ca is gassing, if contained in an enclosure, ziplock bag, plastic box, etc it can cause fogging, especially on areas touch by your body. or an area that may have any sebaceous secretion. If it remained in the open air after you finished it, this would not likely be the cause
P.S. Heat and Humidity expedite the gassing process.
Click to expand...

Wood for pens with different kinds and grades of CA are a strange breed. It happens often enough that a pen finished and set aside for 2 to 4 days and then place in a bag or pen box - will develop fog. I experienced this when making a bunch of pens and them a few days later packing them in boxes and taking a 15 to 16 hour flight, only to find one or two with the problem. In those cases, the planes were very dry but the altitude change was equivalent to about 5000 to 6000 feet compression and decompression.

But often it is moisture of the wood from the underside fogging up the CA.

This is not speculation as much as it is that there are varying reasons and situations that cause this. Sometimes it is the CA gassing; sometimes it is the wood, sometimes it is both, and sometimes it is humidity long after the fact of being finished.
 
I guess I will strip and redo the label and re finish....I had it in a pen portfolio but other pens were in there also. They were fine bit it was only the one.......ugh
 
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