Greg,
Good points, but both of these individuals write roughly the same amount of time (it's not a perfect situation) but should be a good base to start from, plus it also will be opportunity to see how the human oils (contains some acidic properties -not much) will effect the finishes over a period of time. The mention of the current shellac within current friction finishes, I have a problem with, the friction finish by Hut is very suspect, a high tendency of the compounds to seperate (produces a not even finish as well as no finish with in days due to wood absorbsion). The product from Australia (Shellawax - I believe) does not have the seperation that Hut (Crystal Coat) experiences, but contains a high concretrate of wax (last bottle I looked at), the wax contains acids that can counter act the shellac itself and causes it to thin and spead unevenly (note warning on bottle)if not applied for 2 to 3 minutes to allow heat build up to dispense wax and shellac evenly. The Crystal Coat contains carnuba wax that creates an effect with the shellac itself that dulls without concentrated heat this sometimes doesnt work (towards the end of 1 year shelf life as noted on bottle), both products rely on heat to be the catalyst for even spread of finish. In using pure shellac, you do not experience this uneven finish by utilizing a pad or a brush. Shellac needs time to cure (the downside), during the curing time, shellac melts together and pentrates the wood to start forming a sealed bond, after two to three coats (long times to re-apply - disadvantage), the shellac form a mirror look that has depth with the ability of popping the grain. I have not used shellac on any of my pens nor have I used CA on any of my pens. I have tried both the Shellawax and Crystal Coat friction finishes and I am not satisfied with these. I have used laquer finishes from Deft and Minwax, I have used different polyies by dippingwith good results, but not perfect. There has got to be something that will produce a mirror finish that is not an adhesive (hard to learn and apply) nor a mixtures of Wax and other components (bad seperation issues). There is a lot of good information out there on the benefits and dis advantages of both types of finish. I'm just wanting to step up and experiment until a highly gross and durable finish can be found and the results can be made public for anyone to make a well informed decision, without personal influences that may or maynot effect the well being (health and financial) of the person appling either type of finish. I hope this makes some sense, if not I apologize.