chuck, welcome to the group!!! and welcome to the joys of penturning!!
what's up? well, lots of penturning...i just finished getting a bunch of blanks ready to turn and turned 1 pen tonight
as far as finishes go, for me:
for wood pens, i use the ca/blo method...see this link for a step-by-step method (adapted from 3-4 other turners' ca/blo methods):
http://www.texaswoodshop.com/turning/ca_blo_finishing_system_1.6.html
i occasionally use mylands friction polish..see this link for a step-by-step method:
http://www.texaswoodshop.com/turning/Mylands_Friction_Polish_Finishing_System_1.1.html
i like several others have found the ca/blo finish to be longer lasting in its shine, and more durable...but as they say "...to each their own..." try different methods for yourself and then you can decide...there are quite a few write-ups on different finish methods available on this board...
for acrylics, corian, nairoc, polyester-resin, etc, i sand with 220, 320, 400 then micromesh 1800-12000... i recently started adding a final step of hut ultra gloss plastic polish, although it may be a step backward in grit, it seems to add that last little bit of shine/smooth that i prefer...
i've not tried shellwax, so i don't know how it works with ca/blo...
hth...jeff c, in foat wuth
www.bubbasville.com
www.texaswoodshop.com
Originally posted by chazmonro
<br />So I'm new to turning pens, I'm also new to the forum, what is up everyone?! Anyway, just looking for some advice on where to get the stuff. I just got the Penn State starter kit, and I've already turned one pen... well half of one anyway... and it turned out ok, but I wasn't thrilled with the shellwax. It was nice, but I only sanded to 400 grit and didn't do any sort of sealer on it. I was thinking I would try the BLO/CA finish in combonation with the shellwax... something I picked up on Russ's website. I don't think he used the BLO though. Any comments or advice?