CA ?????

[jttheclockman]

I thought I would put out some questions about CA application and finishing. Might help others too. These are the basic application questions and not how you apply questions.

When you apply your CA, weather you use blo or not, what are you using to apply it???

How many coats are you applying and is this a rule of thumb you follow or does it chage with species of wood???

After the proper amount of coats are applied, how long do you wait for final finishing???

Here is the inportant one, how do you finish your CA aplications??? Do you sand with micromesh and if so do you use a lubricant such as water??? Do you buff on a polishing wheel and skip the micromesh or do you do both??? Do you just micromesh and then add a plastic polish to highlight???

Maybe I missed something in my questions and you want to add so feel free to do so. This maybe help others that are trying to develop their method of the famous CA finish. Have a great day.

 

[hunter-27]

Bounty,6-8 coats depending on what it goes on like, wait a few hours to a day depending on temp and humidity, dry sandwith micromesh, polish with Brasso after micromesh, hand buff with a soft buffing cloth, ren wax, hand buff again. Works for me(USUALLY).

 

[glycerine]

I used to use paper towels and then I tried using the small plastic bags that pen parts come in. I can't remember who, but someone suggested this on their website. I noticed how much thicker and smoother the coats looked, probably because the CA isn't being soaked up by the paper towel. Anyway, lately I have been getting a better CA finish by doing it this way. After applying 3 or 4 coats, I'll sand with 400, then 600, then go directly to the Hut plastic polish. Maybe 2 or 3 times with that...

 

[jleiwig]

I use Viva paper towels, thin CA, a minimum of 3 coats, sometimes up to 10 depending on the level of depth I'm looking at. Lighter colored porous woods I do a wetsand with CA. Sanding is always wet, and the grit I start with depends on how smooth it looks. I then micromesh all the way, and polish with an automotive polish. Looking at getting a buffing setup and plastic compounds from Caswell plating for final glow.

 

[Troy Cleckler]

I use strips of paper towels, rubber gloves. hold the paper towel under the blank and drip med CA from the top, two or three drops, rub back and forth just once each way, hit it with a little aerosol accelerator, tear off the wet section of paper and do it again. I put on 16 coats then wet MM as soon as I finish this process and finish with a smooth stove top cleaner as a polish.

 

[JimMc7]

1. Dry sand blank through 1200grit
2. Mount between Delrin cone bushings
3. Apply 10 coats medium CA with Viva paper towel (5 minutes between coats) -- I try to avoid coarse paper for final smoothing so I apply very thin coats using light paper towel pressure on the blank
4. Wait a minimum of 12 hours to cure
5. Dry sand CA finish smooth with 600 grit & 1200grit
6. Wet sand MM 2400 through 12000 (foam pads dipped in cup of water)
7. Polish with Novus #2
8. Sand excess CA off the ends of the blanks
9. Polish again with Novus #2
10. Let the CA cure at least a week before enclosing pen (box, pouch, whatever) to prevent the CA outgassing gunk

I use same procedure for all woods but sometimes need to repeat to fill small knots or other imperfections in the wood (sometimes I actually like the look and leave them anyway).

 

[Rick_G]

1. Dry sand to 600 grit, 400 if I am dying the wood.
2. Soak the blank in thin CA and wipe off excess let dry.
3. Put 3 or 4 drops thin CA on folded Bounty and wipe across blank with lathe running let dry. (about 1800 rpm, don't want to be changing belts all the time)
4. With lathe running put a bead of medium CA on a folded paper towel and wipe across blank. Wipe back and forth a few times. Turn lathe off go away for a while and let set.
5. Repeat step 4 three more times.
6. Lightly sand with 600 grit. Check for shiny spots if there are any sand a little more. Do not sand to the wood if you do start over at step 3.
7. Put a drop of BLO on a folded paper towel then add a bead of medium CA just ahead of the BLO.
8. Apply the medium CA to the blank with the lathe running, wipe back and forth a couple times then move the paper towel to the BLO and keep rubbing until the CA sets.
9. Repeat step 8 at least twice more.
10. Polish the blank with auto body polish. I've only tried a couple that I can obtain locally and what works best for me so far is NU Finish Scratch Doctor.
11. Apply a coat of renaissance wax.

Works for me with consistent results summer and winter so I guess I can't ask for much more.

 

[Noah]

1. Mylands finish first...brings out real deep character of wood...
2. WAX Paper application of CA...CA won't stick on hands or wax paper...
3. Use Skew as scraper to smooth out and any rough spots...wipe with clean cloth...
4. Repeat 2 & 3 until I get the results I'm looking for...
5. MM dry through all grades...notice shinning starting at 3200...I always wipe with clean cloth between MM grade and I use air pressure on the MM pads to keep buildup off...MM lasts much longer...
6. Apply HUT friction polish...
7. Apply up to three coats of Ren wax...I "pinch" the blank between my fingers to build up heat...usually get a high pitched "squeal" on first coat and then it goes away with 2nd application...
8. Usually buff with Carnuba...depending on what I see at that point...and what environment the pen will be used in...
9. I have just bought Fine, Ultra Fine and Buffing wheels from Caswell...I'll try that in the near future for the final finish...

Probably overkill, but it works for me... I'm always open to a better way...
Ed

 

[RussFairfield]

Proof that there are at least as many ways to apply a CA finish as there are people using it.

 

[mranum]

This discussion brings to mind another question.

Do you turn your blanks slightly undersized to accommodate the buildup of CA or do you sand most of it back off during the finishing?

 

[TellicoTurning]

I thought I would put out some questions about CA application and finishing. Might help others too. These are the basic application questions and not how you apply questions.

When you apply your CA, weather you use blo or not, what are you using to apply it???

How many coats are you applying and is this a rule of thumb you follow or does it chage with species of wood???

After the proper amount of coats are applied, how long do you wait for final finishing???

Here is the inportant one, how do you finish your CA aplications??? Do you sand with micromesh and if so do you use a lubricant such as water??? Do you buff on a polishing wheel and skip the micromesh or do you do both??? Do you just micromesh and then add a plastic polish to highlight???

Maybe I missed something in my questions and you want to add so feel free to do so. This maybe help others that are trying to develop their method of the famous CA finish. Have a great day.

Jim,
I rarely use the BLO and I only use medium Ca to finish with. I apply mine with little foam strips that I cut from the foam sheets that comes wrapped around electronics... it's thin, non-porous so Ca doesn't soak in like it does with paper towels(less waste of CA), it's soft and flexible and I get very little Ca on my hands using it... I cut them into about 1 x 2 inch strips and store them in a little plastic box over my lathe... one sheet off a good sized electronic will cut up into enough to do lots and lots of Ca application.

Number of coats - depends on the wood and how much attention I'm paying to the count... usually do 1 coat, accelerater, then 3 coats, accelerater, then 3 or 4 more coats and final spritz of accelerater.... I then let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes before I start final finish.... I wet sand with the little pads you get from PSI... I think they are same as MM, mine has 6 grits and I go through all of them two or three passes per grit, wipe between grits with water, then dry the tube with a paper towel and two coats of HUT plastic polish....