All of these things have been asked about, and "I feel your pain". There have been many good answers to these questions. Maybe the following will help.
The reasons for these problems are simple. ALL finishes are permeable to some degree. Some more than others. That means that liquids or gasses can pass through the finish. Even plastics (CA glue is a plastic) are permeable, and that is why the CO2 in soda pop will eventually leak through the plastic bottle. And, all this time you thought it was leaking through the cap. The closest we could get to impermeable would be glass or a fired ceramic. Everything else leaks.
"DULL" is caused by oil. The oil can be natural in the wood or it can be oil that we have added to the wood BEFORE we sealed it with a finish film. The oil will leak out through the finish and kill any gloss that might have been there. The only solution is to remove the finish and remove the oil or allow it to cure if it is a finishing oil before covering it up again. Be aware that any natural oils remaining in the wood will migrate to the surface, penetrate the finish, and kill the gloss. Some woods are best left with a dull finish or no finish.
"CLOUDY", also known as "blush", is moisture that has condensed under the surface film. Sometimes it will disappear over time as it migrates through the surface film. Sometimes it won't. Ususally we don't want to wait that long. This moisture can be from within the wood because it wasn't as dry as we thought, or it can be driven to the surface because the wood was too hot when we coated it with a finish. We could have added the moisture with the alcohol we used to clean the wood, or it could have come from the humid atmosphere if we used compressed air or another gas (spray can) to carry the finish to the wood. The moisture could also be from a old finish that has had considerable exposure to humid air in a partial can that has been opened a lot. Moisture can be a problem with CA glue that has been stored in a freezer or refrigerator and not allowed to warm to room temperature before opening and using.
The only solution to a cloudy finish is to wait and see if it disappears with time (weeks); or to remove the finish and allow the moisture to evaporate.
"BLOTCHY" is how we describe what we get when the different absorbtion of finish by end and flat wood grain causes different amounts of color change in different parts of the wood. We call it "blotch" when the effect is ugly. We call it "enhancing the grain" when the result is pretty. Since oils impart the most color, oils on bare wood are a shortcut to both "blotch" and "enhancement".
The only solution to blotch is to remove the finish and sand deep enough into the wood to remove all of the offending color. Then coat it with something other than an oil. The only other solution is to put the pen in bright sunlight and wait (weeks) for all of the wood to change color and hope that the blotchy coloring isn't as noticeable. Some wood gets blotchy from everything we can put on it other than wax or nothing.
Adhesion problems are caused when the surface of the wood has been contaminated with oil, sweat, moisture, or other chemical substances to prevent bonding of the finish to the wood. This is the cause of what we call a "fish eye" in a lacquer finish. Adhesion can also be a problem when incompatible finishes are used.
The solution is simple. Be clean and don't touch the wood with our dirty or sweaty fingers. If the finishes are incompatible, give whatever is on the wood time to cure or evaporate before coating it with something else, and always buff the gloss back with steel wool before affing the next layer. If the oil is IN the wood, it will have to be removed as best we can with a solvent before applying a finish, but be aware that the remaining oil will migrate up to the surface with time and can still break the bond between the wood and the finish.
Anyone sanding through the finish film has a personal problem of too much, too coarse, too long, or too heavy.
The reasons for these problems are simple. ALL finishes are permeable to some degree. Some more than others. That means that liquids or gasses can pass through the finish. Even plastics (CA glue is a plastic) are permeable, and that is why the CO2 in soda pop will eventually leak through the plastic bottle. And, all this time you thought it was leaking through the cap. The closest we could get to impermeable would be glass or a fired ceramic. Everything else leaks.
"DULL" is caused by oil. The oil can be natural in the wood or it can be oil that we have added to the wood BEFORE we sealed it with a finish film. The oil will leak out through the finish and kill any gloss that might have been there. The only solution is to remove the finish and remove the oil or allow it to cure if it is a finishing oil before covering it up again. Be aware that any natural oils remaining in the wood will migrate to the surface, penetrate the finish, and kill the gloss. Some woods are best left with a dull finish or no finish.
"CLOUDY", also known as "blush", is moisture that has condensed under the surface film. Sometimes it will disappear over time as it migrates through the surface film. Sometimes it won't. Ususally we don't want to wait that long. This moisture can be from within the wood because it wasn't as dry as we thought, or it can be driven to the surface because the wood was too hot when we coated it with a finish. We could have added the moisture with the alcohol we used to clean the wood, or it could have come from the humid atmosphere if we used compressed air or another gas (spray can) to carry the finish to the wood. The moisture could also be from a old finish that has had considerable exposure to humid air in a partial can that has been opened a lot. Moisture can be a problem with CA glue that has been stored in a freezer or refrigerator and not allowed to warm to room temperature before opening and using.
The only solution to a cloudy finish is to wait and see if it disappears with time (weeks); or to remove the finish and allow the moisture to evaporate.
"BLOTCHY" is how we describe what we get when the different absorbtion of finish by end and flat wood grain causes different amounts of color change in different parts of the wood. We call it "blotch" when the effect is ugly. We call it "enhancing the grain" when the result is pretty. Since oils impart the most color, oils on bare wood are a shortcut to both "blotch" and "enhancement".
The only solution to blotch is to remove the finish and sand deep enough into the wood to remove all of the offending color. Then coat it with something other than an oil. The only other solution is to put the pen in bright sunlight and wait (weeks) for all of the wood to change color and hope that the blotchy coloring isn't as noticeable. Some wood gets blotchy from everything we can put on it other than wax or nothing.
Adhesion problems are caused when the surface of the wood has been contaminated with oil, sweat, moisture, or other chemical substances to prevent bonding of the finish to the wood. This is the cause of what we call a "fish eye" in a lacquer finish. Adhesion can also be a problem when incompatible finishes are used.
The solution is simple. Be clean and don't touch the wood with our dirty or sweaty fingers. If the finishes are incompatible, give whatever is on the wood time to cure or evaporate before coating it with something else, and always buff the gloss back with steel wool before affing the next layer. If the oil is IN the wood, it will have to be removed as best we can with a solvent before applying a finish, but be aware that the remaining oil will migrate up to the surface with time and can still break the bond between the wood and the finish.
Anyone sanding through the finish film has a personal problem of too much, too coarse, too long, or too heavy.
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