Dull & Thin CA Finish Problem

[Grizzlyss]

I am doing a Amboyna burl blank for a Sierra pen, I have turned the centre of it slightly wider diameter than the ends, pretty normal for pen turning. I then put 10 thin CA coats on then 6 medium CA/BLO coats on without sanding between coats, well the finish turned out dull in the middle section. Went to sand the blank back down to wood and start all over again, and it took less than a minute to sand through the finish with 220 paper, actually it felt like 10 seconds. What is going on here? This is the second try at finishing the pen. The first time I only put 4 thin coats then 4 med coats on and sanded through with the MM !! I have tried cleaning the blank with Accelerator (first time), and Acetone (second time) and allowed 5 min. to dry. Any suggestions? Could it be the humidity in the garage? I had the garage heated up to about 68F and the humidity was around 50%. Thank You for looking, and any or all suggestions.

Sheldon

 

[gketell]

When you rub on the CA with BLO you are really putting on a micro-thin layer because you are rubbing the excess off. At least that is what it always did for me. If I'm going for the high-gloss look I don't use BLO; I just "dribble" the medium CA onto the top of the blank as it spins and use the paper towel on the bottom to catch any drips and to smooth it out. The paper towel barely touches the wood.

I also THINK that CA acts as its own thinner. When I put on nice thick coats on amboyna I still get color through each layer. The only way I can see that happening is if the new CA is slightly melting the old CA and mixing. But that is just a theory. If this theory is right, then by rubbing the CA on you are also rubbing the previous CA off.

Just thoughts from a CA newbie (two nice pens and a couple of so/so pens and a bunch of "what happened" pens. Luckily in reverse order.

GK

 

[Grizzlyss]

Well I did what was reccomended on another post, I put about 6 medium CA coats on, no rubbing or sanding. Then a little light sanding with 400 up to 12000MM just enough to even out the blank, as I always seem to get a bunch of very small bumps on it. Then I put on 6 coats of CA/BLO, and then MM from 3200 up to 12000MM, and I got a really nice smooth and shiny finish, so I keep this variation of the CA/BLO finish in mind for anytime I get a difficult piece again.

Sheldon