Durable finish

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i use alot of polly finshes i just put it on and let cure than light;ly steel wool it and put on a nother coat i usually do about 6 to 10 coats on them but it does take about 2 weeks to get it done. i also use the wodturners finsh as well
hope this helps
 
I too have had success using water based polyurethane. I dip my pens into the poly, then let hang overnight before re-dipping. I normally put on two coats, but sometimes as many as four if the wood has lots of open grain. When finished dipping, I use the two finest micromesh pads to smooth out any imperfections.

A friend of mine, who doesn't like to wait overnight between coats, developed a "tree" made of dowels to hang pens from after dipping. The tree fits inside a large cardboard box, and he puts a light bulb in to warm the drying blanks. He can put several coats on his pens in a single night.

There is at least one tutorial in the library on dipping. If this sounds tedious, you might try wipe-on poly.
 
Once you get good at it, CA is easier than most others.....you can finish and MM a slimline in about 5 minutes. Hang in there and practice, practice, practice. Before long you will be surprised at how much you improved and how easy it is.
 
Ca does get quicker over time. For me, it's the best. I do apply it in different ways and different amount of coats depending on the ca.

The quickest finish is not ca. It's friction polish like shellawax or mylands. Most people say they don't hold up as well as ca etc long term. I don't use friction finish on many pens but do sometimes on slims in certain woods that I'm going to offer cheap I use it on some bottle stoppers too.

If I were teaching someone to turn pens, I'd have finish the first few with friction because of the almost guaranteed success.
 
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