Ebonite finish

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chris99210

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Joined
Sep 4, 2008
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70
Location
Kansas City
I've made a few ebonite pens and they've turned out beautiful without any finish applied -- just MM to 12000, buff, polish, some anti-static cream and that's it. I've read earlier posts that ebonite may transfer color to your fingers, so now I'm wondering. Do I need to apply a finish? I typically use Enduro for wood pens so that would be my choice. The ebonite has been the blue marbled, green marbled, and cumberland and I've not had any complaints so far, but I don't want to leave my customers with dirty fingers. :biggrin:

Thanks,
Chris
 
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I've made quite a few pens with ebonite. Finish similar to the method you describe and have never had a problem. Although I don't use anti static cream and really don't know what it is.
 
aggromere said:
I've made quite a few pens with ebonite. Finish similar to the method you describe and have never had a problem. Although I don't use anti static cream and really don't know what it is.
Click to expand...

what he said....no complaints from buyers about color bleed or staining.
 
Over time, it breaks down and there is a dust that comes off. It will also change color slightly.
We use mineral oil to condition it and it prevents this from happening.
My employer has been doing this for 93 years and even some of the oldest pieces still look new.
 
Thanks for all the inputs -- I guess I won't worry about staining or color bleed as I'm using the good quality German ebonite.

Peter -- it may just be that my shop is really dry but I find that sometimes after I polish a piece, and especially ebonite, it's prone to pick up dust that won't stay wiped off. The high speed polish adds static electricity that seems to stay with the rubber. I use an anti-static spray or a bottle of anti-static cream to keep it dust-free. I think the spray is Novus and the cream may be from Micro-mesh.

Chris
 
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