Finish recommendation please

[sandking]

Hi all,

I'm new and have only done CA finishes so far on my pens. I have someone that would like a more natural finish as he thinks the glass like CA finish will slip in his hands if they're wet.

When I turned my first few pens I used thin CA and sanded with MM to 12000. I'm not sure if it even protects the wood, but it did give it a more natural feel so I don't do that anymore.

I have Mylands friction polish that I use on bottle stoppers before i lacquer them. Would that be a finish that would hold up?

 

[dbriski]

Mylands friction polish won't hold up, doesn't mean you can't use it either. I do about 1/2 and 1/2 for hard durable finish and natural feel finish. I haven't been doing this for very long a couple months, so I can't say on how they hold up in the long term except from what I have read. The natural finish won't have near the shine of the hard finish, but thats part of the natural finish. I usually use some Danish oil with either shelacwax or pure carnuba wax for my natural finish. I feel the danish oil penitrates well and also leaves a little bit of film (the varnish in the oil) protection. This will break down easily with use but your natural body oils should take over and can change the color of the wood, but I think the people wanting the natural finish like or expect this. The thing with an oil finish is you won't easily be able to tell when it wears through like you can when you sand through CA and have a drastic difference. The pen I use daily (amboyna burl) was soaked in thin CA to stablize and then turned and finished with danish oil. It looks and feels the same as it did when I made it, maybe a little less shine but still looks, feels and smells, good.

But take my opinion with the knowlege of my lack of experience.

 

[sandking]

bump.

 

[mrcook4570]

Turn the blank with some shape (grooves, comfort bump, micro-beads, etc) near the nib end. That should relieve all worries of the pen slipping out of the hand.

 

[bradh]

You could use a CA finish and not buff it to a gloss. It will look more satin this way.
Or you could go with a wax only finish. It is higher maintenance and it will darken with use, but it is a more natural finish.
Brad

 

[ctEaglesc]

Originally posted by dbriski
<br />Mylands friction polish won't hold up, doesn't mean you can't use it either. I do about 1/2 and 1/2 for hard durable finish and natural feel finish. I haven't been doing this for very long a couple months, so I can't say on how they hold up in the long term except from what I have read. The natural finish won't have near the shine of the hard finish, but thats part of the natural finish. I usually use some Danish oil with either shelacwax or pure carnuba wax for my natural finish. I feel the danish oil penitrates well and also leaves a little bit of film (the varnish in the oil) protection. This will break down easily with use but your natural body oils should take over and can change the color of the wood, but I think the people wanting the natural finish like or expect this. The thing with an oil finish is you won't easily be able to tell when it wears through like you can when you sand through CA and have a drastic difference. The pen I use daily (amboyna burl) was soaked in thin CA to stablize and then turned and finished with danish oil. It looks and feels the same as it did when I made it, maybe a little less shine but still looks, feels and smells, good.

But take my opinion with the knowlege of my lack of experience.

I am under the impression that Danish oil is a penetrating oil.
BAsed on the method you used"soaked with thin CA" How much of the oil"penetrated"?
Just wondering.

For the original question.Mylands friction POLISH is a shelac based product.They also make a sanding sealer that is Lacquer based.
At one time I used what was called Mylands 3 step.Three coats of the sealer, 3 coats of the polish finshed off with 3 coats of Carnauba wax.
I had great results on some woods, mediocre on others.
I never did understand why the 3 step system ustilzed a shelac product over a lacquer product.
I moved on to spary lacquer.
It lasts much longer.
Your Ca finish may last longer if you use a thicker viscosity,
I have found thin set too quick but I am on the far end of the learning curve with CA finishes.
All finishes look better if they are built up.
Encasing a piece of wood in a clear plastic finish all at once makes it shiny but does not show the depth of the wood.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The Myland's products are excellent for larger items like vases and bowls that don't get much handling. For those, it is considered a premium product. I used it for duck calls and pens at the beginning. But, as stated, it does not have the wearing qualities desired for things that get handled.
And I also have to wonder about the wisdom of putting Danish oil over CA. You are oiling plastic.