Finishing African Blackwood

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gerryr

gerryr

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I finishing an African Blackwood El Presidente for a customer and as usual my CA finish is giving me fits. I think I have problems every time I finish AB. I eventually get it done, but it always takes about 3 times as long as any other wood. The CA just doesn't seem to "take" in spots and I end up sanding it all off and starting over a couple of times. What does everyone else use to finish AB?
 
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I use Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer underneath an Enduro top coat. I'd normally use enduro's SS, but Mylands does a better on oily woods, I think.
 
Gerry, I gave up on CA finishing on all but a couple of types of wood for the same reason you are having. Since I started using Deft laquer I don't have any problems whatsoever. I airbrush about four to five coats of Deft and wait four days for it to cure then wet sand with MM then finish off with Novus polish. No more frustrating problems as stated above. I have only done two African Blackwood pens and the Deft laquer made it easy.
 
Possibly apply more coats of CA before you start sanding and polishing the finish. It's not uncommon for me to apply 10 or more coats of CA before I am satisfied with the coverage. I use accelerator between coats. Not only does it speed up the process, but also helps to lock the CA in place, preventing it from flowing away from certain areas and producing bare spots.
 
I have had the same problems with CA finishes on African Blackwood. The pen ends up with dull spots that stay in the same spot with each coat.
What I do is use BLO/CA and be sure to keep the cloth on the blank until long after you you are sure the CA coat is set. The CA will flow away from these spots if you let it. It seems the CA does not react well to some oil or something the wood has.

In the past, when struggling with this, I stopped the lathe when the CA is wet and observed good coverage, turned the lathe on and let the CA set. When I stop the lathe again, the spots were back.
I tried a variety of sealers, none seemed to work. The only sucess I have had is to keep the cloth on the blank much longer.
Brad
HardingPens.com
 
After this latest problem with AB, I've decided that all future AB pens will be finished with Tru-Oil. It will probably only take 3-4 coats.
 
Hi, I always clean the blank with lacquer thinner (on the running lathe) then put on the 1st coat of finish before the natural oils can rise to the surface. Never had a problem... so far anyway. Good luck!
 
What if you put several coats of thin CA on first. I've found lately if it load up the thin CA first with like five or six quick coats the thick is much better and I didn't get any spots. I've only done this on two pens so far but it's worked.
 
I've done several Blackwood pens for my musician friends and colleagues. I use less CA on Blackwood than with almost any other wood; usually only one application of thin, then I continue my usual routine of wet sanding, polishes, and TSfW. IMHO the key with oily woods is to actually use less CA, only to fill the minute and sparse pores of the wood. But if your technique is to end with the CA, then I'm not much help. I use the CA as a sealer, polish it glass-smooth, then add polish, wax, etc. I've had excellent results (longevity-wise) with this on most woods.
 
AB and CA dont mix very well at all!
I have had problems with lots of pens doing CA/BLO finish, and have ended up sanding back 3 out of 5 of them to improve on the finnish.
The last ones I did, I applied a thin CA coat at very low speed, allowing it to cure, and as Brad Said, kept the cloth on the blank until it gets tacky.
I sanded and repeated 3-4 times, and then applied my normal CA/BLO finish on top.
This appears to correct the problem, and I have had good success with this method.
Celulose sealer hs no effect for me.
 
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