Finishing Fusion Blanks (Half Acrylic Half Wood)

[DannyHeatley]

I always get suckered into buying these blanks because I see the amazing results some of you guys turn out but my finished pens always end up looking washed out.

My process:

-Shape blanks to size
-Sand from 140-400
-MM to 12K for the plastic portion of the blank
-Let the blank dry
-Then apply 10 coats of CA
-MM again to 12k

I find the wood always bleeds or goes grey from wet sanding before the CA but I would hate to cover the acrylic with CA with it being only sanded to say 400 grit.

Any advice from you pros would be great!

Thanks in advance.

 

[08K.80]

I wouldn't wet sand the blank before the CA finish. And if the CA is like other clear finishes, you can sand to 400 grit and apply the CA. It should fill any scratches and when sanded back down, it should be smooth and shiny.:wink:

 

[PeetyInMich]

Dry sand to at least 600, then apply the CA. Once you have a few coats you can wet sand without getting the wood wet.

 

[PeetyInMich]

You beat me by / / much

 

[longbeard]

You can buff it also.

 

[DannyHeatley]

thanks for the tips. I should have known wet sanding is what was causing it.

 

[Jim Burr]

It depends on how you do the blank...symmetrical or random. CA works on everything;there are PR blanks that have issues...CA works. Wood...CA is usually the go to. So a combo means CA should work. Go a little thick so wet sanding has a chance to work. Thin coats and finer grits work.

 

[robutacion]

thanks for the tips. I should have known wet sanding is what was causing it.

Yep, you've got it...!

Dry sanding with 400 grit is normally how far I go, making sure that I finish with sanding the blank/barrel long ways with the lathe stopped, that removes any possible round scratches the surface may have. You can go one step further and do the 600 grit dry, it won't hurt anything and can only help a little.

You will find also that and while the lathe is NOT turning, if use put one of hose little plastic bags from the pen kits on your finger and you cover the blank/barrel with thin CA, rotating by hand as you go and then rub/spread the glue evenly through the blank and then git it a quick spray with accelerator or wait until it dries, that will be one of the best blank preparation steps for the CA finish, as this will allow the thin CA soak into any gaps and level itself up to a degree.

This builds a great coat of CA into the surface, the only thing that you need to do is to smooth it out with the lathe NOT turned on and sanding that layer with 240 grit dry sandpaper and do it long ways to the blank/barrel, finish with a quick rub with the same dry grit you used to finish your dry sanding. As soon as you got it smooth you can them give it 5 or 6 coats with the medium CA using the normal rotating method, this will in not time built enough CA for you wet sanding, that again should start with the 600grit sanding with the grain and the lathe turned of, smooth any possible ridges or high spots on the finish that way and then proceed with the other grits with the lathe rotating.

If you want a really deep/gloss finish, apply 5 coats of CA over that hand CA coat then, sand it lightly with the 240 and then the highest grit you used on you dry sanding, clean blank and apply another 5 coats of medium. Wet sand and polish, that will give you an amazing finish that you want to have it repeated, every time, guaranteed...!:wink::biggrin:

Good luck

Disclaimer: This almost goes without saying, my suggestions are based upon my experience and determinations of what I think is acceptable or optimum, this doesn't make it better or superior to any other "ways" to do a CA finish, this is my way, only...!

Cheers
George

Use low speed when applying the CA, (less "spitting" that way)

 

[Yegg]

I have been pretty meticulous with it myself. I sand using Abranet150, 180, 220, 320, 400 & 600 grits. At each grit, I sand with the lathe running. I then stop it and clean it with denatured alcohol and cross sand with the same grit. After cross sanding I clean it with denatured alcohol again. After 600, I do the same with some non Abranet that I have that is 800 and 1200 grit. Once again I am sanding with the lathe running and then cross sanding with the lathe off and cleaning in between sandings.

I then move on to my MM and go through all of the grits while wet with clean cold water. I do not use the denatured alcohol at this point. I also do not cross sand at this point. After going through all of the MM, 1500-12000, I clean it one last time with denatured alcohol.

After letting it stand for a 10-15 minutes I go ahead and put a few drops of BOLO on a gun cleaning patch (cloth) and apply it to the blank almost like a friction finish.

Now that all of that is done, I move on to the CA finish. This is what has been the toughest to get the hang of. I use 2 coats of thin followed by 5-8 coats of medium. Everyone here seems to think 10+ is better but I do not have the confidence to do that yet. FYI, I have found that using craft foam as an applicator and getting the accelerator on FAST has done wonders to improve my CA finish.

Once my layers of CA are applied, I sand using 400 grit Abranet while the lathe is running until the entire blank is NOT shiny. Make sure you do not apply much pressure as you do not want to heat the blank and reactivate the CA glue. Next I turn the lathe off and cross sand. I clean the blank and then start with my MM at 1500 and go through the 12000 again.

Next, I wipe it clean and use the StickFast satin polish followed by the gloss polish.

It sounds like a lot of work and it is. In reality, it only takes about 20 or 30 minutes; and I am still a novice! I hope I can figure out how to post some pictures so I can show you the one I did this past weekend.

Elliott