Finishing help

[TomS]

What is the correct way to finish stabilized wood blanks? I've only turned about 20 pens,and all are acrylic. All were wet sanded and then MM'd. Is this the method I should use, or should they be dry sanded and finished like a raw blank? Thanks for your help.

 

[jackrichington]

Stabilized blanks are wood saturated with resin so they can be considered plastics

 

[Skye]

Eh, that's true and untrue. While yes, they are stabilized, it's not like the wood fibers are replaced with plastic. So, it's still a wood blank.

Rather than considering it a plastic, consider it transforming from a punky wood to a nice hardwood like Ironwood. Now, Ironwood isn't something you'd finish like a plastic, you'd seal it when you're done shaping it, then apply a finish (CA for me). A stabilized wood should be treated in the same fashion.

 

[GouletPens]

you don't want to ever wet sand wood, just as a rule. you can still you the same MM method but dry, blowing out the pads with compressed air every 30 seconds or so. I sand everything dry and it works great (I also have a DC hood at the lathe so it's clean too).

A lot of the sellers say that stabilized woods don't even need a finish but that's BS. It's still wood. If you don't put a finish on it you'll have a dull satin sheen, which is fine but not overly impressive to a potential customer. 4-6 coats thin CA with a paper towel and accelerant spray b/w every other coat, then polish with MM. Do that and save yourself 50 hours of experimenting with less fruitful methods....resent:

 

[TomS]

finish help

Thanks for the info. I'll put it to use next week.