Finishing Manzanita Burl

[spnemo]

I have a Cigar pen that I turn from Manzanita burl. The upper portion took the CA finish without any problems (it looks awesome). The lower portion of the pen will not take CA. I have tried several times to put my normal CA finish on it (Wipe with acetone, then 5-7 coats of thin followed by 5-7 coats of medium). It looks good initially, but when I start using the micromesh, the finish comes off really quickly.

Is there something unique about finishing Manzanita Burl that I am missing? What could I be doing wrong?

This is enough to make a preacher swear.

 

[avbill]

My manzanita burl has not done that. It took the CA just fine.

Are you wet sanding the CA with MM? if so, you may want to seals the ends of the pen blank so the water can't get between the wood and the ca finish

I do not use acetone to clean the blank I use 99% alcohol.
faster drying time. I then allow blank to air dry for 30 minutes or more. before an application of finish.

Humidity that is it like at this time of year?


What temperature are you in now. Some CA will not set correctly in cold temperatures

These are several ideas that crossed my mind.

 

[Akula]

acetone and CA do not mix

I use acetone to remove CA

 

[nativewooder]

I would suggest that you not wet sand with water. Water is absorbed by the wood and evaporates very slowly. Mineral spirits/Paint Thinner works much better. And as stated by others, do not use acetone around CA glue except to remove it.

 

[spnemo]

I use acetone to wipe down the blank and remove the surface oils. I use this on every pen I do, this is the first one to cause a problem. I seriously doubt the acetone is the problem because I have gotten great results on hundreds of pens.

I am wet sanding with water but I do seal the ends well with CA before turning. Never had problems with this before, why would this blank be different?

It is still quite cold in my shop, but that doesn't seem to affect my finish on othe pens.

There must be something unique about this piece of Manzanita.