First CA/BLO finish,,,

[stevers]

Hi All,
I've had the BLO for months. I was hesitant to use it, sort of scared. I've done CA finishes with great results. I used the straight CA then sand to shine method. But it can be problematic. Often times it cures to quickly, or develops ridges.

Today I had some extra time in the shop. So I decided to give CA/BLO a try. After watching Ed's video and looking over a few PDF documents about the subject, Don Ward's and Fred Munday's, I went for it. I should have tried this a "long" time ago. It is "sooooooooo" much easier then straight CA. Oh my goodness. I used the method in which I put the BLO on the towel, rubbed it on the blank, then while still in contact, I applied the CA and rubbed till it cured. It was sort of a combination of a couple of methods. So far it works good. I may change it up as I go.

The morel of this story is, If you haven't tried the CA/BLO method, or any CA method for that matter, try this. It works great and is so easy.

Finally, thanks to all who posted or wrote tutorials on this subject.

 

[karlkuehn]

I use it the same way, Steve. Only way I could get it to work for me. Another upside that I've found is that with CA/BLO as opposed to just CA, it seems like the finish is less brittle, more 'rubbery' in a way. I've bumped straight CA pens on table edges and such, and that's when they like to crack, but the CA/BLO seems to have much more resistance to this type of abuse. Don Ward's tutorial was a great starting point for me, and then it was just finding my own flavor, like you did. Look forward to seeing your results!

 

[Scott-n-KY]

is the BLO/CA finish just as glossy as straight CA?
and what steps did you do with lathe on and at what speed? Most of the videos and things I have read, don't give speeds.
I tried the method shown on You Tube last night, but it came out dull on the first try , second attempt not much better, so I just put a few coats of straight CA afterwards to save it. I like the high gloss, but I have been getting some spiral marks in my "CA only" finish occasionally.

.

 

[stevers]

Scott,
Bellow is a slim line in bright copper with lacewood. It is the CA/BLO finish. (my third)I turned at full speed. I slowed the lathe some, to about 2 or 3. I sanded through 12,000 MM and then slowed down the lathe some more. I have a Jet mini, so I went from 3 to 1 without changing the pulleys. (whatever that is) I used some mineral spirits to clean the blank, then let it dry. Then, at the same speed, I applied the BLO and CA. (as described above) The finish isn't as glossy as the straight CA, but you could go back and re-sand up through the grits to obtain the gloss. I would even recommend wet sanding once the CA is applied. That will give you the real glossy shine. If you have a buffing system, that would work also. Thats what Ed recommends in his video. I am still in the experimental stages of the CA/BLO finish. Thats why I didn't sand back up through the grits for the glossy shine.

 

[holmqer]

Maybe I am doing something wrong or perhapse this is normal, but I find that sometimes I put on a CA/BLO finish, MM it to 12000 and buff it to a glass like shine, go to bed and when I get up the next day it is a matte finish like Steve's picture.