egnald
Member
Greetings from Nebraska.
The pen is a Southwest Twist style kit in the (discontinued?) Copper plating with Red Coral accents. The blank is a simple segment of Sonoran Desert Ironwood, Red Jasper SimStone and White Marble SimStone with copper separators to complement the copper plating and the red and white accents on the center band. Pictures of the pen follow.
With encouragement from Ed at Exotic Blanks, I used GluBoost Fill and Finish for the first time on this pen. Here are some notes and observations:
Application: I used about half of the number of coats than I put on with my typical CA regimen. I used small paper towel applicators (Viva Signature Cloth) - the same as I use with standard CA. I applied it with my lathe at the lowest speed, about half of what I use for CA (around 250 RPM). I used 3 coats of Medium (blue bottle) followed by two coats of Thin (orange bottle). I did two quick spritzes of the GluBoost GluDry accelerator after each coat. (I am pretty sure I used twice as much as necessary. Considering how things went, one quick single spritz is likely all that would have been needed). Perhaps it is a little biased because of GluBoost touting non-yellowing in their marketing, but I really did get the impression that the finish was more clear than what I get with my usual CA. The layers seemed to self-level very well and they built up thickness much faster than what I get with standard CA.
Sanding: I followed my standard MicroMesh wet sanding regimen of sanding using each grit (lathe on at about 1000 RPM) followed by sanding with the grain (lathe off). I only spend about 10 to 15 seconds on each grit, except for the first, coarse grit (Rust 1500) which gets a double hit because I use it twice before moving on to the next grit. I use a couple of drops of Cascade Rinse Aid in my wet sanding water as a lubricant and de-wetting agent.
Summary: The GluBoost performed very well and lived up to the features touted by the company and others. As I already mentioned, I think it is perhaps a little clearer than what I get with my normal CA regimen. It did only take me about 1/2 of the time it typically takes compared with my standard CA regimen. The application was smooth, it seemed to build thickness nicely, and it appeared to self level better than what I get with my standard CA. I will use it again on the next few pens I will be making and although I will still use up my current CA and Accelerator, I will likely be ordering GluBoost products from Exotic Blanks when I need to order supplies again.
Thank you Ed (and Dawn) for the encouragement to start using GluBoost. It really is a best-in-class product.
Regards,
Dave
(The following are thumbnails so you can Click on them to Zoom-In)
The pen is a Southwest Twist style kit in the (discontinued?) Copper plating with Red Coral accents. The blank is a simple segment of Sonoran Desert Ironwood, Red Jasper SimStone and White Marble SimStone with copper separators to complement the copper plating and the red and white accents on the center band. Pictures of the pen follow.
With encouragement from Ed at Exotic Blanks, I used GluBoost Fill and Finish for the first time on this pen. Here are some notes and observations:
Application: I used about half of the number of coats than I put on with my typical CA regimen. I used small paper towel applicators (Viva Signature Cloth) - the same as I use with standard CA. I applied it with my lathe at the lowest speed, about half of what I use for CA (around 250 RPM). I used 3 coats of Medium (blue bottle) followed by two coats of Thin (orange bottle). I did two quick spritzes of the GluBoost GluDry accelerator after each coat. (I am pretty sure I used twice as much as necessary. Considering how things went, one quick single spritz is likely all that would have been needed). Perhaps it is a little biased because of GluBoost touting non-yellowing in their marketing, but I really did get the impression that the finish was more clear than what I get with my usual CA. The layers seemed to self-level very well and they built up thickness much faster than what I get with standard CA.
Sanding: I followed my standard MicroMesh wet sanding regimen of sanding using each grit (lathe on at about 1000 RPM) followed by sanding with the grain (lathe off). I only spend about 10 to 15 seconds on each grit, except for the first, coarse grit (Rust 1500) which gets a double hit because I use it twice before moving on to the next grit. I use a couple of drops of Cascade Rinse Aid in my wet sanding water as a lubricant and de-wetting agent.
Summary: The GluBoost performed very well and lived up to the features touted by the company and others. As I already mentioned, I think it is perhaps a little clearer than what I get with my normal CA regimen. It did only take me about 1/2 of the time it typically takes compared with my standard CA regimen. The application was smooth, it seemed to build thickness nicely, and it appeared to self level better than what I get with my standard CA. I will use it again on the next few pens I will be making and although I will still use up my current CA and Accelerator, I will likely be ordering GluBoost products from Exotic Blanks when I need to order supplies again.
Thank you Ed (and Dawn) for the encouragement to start using GluBoost. It really is a best-in-class product.
Regards,
Dave
(The following are thumbnails so you can Click on them to Zoom-In)
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