Flex CA Finish Dulling

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Dehn0045

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Mar 19, 2017
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I'm a fan of a glassy finish when I use CA. A while back I switched from BSI Thin to Mercury Flex. At first I was happy with the switch, but then started having trouble. The main issue I was having was sanding through the finish. The BSI that I was used to was almost difficult to sand through, the flex was the opposite. Now I'm starting to notice that the pens that I finished with the flex are starting to dull. One is my daily use pen, but others have been just sitting on my shelf. At first I thought that they got sprayed with a cleaner of some kind. But the older pens that were finished with BSI look like the day they came off the lathe. It's entirely possible that the dulling effect is the result of some flaw in my process. I'm curious to know if anyone else has noticed the same thing. I switched back to BSI and am happy that I did.
 
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BCnabe

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Apr 17, 2013
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Hamilton, MI
I used to use E-Z Bond and Stick Fast and had problems with white clouds and cracking. I did not use any accelerator on these.

I switched to the Mercury Flex about 18 months ago along with the accelerator and have not had any problems with white clouds and cracking. I really like how much faster I can build up the finish.

The down side is that it seems that I cannot get the Mercury as shiny as the others I was using. This is especially noticeable on darker woods like walnut.

I have not experienced the dulling that you mention. My everyday carry pen is curly maple and looks as good as it did 12 months ago when I finished it.

I've been thinking about trying BSI.
 
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Dehn0045

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Joined
Mar 19, 2017
Messages
1,533
Location
US
I used to use E-Z Bond and Stick Fast and had problems with white clouds and cracking. I did not use any accelerator on these.

I switched to the Mercury Flex about 18 months ago along with the accelerator and have not had any problems with white clouds and cracking. I really like how much faster I can build up the finish.

The down side is that it seems that I cannot get the Mercury as shiny as the others I was using. This is especially noticeable on darker woods like walnut.

I have not experienced the dulling that you mention. My everyday carry pen is curly maple and looks as good as it did 12 months ago when I finished it.

I've been thinking about trying BSI.

Interesting, thanks for sharing your experience.

For what its worth, I really like BSI. I used to use thin and medium, but now I just use thin. It cures pretty fast, I typically don't need any activator for the first couple coats and then use sparingly depending on temperature/humidity in the shop (I have been using the stickfast aerosol, but my next container will be BSI brand). As I mentioned above, it cures quite hard -- I've never dropped one but my guess is that impact cracks are probably nasty -- but it holds up really well against normal wear.
 

EdM

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Dec 24, 2018
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Location
Boynton Beach, Fl.
The latest "CA finish of choice" is now GluBoost. All of us who've tried it have been duly impressed with it's shine and ease of use...
My Luthier uses this product on very expensive guitars, and his results are awesome !
GluBoost's owner actually answered the phone when i called them to place my order with them. Excellent customer service... or you can order from EB...
Check out Ed Brown's (Exotic Blanks) youtubes on this product, or the GluBoost website video on pen finishing....
 
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TonyL

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Mar 9, 2014
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8,904
Location
Georgia
Now using gluboost and mercury. However, never experienced an issue with ez bond, stick fast, etc. and it's not because I practice any special application methods.
 
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