How consistent is your CA finish routine?

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Builderguy

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Another questions for you: Do you find that you get consistent results nearly every time with your CA finish? Can you expect to get the same results from the same actions?
I find that one time things will go great and the next time it will be very aggravating. I'm just wondering if I'm alone here. I suspect not!
 
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Well I just came in from the shop with not one successful finish tonight. last night 4 really nice finishes. And I was doing the same procedures. So I quite for the evening.
 
I'll bow to Georges perfection and say that everyone of my finishes ends up perfect BUT the process to get that finish will vary for each pen . There are too many variables to get a perfect finish by using the same technique . It depends on humidity , moisture content of the wood , oil content of the wood , even what type of grain the wood has can affect the finish . Honduran Rosewood Burl requires a different technique then Saguaro Cactus Rib . There is no one technique that works on all woods . For some woods I will apply the CA with a piece of wax paper or delrin strip and others require the CA be applied with a piece of 400 grit sandpaper and a CA slurry . Everyone is always so quick to say that their technique is the right way but bottom line is there is NO ONE WAY to finish with CA .
Stop worrying about how you should do it or how long it takes and just do it !!! You will learn which technique works with what woods for YOU and how long those techniques take . It all comes with experience and practice .
 
I have a method that is quick, super gloss, and 100% success going on 50 pens in a row now of all different materials. I am working on a vidoe tho demonstrate and will upload to Youtube and post a link here when it is done.
 
I'll echo Curtis and say that I've got 100% batting average....so far. That's not to say there wasn't a learning curve, but I've tailored a consistent, easy to apply finish that suits me needs andas far as I can tell is long lasting and polishes to a very high gloss every time. Thinking back the only failure I can recall lately wasn't a finish defect but an incident where I sanded through and area and developed a dull spot.
 
I miss one now and then, maybe 98% perfect. I do it very quick, 3-4 minutes total, if I get interrupted in the process it doesn't always work out.
 
I will go with what George and Butch says. Wide temp swings with heavy humidity create different circumstances that people in dryer and warmer areas and controlled environments don't contend with. It is more predictable in the latter situations but with experience, even in the temp and humid areas, adjustments can be made on the fly. And there is what Butch said about the different kinds of wood affecting it.

Please take this as a note of experience and watching on this forum for a long time - Controlled environments and dry environments are more predictable, but high humidity and temp variances changes the rules. One rule does NOT fit all! That is the nature of CA itself.

Another thing not noted specifically is the differences in CA finishes:
1. Super fine finish that is just enough for protection only, maybe .008 thick
2. Super fine finish that is .015 - .2 thick.
(I am guessing on the thickness as I usually measure mine in mm.)

The CA thickness desired has a lot to do with the outcome and therefore the planning.
 
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Texatdurango said:
Me....... PERFECT RESULTS EVERY TIME! Of course I have been know to stretch the truth a bit!
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LOL My Momma always did tell me to be sure and read the small print! :biggrin: Although having seen George's pens at a bubbasville once, I never get the depth of finish I saw in his.
 
edman2 said:
LOL My Momma always did tell me to be sure and read the small print! :biggrin: Although having seen George's pens at a bubbasville once, I never get the depth of finish I saw in his.
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You can if you put it on thick enough! :eek: I recently told some turners how I use a skew after applying the CA to smooth it out and they looked at me like I was nuts... a skew to smooth out CA?

During a recent IAP meeting I showed a few how it's done and think I made believers out of them.

Like everyone else said above, there is NO one correct way of applying CA.
 
MesquiteMan said:
I have a method that is quick, super gloss, and 100% success going on 50 pens in a row now of all different materials. I am working on a vidoe tho demonstrate and will upload to Youtube and post a link here when it is done.
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I spent a year trying to get a decent CA finish and was ready to quit all together when I saw Curtis demonstrate his method. For me, it works every time on every type of material, 100% foolproof. I've finished approximately 50 pens over the past several months using this method and have had 100% success with it. Look for the video.
 
Texatdurango said:
You can if you put it on thick enough! :eek: I recently told some turners how I use a skew after applying the CA to smooth it out and they looked at me like I was nuts... a skew to smooth out CA?

During a recent IAP meeting I showed a few how it's done and think I made believers out of them.

Like everyone else said above, there is NO one correct way of applying CA.
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A couple weeks ago I decided to redo an already CA-finished Sierra blank, I felt the bulge was too thick and wanted to skinny it down a bit. I was amazed at how long I could put a skew to it before I started hitting wood. It turned like acrylic...nice white ribbons. This gave me some confidence on how aggressively I could sand my blanks going forward. I think everyone doing CA finish ought to try this at least once to really get a feel for how thick their typical CA finish is. I am going to incorporate the skew in my routine as I think it may save some time smoothing out the CA. I guess I just needed to hear that someone else was doing this...thanks George.
 
dustmaker said:
A couple weeks ago I decided to redo an already CA-finished Sierra blank, I felt the bulge was too thick and wanted to skinny it down a bit. I was amazed at how long I could put a skew to it before I started hitting wood. It turned like acrylic...nice white ribbons. This gave me some confidence on how aggressively I could sand my blanks going forward. I think everyone doing CA finish ought to try this at least once to really get a feel for how thick their typical CA finish is. I am going to incorporate the skew in my routine as I think it may save some time smoothing out the CA. I guess I just needed to hear that someone else was doing this...thanks George.
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I agree, everyone ought to do it at least once on a scrap piece just to see how thick their finish really is. If you lightly touch the skew and see colored material coming off.... it isn't CA, it't the wood and you didn't have a ca finish at all!

I build mine up on purpose so I know how thick it is but you always hear about some guy sanding through the CA even after applying 8-10 coats! Makes you wonder how thick his coats really are! Actually to me a "coat" or "number of drops on a towel" are meanlingless terms when it comes to applying CA with a paper towel since the amount of pressure applied and type of towel will dictate how much CA is actually applied to the wood and allowed to cure or how much is just sopped up by the towel.
 
I did 9 slimmies over the Holiday with a bunch of different woods. All have 3 layers of CA-BLO applied with the Fairfield method. The results are all basically the same. If I were to go up to say 7 -10 layers, I find that there is a greater chance for some variation but not much. I think it is more about my executing the process correctly than anything else. So I find it fast, reliable, and it looks darn good.

Now 7 layers looks better than 3 but I put on as many as I need. The 9 pens I did with 3 layers were for a friend who asked for them and isn't even expecting 3 layers. She will be delighted with the coverage on these pens. If I were doing a high end pen, I would add more layers to increase depth and gloss... and I would charge more! LOL!
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
Curtis is a might slow at time's.Belive that the wait will be worth it.I have been useing his method for over a year,just completed 30 gator pen's this way in all kind's of weather.Rain, snow 70 one day 32 the next.Before Curtis show me this i put it on then redid it a few time's before i got it wright.This method work's every time after you do a couple you will love it.
 
I too can't wait, we need to see a video or have a description or something :)
I want to turn some pens but I also want to wait to put a great finish on it like the one described by Curtis, I await with eagerness, aloha.

Chris
 
I agree with Butch. I tried many different methods from this website. Finally, the method I use now is a mixture of about all those many methods. I thought I was getting a nice finish with BLO/CA but I finally figured out a pure CA method that works much better and have had no problems with it thus far.
 
Old CA

I have had problems only when I was using old/stale CA. I have found that if I leave my CA in my Garage/Shop in the hot summer weather that I will start to get some white pitting or bubbles. I have started storing my CA in the refrigerator and am having great success.
 
jhudson1977 said:
I agree with Butch. I tried many different methods from this website. Finally, the method I use now is a mixture of about all those many methods. I thought I was getting a nice finish with BLO/CA but I finally figured out a pure CA method that works much better and have had no problems with it thus far.
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Can you share your method?
 
OK, so I am probably going to get laughed at but that is ok. Not sure if anyone else does it this way but it works for me.

After sanding the pen up to but not including 400 grit I clean off any dust with a clean cloth and I put a latex glove on one hand and hold the CA bottle over the blank while it is on the lathe. I turn the lathe on and with the hand that has the latex glove on I slowly run my finger under the blank and smooth the drizzle of CA over the surface of the blank (with the CA above the blank and my gloved finger under). I go back and forth until the CA builds up some and then I spray it with accelerant. Rinse and repeat until I get a thickness that I like. Then I take a chisel to it to clean it up. and start the sanding process over with the finer grits.

Seems to work all the time for me. I am in Florida and the heat and humidity can be a real pain. I have had to resort to keeping my CA in the freezer until I open it. I keep my acrylic blanks in the crisper drawer of my garage fridge on really ugly days so that they don't blow out as bad. But other than those issues it seems to work pretty well every time. (now that I jinxed myself!)
 
Texatdurango said:
I agree, everyone ought to do it at least once on a scrap piece just to see how thick their finish really is. ....
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I'm very much still a novice with the CA finish and having read so much about different successes on different woods so now make a practice run first..
Instead of using scrap, I practice on the actual piece. As soon as it gets round, but miles from finished size, I'll sand it smooth and see what it takes to get a good finish. Then I turn it to finished size and do it again.
 
skiprat said:
I'm very much still a novice with the CA finish and having read so much about different successes on different woods so now make a practice run first..
Instead of using scrap, I practice on the actual piece. As soon as it gets round, but miles from finished size, I'll sand it smooth and see what it takes to get a good finish. Then I turn it to finished size and do it again.
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That is a great idea! :good:
 
A few days ago I had a finish that went South after several attempts I about gave up. The problem was that I messed up and the blank was too thin and needed to be built up quite a bit with CA to match the tip. Everytime I built it up it would get a white cloudy area in the finish, sand it all off again, try again....Finally I grabbed the skew and very slowly smoothed it out and finished the pen. I'm betting Curtis will have a skew smoothing the CA in his video! Can't wait for the release! When is the release date anyway????
 
I'm reading a lot about blo/ca finish. I just use CA and MM and get perfect results on all different materials. I can't seem to put my hands on it right now but I watched a tutorial video on how to apply and finish with CA only. I wear a rubber glove and use papertowel strips and drip CA from the top and smooth it with the papertowel, tear off the paper from the strip, spray the blank with accelerator and do it again. I apply 16 coats, smoothing it out really thin each time with papertowel and tearing it off each time. I then use MM and wet sand and get a good glossy finish every time and haven't had any, so far to crack or dull. I just finished one today and I do agree that not all finishes or tecneques are for everyone but when you do find something that works, stick with it. I'll be posting a pic later after I figure out how to get it on here.
 
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