How long to wait for CA to cure?

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CREID

CREID

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For those of you that use a CA finish (no BLO), (no accelerator), how long do you wait for the CA to cure? Both between coats and after you are finished? I guess you may want to add what brand CA you use.


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I use the stuff Manny (Monty) use to sell, now carried by Exotics. I don't use BLO. Usually I do 3 coats of thin first. It sets up very quickly. Then I do several coats of Med. I have strips of paper towels cut and ready, in the time it takes to grab one, fold it over itself a few times, hum to the music and go again. If I feel it isn't setting up well I will give it a blast of accelerator or give it a little longer. It usually dries in a matter of seconds. If it's not setting up in a minute or so, something is up.
 
Lenny said:
I use the stuff Manny (Monty) use to sell, now carried by Exotics. I don't use BLO. Usually I do 3 coats of thin first. It sets up very quickly. Then I do several coats of Med. I have strips of paper towels cut and ready, in the time it takes to grab one, fold it over itself a few times, hum to the music and go again. If I feel it isn't setting up well I will give it a blast of accelerator or give it a little longer. It usually dries in a matter of seconds. If it's not setting up in a minute or so, something is up.
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I usually use accelerator, but this time I tried it w/o and I put several coats of thin on, no problem. The medium took quite a bit longer to cure to the touch and longer each time (5 coats) and the last one I let it go for 5 minutes or so and touched it and it was still wet. So I hit it with accelerator. I use Stick Fast (I know a lot of people don't like stick fast, but save me the FLAMING). I just wanted to try w/o the accelerator and see. My CA is about 6 months old and the temp downstairs is in the sixties, and the furnace is down there so humidity is not a problem.
 
I did a considerable amount of experimentation and have settled (so far) on Stick Fast thin, no BLO. Currently starting an experiment with a new CA (E-Z Bond). I do use an occasional accelerator. Normally 8-10 coats. I'll do a quick sanding to even out the surface and then (if time permits) I will set the blank aside at least overnight, preferably a couple days. After that I'll remount and finish sand/polish/buff.
 
Ted iin Michigan said:
I did a considerable amount of experimentation and have settled (so far) on Stick Fast thin, no BLO. Currently starting an experiment with a new CA (E-Z Bond). I do use an occasional accelerator. Normally 8-10 coats. I'll do a quick sanding to even out the surface and then (if time permits) I will set the blank aside at least overnight, preferably a couple days. After that I'll remount and finish sand/polish/buff.
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You have a lot of patience. After all the work of turning and then applying the CA, I want to sand and MM and then polish the same day.
 
It is certainly possible to CA finish a pen in one day , but if you look at that pen 2 weeks later , you may well see defects that were not there when it was finished . Cured well enough to allow finish sanding and polishing is not the same as fully cured , which may take a week or more , depending on the CA thickness . Defects are most apt to show where CA thickness varies over the blank , such as a small knot hole that was CA filled . I think a pretty good general rule is , if you can smell CA when sanding , it isn`t fully cured .
 
I use a heat gun when I don't have accelerator. I made a setup and set my heat gun about 20 inches from the lathe spinning on low for a few minutes, Remember the rise in temp makes the CA dry.(or at least helps)
 
1080Wayne said:
It is certainly possible to CA finish a pen in one day , but if you look at that pen 2 weeks later , you may well see defects that were not there when it was finished . Cured well enough to allow finish sanding and polishing is not the same as fully cured , which may take a week or more , depending on the CA thickness . Defects are most apt to show where CA thickness varies over the blank , such as a small knot hole that was CA filled . I think a pretty good general rule is , if you can smell CA when sanding , it isn`t fully cured .
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I finish in the same day all the time and have great results, but I use accelerator, I just wanted to do it without accelerator. When I was a target archer I learned about the bad effects of fast drying glue, CA or epoxy and thought the end result of finishing a pen without using an accelerator for the CA would be beneficial.
 
Joey-Nieves said:
I use a heat gun when I don't have accelerator. I made a setup and set my heat gun about 20 inches from the lathe spinning on low for a few minutes, Remember the rise in temp makes the CA dry.(or at least helps)
Click to expand...

I never thought about using high heat. CA cures so I didn't think it would do much to heat it up. I do have a commercial heat gun stored away somewhere. If I find it, I may give it a try. I have a background in inks and coatings, waterbased, solvent based and curables such as UV inks and coatings. And over the years I have seen people try to increase heat on all of them and not with much success as an increase of air itself and not heat works better for solvent or water based inks and coatings as for UV curables new bulbs and clean reflectors. But we never used CA on a printing press so you never know, it might work.
 
I do 3 coats of thin then accelerator, 3 coats thin then accelerator. Maybe wait a minute from the accelerator spray to next coat. Then 3 coats med, spray accelerator - usually wait 2-3 minutes and another 3 coats and accelerator. Sometimes I have to repeat more if there are defects or open wood. wait 2-3 minutes then sand etc. I use very little accelerator - I hold it 15 inches or so away and a couple very short sprays.
I use Stickfast.
 
CA drying time

You live in an environment that would tend to interfere with the timing for the chemical reactions of CA Glue. Down here in Florida, the 60s temps would definitely slow down the CA as compared with our "normal" 80s and 90s. If you really want "instant gratification" you need to move a few hundred miles south!:biggrin::biggrin:
 
I currently use CA from Mercury Adhesives, but have used BSI's regular CA (not Super Gold), too. The "set time" is dependent on a number of factors - temp, humidity, applicator, viscosity, and others. There are some CA formulations that are engineered to cure more slowly.

Mercury's thin CA will usually set within 15 seconds of putting it on the paper towel. Their medium takes 30-45 seconds. Of course, BLO and/or activator shorten those times considerably.
 
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