How long will CA last????

[LSUTIGERDOC]

Have only been making pens for 6 months. Want the same glass-like finish on my wood pens that I get from my polished acrylic pens. I only use stabilized woods and have been finishing them with 6 or more coats of CA, polish to 12K, and they come out beautiful. They look just like my acrylics. HERE IS THE PROBLEM: I was talking with an experienced pen maker of many years who told me that he quit using CA years ago because the finish wear off. Said I am spending too much time on finishing. That it isn't necessary if I am using stabilized woods. That all I need to do is sand to 1200 and polish with White stone. So.......am I wasting time? Using CA is a pain and time consuming. I want good results, but don't want the finish to wear off. HELP!!!

 

[toddlajoie]

Anything that wears off a CA finish is going to severely dull an acrylic blank also. There is a lot of differing opinions on CA durability, and I think the differing opinions are more an aspect of differing application techniques as well as different products (there are differences in the various brands and thicknesses...) I have not been making pens for nearly as long as many around here, but I have never had any of my CA finishes wear off. I have had a VERY occasional cracking, but that is about the worst of it...

That being said, I am also very much in favor of a more "wood" feel to the finish, so I personally LOVE unfinished stabilized woods, I have a sketch pencil made from stabilized Buckey Burl that was done with just the MM Pads, it has dulled a LITTLE over time, but it also spent an entire New England Winter outside under the snow, and while the lead in the pencil was shot and the standard gold finish shows expected wear, the wood still looks great...

Brand New (#1)

After a long cold winter...

 

[Ted iin Michigan]

I've been doing pens for a while now and am realizing that the CA learning curve may be longer than my lifespan. Recent learnings (for me) include the importance of fresh CA. That said, I have a daily user - a Vertex in Zircote - that has been in my pocket for 4-5 years. I always insure it is there when we go to a show as I use it as a "demo" pen. It is only now beginning to show wear - and that is just very minor and very fine surface scratching. Needless to say, I'm a fan. Of course, a bad CA job may self destruct in months (weeks even). Gotta keep that stuff fresh, Ted.

 

[plano_harry]

As Todd pointed out CA is more durable than the polished acrylic. Might want to CA your acrylics for a lasting shine.

Harry

 

[fitzman163]

I have carried a stabilized Buckeye burl done with a CA finish for over 10 years and it still looks like new.

 

[Jim Burr]

Six of one and half dozen of another. Maybe they aren't applying it correctly...it is a talent! Maybe they had a bad experience, possible allergy or a customer didn't like it. Maybe they don't know enough about it get it the desired finish. More people use CA to one degree or another than don't. I have 3 pens that are subjected to medical abuse on an hourly basis for 5 years now...they look great and get me plenty of business. Malcontents should offer suggestions...not rule out one thing or another based on what they are able to do or have a preference for. Try them all...get the "art of the process" down and try another. One type of anything limits you to just that one thing. I like chicken and fish...but not liver!

 

[Dalepenkala]

This is just my opinion but I use only CA finish on my wood pens. I put a lot of time in my pens so I want my pens to look like glass for as long as the life of the pen. I won't use friction polish or just polish a stabilized blank unless someone requests it. I believe that if a pen has a good CA finish job it will last an extremely long time provided it's cared for.

Someone above mentioned an occasional cracked finish. Personally my thoughts would be bad/old CA glue. I may get some flack on this one but I also believe (strongly) extreme temperature changes will cause a CA finish to crack. Specifically going from a warm environment to a very cold environment. Thermal expansion. I'm sure that to a certain extent humidity plays a roll too.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[edstreet]

Have only been making pens for 6 months. Want the same glass-like finish on my wood pens that I get from my polished acrylic pens. I only use stabilized woods and have been finishing them with 6 or more coats of CA, polish to 12K, and they come out beautiful. They look just like my acrylics. HERE IS THE PROBLEM: I was talking with an experienced pen maker of many years who told me that he quit using CA years ago because the finish wear off. Said I am spending too much time on finishing. That it isn't necessary if I am using stabilized woods. That all I need to do is sand to 1200 and polish with White stone. So.......am I wasting time? Using CA is a pain and time consuming. I want good results, but don't want the finish to wear off. HELP!!!

There is a riddle hidden in this text.

Lets side track for a moment and look at an adjacent arena, the knife world. In the knife community CA finishes have been tried and every one of them has failed miserably in a very short period of time. I tried one kitchen knife and in under a week it was very bad. Lamination and peeling mostly.

Now lets look at stabilized wood. Does it need a coating over it? Perhaps if it's mixed with resins you will have spots and that will be hidden with a coating. If it's 100% stabilized wood you do not need a ca coating on it unless you want high gloss then you would be better off to use some type of resin.

Hoping over to pens over time and things that can go wrong. There are numerous things. Even if the pen is not used and put in a cabinet and you came back to it you will see degrading if you look very closely.