hewunch
Member
I got a big order (for me) on 7/3. I was told on 7/5 they were needed by 7/26. I live in SOUTH Georgia. Where the temps and the humidity are high. I am writing this thread to share what I learned and hopefully I can look back on it if I need this information in the future.
Specifics
36 Heart Pine (former barn wood) Sierra Clicks
Decal on each one (Decal was printed with a laser printer)
Humidity in the shop 70-85%
Temp in the shop 78-92 degrees
Difficulty
No climate control in shop (AC or dehumidifier)
Base finish before the decal no issues
Once I put the decal on, 80% failure rate.
Failures (Cloudy CA, smeared decal, bubbles in finish aka orange peel).
Process
Turn blanks via metal lathe to .530 to insure a mostly flat surface.
Bring blank to wood lathe to turn to .463-.467 to accommodate for the finish
Sand 220, 400, 1500
Clean with DNA between grits
Allow to dry
Put 4 coats of medium CA on
Allow to dry over night
Sand to 2nd Micromesh pad
Apply decal, let dry
Hit decal with heat gun
Put 7 layers of medium to seal in decal.
Failures and Attempts to Overcome
Smearing Decal- Never had decals smear quite this badly. Usually, when they do, it is because I am putting CA on too firm. Even with a light touch, the ink was smearing badly. Smearing would happen sometimes 3 or 4 coats into the process. Went to the store and purchased clear acrylic spray to combat this.
Solution: 3-4 coats of clear acrylic and then 3 coats of thin CA lightly applied before 6 coats of Medium.
Bubbles: CA curing too fast and put on too thick. Lowering the humidity in my shop with a dehumidifier (borrowed the one from in the house) helped with bubbles.
Cloudy CA: Tried several different ways to combat the cloudy CA bloom. Including: Slowing down the application process, accelerator/no accelerator, lowering humidity via dehumidifier, etc. No 100% successful method was found and my CA was quickly running out. No time to order more, and no places to purchase quality CA nearby.
In my desperation, I called Ed at Exotic Blanks.
Let me first say, I called on a Saturday at the end of my rope, deadline looming and failures mounting. I have been buying from Exotic Blanks I think from their beginning. Also, I have been turning pens for 15 years or more. Ed knew all this and I explained my failures and what I had tried to do to combat them. Here is what he suggested:
Bring the blanks indoors to apply the decal and leave them indoors. Finish the blank as quickly as possible and return the blank to the indoors, where the temperature and humidity are lower. See if it blooms.
Honestly, I didn't want to do that. If it worked, I had to go in and out of my shop multiple times. So, I figured I could give one a try and see what happens.
What do you know, it worked! Yep, one at a time in and out. 6 Coats of CA with accelerator and bring it back in ASAP.
So if you are dealing with high temperatures and humidity and cannot control it with A/C, I highly encourage you to try this method.
Also, I want to say a big thank you to Ed. He talked me off a cliff and I gave me an idea that neither of us was certain would work but was worth a try.
Sorry this was so long, but as there have been a couple of threads recently about humidity, I hope this is helpful.
Specifics
36 Heart Pine (former barn wood) Sierra Clicks
Decal on each one (Decal was printed with a laser printer)
Humidity in the shop 70-85%
Temp in the shop 78-92 degrees
Difficulty
No climate control in shop (AC or dehumidifier)
Base finish before the decal no issues
Once I put the decal on, 80% failure rate.
Failures (Cloudy CA, smeared decal, bubbles in finish aka orange peel).
Process
Turn blanks via metal lathe to .530 to insure a mostly flat surface.
Bring blank to wood lathe to turn to .463-.467 to accommodate for the finish
Sand 220, 400, 1500
Clean with DNA between grits
Allow to dry
Put 4 coats of medium CA on
Allow to dry over night
Sand to 2nd Micromesh pad
Apply decal, let dry
Hit decal with heat gun
Put 7 layers of medium to seal in decal.
Failures and Attempts to Overcome
Smearing Decal- Never had decals smear quite this badly. Usually, when they do, it is because I am putting CA on too firm. Even with a light touch, the ink was smearing badly. Smearing would happen sometimes 3 or 4 coats into the process. Went to the store and purchased clear acrylic spray to combat this.
Solution: 3-4 coats of clear acrylic and then 3 coats of thin CA lightly applied before 6 coats of Medium.
Bubbles: CA curing too fast and put on too thick. Lowering the humidity in my shop with a dehumidifier (borrowed the one from in the house) helped with bubbles.
Cloudy CA: Tried several different ways to combat the cloudy CA bloom. Including: Slowing down the application process, accelerator/no accelerator, lowering humidity via dehumidifier, etc. No 100% successful method was found and my CA was quickly running out. No time to order more, and no places to purchase quality CA nearby.
In my desperation, I called Ed at Exotic Blanks.
Let me first say, I called on a Saturday at the end of my rope, deadline looming and failures mounting. I have been buying from Exotic Blanks I think from their beginning. Also, I have been turning pens for 15 years or more. Ed knew all this and I explained my failures and what I had tried to do to combat them. Here is what he suggested:
Bring the blanks indoors to apply the decal and leave them indoors. Finish the blank as quickly as possible and return the blank to the indoors, where the temperature and humidity are lower. See if it blooms.
Honestly, I didn't want to do that. If it worked, I had to go in and out of my shop multiple times. So, I figured I could give one a try and see what happens.
What do you know, it worked! Yep, one at a time in and out. 6 Coats of CA with accelerator and bring it back in ASAP.
So if you are dealing with high temperatures and humidity and cannot control it with A/C, I highly encourage you to try this method.
Also, I want to say a big thank you to Ed. He talked me off a cliff and I gave me an idea that neither of us was certain would work but was worth a try.
Sorry this was so long, but as there have been a couple of threads recently about humidity, I hope this is helpful.
