Originally posted by altaciii... You still didn't answer the question about your finish on the pens..... Is it ca/blo or dipped or... How do you get it to shine so well?
CA finish. I wear a non-powdered, non-latex medical glove when doing this. Start with Berea's triple distilled thin, two coats. Then, with a fresh glove, add a layer of Grizzly's thick, spread evenly, and use a drop or two of thin to help, if needed. New glove again, I spray a little instacure on my fingertips, and rub it down to cure it quickly. Then I wet sand (don't need a glove here), using either 400 grit sandpaper or 1500 micromesh, depending on the situation. Sand it down to smooth (use a light touch, or you'll remove too much of it, and be back to bare wood, contrary to purpose.
)
Lather, rinse, repeat. Usually two times will do it. Then run the micromesh grits, then Novus 2, then Ultragloss, then a couple of coats of Renaissance Wax (love that stuff!). Takes 30 minutes, at most.
It also helps to have a true variable speed lathe. Direct drive, no belt changing or anything. Even after I get a better lathe than my
Grizzly POJ, I will always use it for the finish because of the control that gives me. The specs say 300-4750 RPM, but really you can slow it to about 100 RPM.
Good 'nuff?