Missing something with my BLO/CA

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J

jhudson1977

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Joined
Aug 6, 2008
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47
Location
Stacy, MN
I'll start off by saying that I use William O'Young's method for applying BLO/CA almost exactly as he describes/shows it in his video. If I do something different, it is because I haven't watched the video in a while.

However, I just feel like I'm missing something. Sometimes the finish just seems kind of dull. Sometimes it is super shiny and smooth off the lathe but after it sits for a few minutes, it just gets dull. Other times it stays great. Anyone have any suggestions for this?

To use MM after applying BLO/CA, where do I start? 2400 to 12000? Light touch? I simply feel like I need to do something to get a shiny and smooth finish. Almost like I'm almost there but not quite.
 
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It may be the wood. I (and many others) have found that oily woods don't always take, or keep, a CA finish very well.

What types of woods are you having the problems on?
 
How about polishing it after it's finished . You can use a plastic polish while it's still on the lathe or buff it on a buffing wheel with white diamond . That should restore the shine without having to worry about sanding through the finish.
 
I agree with Butch about the Plastic polish. It seals the pen very nicely and gives it a glassy shine.

Tom/oops99
 
I found that I get more consistent results if I allow the finish to harden for an hour or more (overnight if I'm doing a lot) before sanding and polishing. The surface of the CA may feel cured but sometimes a little deeper it isn't.
 
You may be doing nothing wrong, because mixing oils and finishes is always a problem waiting to happen. Whenever a finish loses its gloss, it is either liquid oil we have applied or oils in the wood every time.

You may not be following the instructions as closely as you thought, or you may be using Raw Linseed Oil rather than Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO). Check the can. Sometimes people buy the RawLO without knowing the difference because it is half the price of the BLO.

The BLO has to cure under the finish and it cannot fully cure if there is too much of it under the finish. "Too much" can be caused either from using too much, or from penetration into the wood. Either way there can be liquid oil under the CA finish, and that will kill the gloss.

If the wood is an oily species like all of the Rosewoods, the oils in the wood can prevent the BLO from curing, and you will have the problem of the liquid oil migrating through the finish and killing the gloss on the surface. It will take longer, but the result will be the same.

You might be able to save the pen by letting it set for a week to allow any residual BLO to cure, and then buff it back to the higher gloss. If that doesn't work, you will have to accept the gloss it gives you.

Now you know why a lot of folks apply a CA finish without using the oil.
 
For oily woods I've had good results with a wash coat of shellac over the wood before applying the real finish. 1# cut or thinner, just enough to seal the oils inside the wood. Works great with ebony.
 
I have found that using too much BLO causes this. Also, what Russ said. The BLO doesn't cure for me very well. The few pens I used a BLO/CA finish on went dull. I disassembled them about a week or two later and re-polished them. They look great now, but I have since just went to using CA because of this problem. For me, I find it easier to apply just the CA then BLO/CA anyway.
 
I agree with Don I let the CA Harden for an hour, then MM from 4000 to 12000 to smooth it out then Plastic Polish (Hut Ultra Gloss) to a glass-like shine! I also use Williams O'Young's technique but have found that I was getting very inconsistent results without the polishing.
 
I second many of the recommendations here; not too much BLO, buff after letting the CA set for a hour or more. Oily woods are much more difficult and need to be sealed first.

I try to keep to 2-3 drops of BLO each application and I wipe off any excess BLO before applying the next coat of CA.
Another trick I use is to start with CA, and end with CA. My final coat, I apply CA on the blank, level it gently with a bit of Bounty towel backed with a plastic baggie; then let the lathe continue to spin. I stop the lathe and inspect after about 15 seconds. Orange peel means you have too much CA, gaps in the coverage means too little CA. If the coat is not good, smooth the layer with BLO and try the final coat again. If the last CA-only layer looks good I turn the lathe back on and let it set while spinning for about 2 minutes.
Wait for at least an hour, MM 1500-12000 (very light touches with the courser grits), then buff with McGuire's, Ren wax and buff the wax on a separate buff wheel.
I buff on a dedicated buffing station by popping the mandrel off the lathe and use it for a buffing handle. If i don't like the result, it goes back on the lathe for another coat of CA-only. If I waxed the blanks, I strip the wax with alcohol, MM then onto the CA.
I prefer the dedicated buffer since it allows me to change the angle of the buff so I am buffing in a different direction to the MM sanding lines.
I hope this helps you. Hang in there, I have been working on my CA finish for about 4 years now and it is still improving. If you keep working on it and comparing to other methods, your CA finish will continue to improve. I have changed my method many times after input from Russ, William and many others.
 
Sounds like some good things to try. I am using Rosewood right now. But, I'll try some of these suggestions.

Thanks for your help.
 
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