My Pens Plus Steps

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shastastan

shastastan

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2014
Messages
326
Location
N CA
So Far I've turned 6 pens using Pens Plus. I've watched some Youtubes others have done demo'ing it also. I've been looking for a finish, other than ca glue, that yields a nice and lasting finish that shows the wood grain but still has a shine. I wish I could say that I learned this with research and reason, but I just sort of stumbled upon it. Here are my steps:

1. Turn the blank to shape and sand from 220 through 800 grit.
2. With the lathe off, apply a coat of DR Kirk's Scratch Free paste.
3. With a blue shop towel, and the lathe around 1000 rpm, buff to a slight shine.
4. With the lathe still on, apply 5 coats of Pens Plus. Use just a couple of drops on a shop towel and wait a minute between each coat.
5. Turn the lathe up to 2800 rpms and buff with a blue shop towel. I'm not sure what prompted me to try this step, but I was not satisfied with the shine
just using Pens Plus. Note that this step requires moderate pressure to generate heat, but it only takes a few minutes to get a usable shine.

I realize that there are many ways to get a decent shine, but this one works for me. For me, it's simple and quick. I'm making a bunch of pens for Christmas presents for family and friends. I'm just an amateur and am not looking for perfection. I'm just passing this on FWIW. I've tried other methods in the past, too.
 
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Pens Plus is a friction polish, higher RPMs are better because you want to generate the heat to harden the waxes. You do not wait between coats to apply friction with Pens Plus, with the coat you're current adding go strait to friction until the heat dries it and then apply the next coat when dry. Your shine issue is probably related to not using friction with each coat of Pens Plus because it just dried as a matte finish. It is designed for building coats on top of the previously hardened coat. Also apply enough of the finish to coat the whole blank which should be more than a couple of drops but also not soaking. Make sure apply even friction across the whole blank to get a consistent heat and finish with each coat.

I will apply 3-4 coats of Pens Plus while spinning at 2000-2500 RPMs. Higher speeds give heat from the friction faster to set and harden the finish. The sheen is quite nice and I do not apply at other finish once set. I will typically go up to 320-400 grit sanding and then use the Dr's Woodshop walnut oil with friction to apply a hard oil base coat. Then I do the Pens Plus and that's usually it.
 
SabertoothBunny said:
Pens Plus is a friction polish, higher RPMs are better because you want to generate the heat to harden the waxes. You do not wait between coats to apply friction with Pens Plus, with the coat you're current adding go strait to friction until the heat dries it and then apply the next coat when dry. Your shine issue is probably related to not using friction with each coat of Pens Plus because it just dried as a matte finish. It is designed for building coats on top of the previously hardened coat. Also apply enough of the finish to coat the whole blank which should be more than a couple of drops but also not soaking. Make sure apply even friction across the whole blank to get a consistent heat and finish with each coat.

I will apply 3-4 coats of Pens Plus while spinning at 2000-2500 RPMs. Higher speeds give heat from the friction faster to set and harden the finish. The sheen is quite nice and I do not apply at other finish once set. I will typically go up to 320-400 grit sanding and then use the Dr's Woodshop walnut oil with friction to apply a hard oil base coat. Then I do the Pens Plus and that's usually it.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I just finished a 7 pen batch of Apprentice Classica Pens. I'm going to try your polish method. I think someone else said that Pens Plus is not a polish that "builds", but from your comments, it seems to be. The main problem that I had with this kit is that it was very difficult to press the cap on. I ended up having to use a diamond burr on my dremel to take down the cap brass insert to get it to fit. Now I'm anxious to try your suggestion. On a couple of pens, I used birds-eye maple. It cracked when I tried to press the cap on. No problem after I removed just a small amount of brass from the cap fitting. I also left the blank just slightly proud of the bushing rather than flush.
 
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I wet sand with walnut oil up to 1000 grit. I try to use a clean paper towel with walnut oil to clean the blank between coats. My goal is to saturate the wood with oil and thus have a uniform surface to apply p.p. I give the sanded blank some time so that oil polymerisation i.e. hardening takes place and then ( sometimes the next day) i start the p.p. process.
Pens plus is not a build finish but since wood is a surface that can varry in composition ( heartwood , sapwood, knots etc.)this way a uniform shine is achieved. Anyway thats my way of using p.p. with good results (always depending upon wood type, density, oil etc.).
P.S. always work with dry wood p.p. doesnt like moisture at all!!
 
SabertoothBunny said:
Pens Plus is a friction polish, higher RPMs are better because you want to generate the heat to harden the waxes. You do not wait between coats to apply friction with Pens Plus, with the coat you're current adding go strait to friction until the heat dries it and then apply the next coat when dry. Your shine issue is probably related to not using friction with each coat of Pens Plus because it just dried as a matte finish. It is designed for building coats on top of the previously hardened coat. Also apply enough of the finish to coat the whole blank which should be more than a couple of drops but also not soaking. Make sure apply even friction across the whole blank to get a consistent heat and finish with each coat.

I will apply 3-4 coats of Pens Plus while spinning at 2000-2500 RPMs. Higher speeds give heat from the friction faster to set and harden the finish. The sheen is quite nice and I do not apply at other finish once set. I will typically go up to 320-400 grit sanding and then use the Dr's Woodshop walnut oil with friction to apply a hard oil base coat. Then I do the Pens Plus and that's usually it.
Click to expand...
I tried your method today with 4 coats of Pens Plus. The results were very good, too. I did it on an old wenge blank. I must have gotten a bad piece of it though because it splinters very easily required a very light turning touch. The grain seems more open that I would like, too. I'm going to try it again on curly maple. I think that the buffing time on your method, compared to mine, is about the same. I'm happy with the time spent and results. Thanks again for sharing.
 
shastastan said:
I tried your method today with 4 coats of Pens Plus. The results were very good, too. I did it on an old wenge blank. I must have gotten a bad piece of it though because it splinters very easily required a very light turning touch. The grain seems more open that I would like, too. I'm going to try it again on curly maple. I think that the buffing time on your method, compared to mine, is about the same. I'm happy with the time spent and results. Thanks again for sharing.
Click to expand...
Wood grain aside ( which is very important due to the oily nature of pp), heat is the most important factor. You will notice that in summer months pp is applied very nicely while in winter time its not. A water bath ( for the pp bottle) might be usefull when its cold especially if your shop is not heated. Try to apply a final coat right after the lathe is turned off and when the blank its still warm. I ve turned many pens with pp actually its the only finish i use, and this is how i treat dull spots. Hope it helps, cheers.
 
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shastastan said:
I tried your method today with 4 coats of Pens Plus. The results were very good, too. I did it on an old wenge blank. I must have gotten a bad piece of it though because it splinters very easily required a very light turning touch. The grain seems more open that I would like, too. I'm going to try it again on curly maple. I think that the buffing time on your method, compared to mine, is about the same. I'm happy with the time spent and results. Thanks again for sharing.
Click to expand...

I figured out my process by watching the Pens Plus demonstration video off of the Doctor's Woodshop page. The creator has some good videos for all of his products. Pens Plus has become my go to finish for small wood turning items to include decorative bowls and hollow forms.
 
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