New finish

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wicook

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Jan 23, 2005
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Sherwood Park, AB, Canada.
Polaris-SantosRosewoodBlkTi.jpg


The taper toward the nib is a bit too abrupt. However, the chatoyence of this wood is amazing. I cut it at about 30 degrees to the grain and it just glows when the light catches it.

I've been struggling with trying to find a finish that works well for me. I have lung problems and react strongly to CA when I try to use it as a finish, so I've been using Shellawax and dabbling a bit with Turners' Polish (lacquer)...depending on my mood at the time... I haven't been satisfied (yeah, I know, it's been said over and over on the forum [:o)]) with the longevity of the shine.

I finally decided to try some Minwax wipe-on poly that was rated very highly in one of the woodworking magazines a while back. I started with several coats of sanding sealer, then finished off with carnuba wax and Ren Wax. This is the first pen I've been able to try it out on and it looks promising... I've got a dining room table and desk that are finished with similar products and they've kept their shine for years. Maybe this will be the winner for me.
 
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I've used the Minwax wipe-on poly on a number of pens. The one euro I made for my wife last Mother's Day looks as good today as when it came off the lathe. A cigar, however, that I made for a friend from the same curly maple stock and finish looks like it was in a gang fight. It seems he bangs it on the edge of his desk while he's on the phone. The poly has cracked off in the impact areas. Only shellawaxed oak for him now.[V]
 
CHATOYANCE: Refers to the depth and shimmer that some woods exhibit under the right finish and lighting conditions. Related to the phenomenon of “flipping†of colour from dark to light as the angle of view changes.

A changeable color or luster. Wood appears to shimmer when moved

I know, I'm not NavyDiver [:D]
 
That is very nice. I use Poly pretty much exclusively on my wood pens. I don't have any pens that are years old, so it is hard to tell if it will last.
Some day I'll try some new finishes. The segmented pens I did were glued with CA and when I turned them, I almost died from the fumes. The last seg pen I did, I used yellow glue. Much better.
 
Bill,

Nice pen and nice finish.

In the future I would suggest not using the sanding sealer. Sanding sealer is simply poly with a soap (stearate)added to allow for easier sanding. The soap actually weakens the finish. A finish with all poly vs. sanding sealer and poly with wear longer.

Also, some sanding sealers are not compatible with poly.

One of the reasons sanding sealers are popular is because they dry quicker than poly allowing faster finishing. You can mimic this by thinning your poly 50/50 for the first two or three coats.

jeff
 
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