pgfitzgerald
Member
Hello everyone!
Today was the first day I attempted a CA finish. I've been practicing on and off all day and have come up with a few tips that may be helpful to others attempting a CA finish for the first time.
First and foremost, YMMV. :biggrin: Also, if you're thinking of trying it, stop thinking about it and give it a shot. You don't even need to use a real pen! So far, the following method is doing a good job helping me determine what works best for me. It may or may not help you. If you're having trouble, give it a try.
There is a ton of information on this site about finishing with CA. Read as much as you can. From what I can tell, everyone ends up with their own method, so don't try to follow these guides word for word. Use the info within these guides to help you come up with your own process. If you're anything like me, you may try following the steps verbatim and end up getting frustrated when your finish doesn't come out the same way. Save yourself the frustration and use the guides as guides rather instructions.
The first thing you'll need to do is mill up or purchase a handful of inexpensive blanks for testing. I had a whole bunch of cherry, so that's what I used. Rather than drilling them, gluing in tubes, and mounting on your mandrel, just mount them between centers. Turn them round and complete your normal sanding regimen. I sand up to 600 grit with sandpaper and then through 12000 with MM. Finally, number the blanks on the end grain.
Collect all your supplies and arrange them within easy reach. I had thin, medium, and thick CA, accelerator, BLO in a squeeze bottle, water in a squeeze bottle, sandpaper and MM, a few hand towels, paper towels, wax paper, those little plastic baggies that pen parts come in, strips of brown paper grocery bags, and a pad and pencil.
Based on your research, figure out how you want to start and get started.
I went through various combinations of lathe speed, speed of application, number of coats, CA viscosity, with and without BLO, application method (paper towel, wax paper, baggie), with and without post application sanding/polishing, etc.
After each blank, I recorded the blank number and all the details about the finishing method. I'd then go back over my notes and examine the completed blanks. Finally, I took what I had learned and applied it to the next blank. This went round and round all day.
If you're interested, here's what I have found so far...
The one thing, at this point, that I consistently have trouble with is achieving a completely slick finish. Every blank so far has tiny little imperfections that affect the feel of the blank as well as its shininess. Some blanks have less imperfections than others, but I have not yet determined what is causing it. It appears as though the fewer the imperfections, the smoother the blank feels and the shinier it is. The more imperfections a blank has, the softer the blank feels and the less shiny it is.
So there you go. Hope this helps another newbie like me. :biggrin:
Paul
Today was the first day I attempted a CA finish. I've been practicing on and off all day and have come up with a few tips that may be helpful to others attempting a CA finish for the first time.
First and foremost, YMMV. :biggrin: Also, if you're thinking of trying it, stop thinking about it and give it a shot. You don't even need to use a real pen! So far, the following method is doing a good job helping me determine what works best for me. It may or may not help you. If you're having trouble, give it a try.
There is a ton of information on this site about finishing with CA. Read as much as you can. From what I can tell, everyone ends up with their own method, so don't try to follow these guides word for word. Use the info within these guides to help you come up with your own process. If you're anything like me, you may try following the steps verbatim and end up getting frustrated when your finish doesn't come out the same way. Save yourself the frustration and use the guides as guides rather instructions.
The first thing you'll need to do is mill up or purchase a handful of inexpensive blanks for testing. I had a whole bunch of cherry, so that's what I used. Rather than drilling them, gluing in tubes, and mounting on your mandrel, just mount them between centers. Turn them round and complete your normal sanding regimen. I sand up to 600 grit with sandpaper and then through 12000 with MM. Finally, number the blanks on the end grain.
Collect all your supplies and arrange them within easy reach. I had thin, medium, and thick CA, accelerator, BLO in a squeeze bottle, water in a squeeze bottle, sandpaper and MM, a few hand towels, paper towels, wax paper, those little plastic baggies that pen parts come in, strips of brown paper grocery bags, and a pad and pencil.
Based on your research, figure out how you want to start and get started.
I went through various combinations of lathe speed, speed of application, number of coats, CA viscosity, with and without BLO, application method (paper towel, wax paper, baggie), with and without post application sanding/polishing, etc.
After each blank, I recorded the blank number and all the details about the finishing method. I'd then go back over my notes and examine the completed blanks. Finally, I took what I had learned and applied it to the next blank. This went round and round all day.
If you're interested, here's what I have found so far...
- I prefer to apply the finish at 500RPM and at a medium to fast pace. Applying it too slowly and the finish isn't smooth... too fast and the finish isn't consistent. This is exaggerated by the speed of the lathe. Lathe speed and speed of application has probably been the most difficult part of all of this for me... at least so far.
- I like the medium CA. Thin just soaks into the paper towel or runs off the wax paper and baggies. Thick doesn't spread well for me and the cure time isn't much longer than medium. I have a feeling this would be different if I were using a different brand of CA.
- I prefer using paper towels -- I think I get a smoother coat than with the baggies or wax paper.
- I don't like using accelerator... I don't find it necessary.
- I haven't figured out if I like using BLO or not. I like some of the characteristics of CA only, and I like some of the characteristics of CA/BLO. More testing is required. :wink: I may actually end up with two methods -- one that is slick and shiny and one that has a softer, more luxurious feel.
- I haven't figured out how many coats I like either. It's definitely a minimum of three, but I found I need at least five if I wet sand with MM. The number of coats I need also seems to be different if I use BLO.
- If I sand with MM after applying the finish, I prefer wet sanding... even if I choose to use BLO. In any case, I like to do this polishing at MACH-1. :tongue:
- I haven't decided if I like to burnish the wood with the brown paper bag before I apply the finish. I also haven't decided if it adds anything after I apply the finish.
The one thing, at this point, that I consistently have trouble with is achieving a completely slick finish. Every blank so far has tiny little imperfections that affect the feel of the blank as well as its shininess. Some blanks have less imperfections than others, but I have not yet determined what is causing it. It appears as though the fewer the imperfections, the smoother the blank feels and the shinier it is. The more imperfections a blank has, the softer the blank feels and the less shiny it is.
So there you go. Hope this helps another newbie like me. :biggrin:
Paul