Picana negra finish?

[Woodchipper]

I scored a piece of Picana negra a while back. Might have been Black Dog in their odd & ends box. Research says it's related to bocote. Sanded down to 600 grit and is very smooth; seems to be dense. Question: what would you use to finish? Have CA and friction polish- both DIY and Shellawax. Need to wipe with acetone but doesn't feel oily? Thanks.

 

[SabertoothBunny]

With wooden pens, I pretty much use Doctor's Woodshop Pens Plus exclusively. It is basically a hard wax finish but is extremely durable. My everyday use pen I turned years ago shows little to no wear to the finish, just some dents/dings from being used daily. Pens Plus will give you a very durable finish that last years and still looks like and feels like wood.

 

[Woodchipper]

STB, thanks, may need add that to the arsenal but in a time constraint as I want to put this pen on display Friday.
Edit: Woodcraft shows four types. What do you use? Gloss? Have a demo at Woodcraft this Saturday. Get a bottle then and delay the display later.

 

[Woodchipper]

Adding: Noticed the Pens Plus is the gloss. Get a bottle this weekend. And thanks for the tip.

 

[BHuij]

With wooden pens, I pretty much use Doctor's Woodshop Pens Plus exclusively. It is basically a hard wax finish but is extremely durable. My everyday use pen I turned years ago shows little to no wear to the finish, just some dents/dings from being used daily. Pens Plus will give you a very durable finish that last years and still looks like and feels like wood.

This surprises me - the listing for the product at Woodcraft say's it's a shellac-based friction polish. I've never had those behave particularly "durable".

 

[Woodchipper]

This surprises me - the listing for the product at Woodcraft say's it's a shellac-based friction polish. I've never had those behave particularly "durable".

Interesting and confusing as I have friction polish.

 

[BHuij]

I have no firsthand experience with this finish, so I'm only speculating. If SabertoothBunny says he's had a high gloss finish with this stuff last on a pen for multiple years, then that's very intriguing to me.

Listing says it's a blend of walnut oil, shellac, and cosmolloid 80H microcrystalline wax (one of the ingredients in Renaissance wax). Most friction polishes are some kind of polymerizing oil (walnut, BLO, tung) mixed with a solvent and shellac. Perhaps there's something about having the known hard 80H in there that really levels it up in terms of durability.

Please do report back, and @SabertoothBunny if you have any pictures you can share showing off the results of this finish, I'd love to see them. I do mostly CA finishes, but I would love to have a super durable option that preserves the tactile feeling of the wood without sacrificing much on gloss, and I haven't found it yet.

 

[Woodchipper]

STB- Woodcraft has Pens Plus Gloss and High Build Friction Polish. Which do you use?

 

[SabertoothBunny]

STB- Woodcraft has Pens Plus Gloss and High Build Friction Polish. Which do you use?

I prefer the Pens Plus. It isn't as messy and I typically apply 3ish coats for most items as it is a friction polish and doesn't require any additional finish. The creator of this stuff is a retired chemical engineer so he knows his stuff.

 

[SabertoothBunny]

I have no firsthand experience with this finish, so I'm only speculating. If SabertoothBunny says he's had a high gloss finish with this stuff last on a pen for multiple years, then that's very intriguing to me.

Listing says it's a blend of walnut oil, shellac, and cosmolloid 80H microcrystalline wax (one of the ingredients in Renaissance wax). Most friction polishes are some kind of polymerizing oil (walnut, BLO, tung) mixed with a solvent and shellac. Perhaps there's something about having the known hard 80H in there that really levels it up in terms of durability.

Please do report back, and @SabertoothBunny if you have any pictures you can share showing off the results of this finish, I'd love to see them. I do mostly CA finishes, but I would love to have a super durable option that preserves the tactile feeling of the wood without sacrificing much on gloss, and I haven't found it yet.

All of the Doctor's Woodshop finishes, to my knowledge, use walnut oil as their based. They are mostly friction polishes that get more durable with additional coats. Other than the durability of it, the thing I like most about the finish is that it isn't overly oily or tacky. It has a smooth, even consistency that doesn't leave a big mess, except when I am not being careful or lose focus. I believe Pens Plus will allow you enough gloss to accompany the durability. If you buff it on a wheel then you can get a higher sheen as well.

Below are a few wooden pens with Pens Plus. Hope this answers your questions. Unfortunately, the daily use wooden pen I had grew legs and walked away so I cannot get you photos of it and the one I grabbed to replace it was a resin one.

 

[BHuij]

Have you used it with any kind of sealer? I ask because the lignum vitae ones seem noticeably glossier than the others. That could be explained by grain size or density compared to redheart or oak, but surprises me a bit that the ironwood is also noticeably less glossy than the lignum vitae. They do look very nice though, thanks for helping satisfy my curiosity!