Poly finish?

[wickford]

Does anyone use "regular" poly to finish pens? Seems that when I've done other wood working projects (tables etc...) a few coats of poly put a pretty durable and glossy surface on the piece.

So I'm wondering if this can be done successfully with pens? I've not done too well with a CA finish so I'm looking for an alternative...

Thoughts/Opinions?

Thanks!!!

 

[alamocdc]

I don't like the ambering that comes with polyurethane, but I have used polycrylic on a few to test its durability. The Snakewood Churchill I did over a year ago still looks good and our old pastor uses it daily (since begging it from me) and I had been carrying it for about three months.

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Now that is rich, picture a preacher writting a sermon with snamewood! [}] Bet he has a great sense of humor.

I agree with Billy. Drizzle a little poly on the lid of the can and let it sit overnight. Peel it up and look at the color. This will change the color and look of your pen blanks too.

Mike

 

[leehljp]

Regular poly is a broad term in that there are many different brands, some fine and some just ordinary. It would depend on the quality, IMO. Billy had success with his polyacrylic (water based poly, I think) but overall, poly is not meant for the constant hands on, hot sweaty hands, and shirt pocket heat and humidity. It might work and it might not.

Give it a try and carry it around with you. But particularly wait until late summer to see how it does before handing it out. Also beware that it might work fine for some people, but for a few, their perspiration seems to be more caustic and cause more reactions with the finish - making it wear and deteriorate faster.

 

[fafow]

I was looking at General Finish's High Performance Polyurethane Top Coat (can't they make the name a little shorter?). This is water-based and they claim that the added UV stabilizer prevents breakdown from the sun as well as yellowing. I am having a heck of a time getting Enduro (between the sanding sealer and poly top coat, Bear Tooth Woods has the 16 ounce of one and the 4 ounce of the other)and was wondering if this would work just as well or better. It is made by the same company. I would also use their sanding sealer (which appears to be the Enduro sealer). I don't have a spray gun and would prefer to wipe it on rather than brush it on. Does anyone have any experience with this product?

 

[fafow]

I was just comparing the material safety data sheets between their Enduro Poly Clear Tppcoat Gloss and the EF High Performance Polyurethane Top Coat. It doesn't appear to me (not being a chemist) that there is all that much of a difference between the two products. Here is the ingredient info with Enduro being the first column of percents:

water 60-70% 40-65%
acrylic polymer 15-30% 45-55%
glycol ethers 3-10% 4-5%
polyurethane 7-20% 10-20%
nonionic polyethelene 3-5% 3-5%
N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone <1% 1-2%
solvent Naphtha <3% 1-2%
triethylamine <0.15% 0%
trimethlybensene-1,2,4 1-1.5% 0%

Also, their sanding sealer is not a watered down version of the poly. The ingredients are very different, and there looks to be a definite difference between the Enduro sanding sealer and their GF sanding sealer.

For some reason General Finishes labels the Enduro as industrial and is available in 1 gallon cans as the minimum and the GF products are for the general public and can be found as small as 1 pint.

I'm hoping I can go with the GF products with no problem, but am not sure.

Also, has anyone used the Maloof finishing products on pens?