Quick durable finish. Is it possible?

[alankulwicki7]

My daughter is in Girl Scouts and one of their projects is going to involve making a pen in my shop (with my guidance of course).
I would like them to choose the blank they want to make so it could be wood or acrylic.
If they choose acrylic, that's pretty much a no-brainer.

Should they choose wood, I think a CA finish would be out because of the fumes and time involved.

Are there any simple finishes that would work in situations like this?

 

[edstreet]

Stabilized wood hands down. If you can't go that route then use something like BOW or walnut where a light oil finish works good.

 

[iflysw]

I would agree with edstreet, walnut is a good choice with a boiled linseed oil. Polish to a high luster.

 

[alankulwicki7]

Great ideas. I assume if BOW works would any oily wood work as well?

 

[edstreet]

BOW has a very long legacy of being used with nothing on it at all in the kitchen and other locations.

Oil use needs to be a drying oil of some type. Some, like Walnut oil, barely scrapes by as it takes forever for it to dry. Many 'blends' will put mineral oil in which does not dry at all. Classic ones are tung, teak, and boiled linseed. Each of those 3, and variations, has a very long track record, read thousand +years, of use. One of the better types of oils is polymerized oils, they require little work and dry in about an hour. Also furniture makers have been using this stuff for decades.

 

[Bobostro61]

Stabilized wood hands down. If you can't go that route then use something like BOW or walnut where a light oil finish works good.

Newbie question: What is BOW?

 

[paintspill]

My son (11) has a few pens under his belt now and I have him use the waxsticks the dark and Light ones. Super easy to use and polish up to a beautiful finish. I've even started using them on my builds as well because I love it so much.

 

[its_virgil]

Bethlehem Olive Wood

Newbie question: What is BOW?

Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[its_virgil]

Wow! Hut PPP…Perfect Pen Polish. I have not thought of PPP in years. The first "P" needs to be removed. PPP looks nice as soon as the finish is applied but not weeks later. Just my opinion. If you like it then by all means continue using it. We all have our favorites.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

My son (11) has a few pens under his belt now and I have him use the waxsticks the dark and Light ones. Super easy to use and polish up to a beautiful finish. I've even started using them on my builds as well because I love it so much.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

I would use bacote with friction polish.

 

[Rodnall]

How about Generals, wood turners finish?

 

[kovalcik]

For a finish I would go with a friction polish (something like Mylands, Drs. Woodshop, or Hut crystal coat). Safe, quick, easy, and looks good right off the lathe. Maybe not as durable as you would like, but definitely serviceable.

For the blank, I would go for wood from a local source. Maybe something from town land or somewhere important to the girls. Maybe a trip to the woods or a farm and let them harvest it themselves. (Use already downed wood so that it is dry.) I would not spend money on stabilized wood or BOW. It will mean more if they know where it came from.

 

[Florida Marine]

Before I learned how to do CA well...or well enough, I used and still sometimes use

EEE-Ultra Shine Paste Wax: 250ml at Penn State Industries

It gives and easy shine - and holds up fairly well, better then the Hut stuff. I have even used it and then CA'd over it - did it with amboyna burl and the finish was stunning.