Sanded through

[Todd in PA]

I tried to be as light and brief as possible. I will turn down the lathe speed next time. But I sanded just through the CA. Will adding a new coat of CA solve the issue (I doubt it). Or do I need to sand it all off and begin again? It's just a "practice" funline, so I might not bother, but figure I should ask and learn the answer.

 

[dogrunner]

If you sanded the blank before you finished it resand that area the the last grit you used and reapply some ca

 

[Dehn0045]

I find that woods that have more contrast, are oily, or have fine sanding dust prior to application of the very first coat it tends to be more noticeable. The first coat will bleed some of the colors, but when you sand through you remove this slightly darkened material and the spot under the 'sand thru' tends to look a little brighter. I always just reapply over what is there and hope for the best, sometimes it's barely noticeable and other times it's a sore thumb.

I am surprised by how uneven a carefully turned blank can be. If you try to get a perfect cylinder with all of the little pore holes and valleys removes then I recommend turning the CA buildup with an extremely sharp skew using a feather-light scraping cut. Combining this with measurements before/after CA buildup you have a good idea about the finish thickness and you can move straight to polishing. I can get to about 1500 grit equivalent (or better) with a skew on CA. This technique is a little less useful with a blank that has more curved features like yours shown here.

 

[magpens]

"Will adding a new coat of CA solve the issue .... ?"

In my opinion, it is definitely worth a try ... but ... plan on MORE than just "a new coat" ... you will need several ... preferably all THIN CA.
I would say 6 or more coats of thin. . After two coats, I would sand LIGHTLY to remove the high spots, then continue, sanding lightly every 2 coats.
When you judge it is appropriate (never an easy call) sand a little more thoroughly.

Of course, you have to be careful to sand quite locally .... feathering off over the CA from the previous treatment.

It doesn't hurt to apply some more CA over what's already there, but you should not have to recoat completely.

I would not take off what you've already applied and which seems to be intact. . The repair coating process should work per my experience.
If necessary, you can always do a "complete" remove-and-replace later, but in my experience the "complete" need not be totally complete.

 

[jttheclockman]

There was a thread not long ago here and forgive me for not remembering the member but he showed exactly why you do not just top coat. What happens is you sanded the blank with whatever grit you stopped at and now you sanded the CA which I know is not the same grit you stopped at when just sanding wood. So the spot that was sanded through will now accept the CA at a different level and the spot will stand out like a sore thumb. Now if you are talking just a small nick then top coat is fine but to me I would take it back to the beginning and start over and learn from the mistake. My opinion.

 

[turnit2020]

Suggest applying more coats of CA before sanding. For e, 5 coats thin and then 5 coats medium followed by light sanding passes.
turncrazy43

 

[Todd in PA]

Thank you all for your advice. I overcoated it and finished out the pen and can see the result. I agree with John T and Dogrunner that I would have been better off to sand it back to 800 (dry) and begin again. There was not just one spot, but several splotchy areas. Were this was a nicer wood blank, I would have been more apt to try to fix it the right way. I probably would also have sanded more carefully in that case.

This was an experiment pen -- but aren't they all so far in my early career ! I wanted to see if I could use a hole saw drill bit (for a door knob) to create inlay. Inlay, is that even the right term? Segment? I also saw someone else here using card stock and threw some of that in there too. It blew apart when I went to drill it out because I used epoxy glue instead of thin CA. I glued it back up with thin CA, and finished it out.

In spite of all that, I'm going to put it out there that this is my best pen to date. It has a nice shape and a nice shine and feels good in my hand. I like the color tone of the stripes and the black cardstock sets it off. I'm proud of this ink pen.

Lessons Learned:
Turn down the speed when sanding CA (I was ~1,500).
More coats of CA to give me room for error.
Intermittent CA sanding rather than all at the end.

 

[henry1164]

I like to check my progress with dry sanding after CA is applied. After the first grit (usually start at 600 depending on how smooth my CA layers were applied) I buff lightly with a clean paper towel and the lathe spinning. When I clear the CA dust I stop the lathe. I can easily see the scuffed areas vs. the shinny spots that were not yet touched by the sanding. I then decide to sand again at 600 or move to 800 and then repeat the process through about 1500 grit buffing after each grit. When I don't see any shinny spots I continue through my final finishing/polishing steps to a glass-like finish. With the use of this process - after the last couple hundred pens - I have not ever sanded through the CA finish.

As a help to keep from over-sanding here's a tip I got from Mark Dreyer. I cut my sandpaper into small strips and I only use that strip once. Makes sense as you can always sand a second time with another new small strip vs. potentially over-sanding with a large piece and not checking results along the way.

Good sanding/finishing!!

 

[TonyL]

I would dissemble, sand to the wood, and re-apply. It is a beautiful pen.

Sometimes I have to put it down and not look at it for a few days, but then glad the I re-worked it (and not thrown it across the shop LOL)

 

[Bope]

If I have to strip the CA back to wood I sometimes rub it with an acetone soaked paper towel. The acetone will re3move the CA faster than sandpaper with no issue of sanding some wood before all the CA is off other areas.