Shellawax, with CA sealer coat and Plastic Polish

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OutofTurnSam

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Joined
Jan 11, 2011
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38
Location
Houston, TX
Hey guys, haven't been here in awhile for various reasons. Mostly because I've been able to figure out the answers to many of my questions on my own. =)

I've been using shellawax liquid and cream as my primary finish for many of my pens. I tried using a CA/BLO (I actually used Tung Oil) but I never was pleased with it. The Shellawax came with the starter kit I bought, so I decided to give it a try and I love it.

I know many of you don't like Shellawax, but it's worked wonderfully for me. It's easy to apply, and when I'm done, leaves a shiny, natural look to the wood. I like how I can feel the wood - and not just a coat of plastic like with the CA.

Anyways, it was recommended to me recently to try finishing with the shellawax, but then seal it with a few coats of med CA. This way the Shellawax will keep it's shine and not wear away with time. Despite the fact that I prefer the feel of just the shellawax, I decided to give this a try and I'm really struggling.

I don't know if it's the CA itself that is giving me problems, or if the CA is somehow interacting with the Shellawax, preventing it from curing properly. But, without fail, as soon as I apply the plastic polish, the pen clouds up. It's only a very light clouding, but it's still noticable. And it's not all over the pen, just in one section. (Usually the middle).

I'm also having trouble applying the plastic polish. I tried using everything from socks to paper towels, but everything seems to heat up real fast and start burning. This seems to happen to the paper towels less often than the socks, towels, or t-shirts. But I'm worried that the icky black material (from whatever I'm using) is affecting my finish (which is one thought that I had as to what was causing the cloudiness). And after the plastic polish is dried, I notice some streaks (more like stripes) that weren't there after I put the CA on. It almost looks like I polished some parts of the CA, but not others. When I run my hand along the pen, I don't feel any high points, so I have no clue what this could be.

So what is causing the clouding? Is there a material I can use that won't start burning after only a few moments? Could it be possible that I'm just letting the blanks get too hot, and that is what is causing the clouding? Could the CA be reacting negatively with the shellawax itself?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
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I havent tried what you are doing, but Assuming that Shallawax has wax in it, I think the CA wont stick well to it.

Also, with CA as the final finish, I dont think the shellawax is going to buy you anything being under it. With the durability comes the feel of CA, even with the shellawax under. Even if you figure out the clouding issue, you will end up with a CA finish, so I would recomend skipping the shellawax if you want CA durability.

Nothing wrong with doing some pens with CA and some with shellawax depending if you want feel or durability. Master both and be more versitile, becasue different people perfer different things.

I also recomend carrying a Shellawax pen daily for a couple months so you can see how it wears over time.
 
My opinion is you are trying to combine 2 incompatible things. The friction polish will give you instant gratification but will wear off very soon. CA is not that time consuming either but does last a lot longer. If you don't like the ca finish alone, I don't see why you think you will like combining the two. Pick one and go with it. I think you will soon find the pens using only the shellawax, will with a little use, look like crap. This is my opinion, remember you did ask for it so if you disagree, feel free to ignore it. Good luck.
 
My husband has one of the first pens I finished with Shellawax, and it is it holding up very well. It's not as glossy as it was when I first finished it (which is to be expected), but it looks natural to me. And I'm able to feel the wood.

Since it's use, not time, that causes the Shellawax to fade and become more matte, the idea was that I could use it to get to that awesome shine, and then skip a few coats of CA. I forgot where my dad read this suggestion (I think an Australian woodworking forum?), but it seemed to make sense to me at the time.

Does anyone have a picture of a crappy shellawax finish? Since everyone seems to feel so strongly about it here, I would think that someone must have at least one pen they tried it with and didn't like.
 
You used the term "plastic polish". Is that what you call CA. Those are actually two different finishing materials. If you reallybare using plastic polish, if you get it on the steel bushings, it will turn black and streak onto the wood.
 
Well, shellawax has denatured alcohol as a thinner while denatured alcohol is used by many colleagues here before applying CA on oily woods like Cocobolo, African Blackwood, etc. That is, applying shellawex on some coats of CA is actually thinning your CA substrate, hence the clouding.
IMHO, either you apply CA or shellawax, but not those products together.

As for shellawax, personally I cannot criticize a product I've never applied but I wouldn't give it a try either. For I want to sell some of my pens and being sure about what I'm selling. If I was only giving them as gifts OK I could give shellawax a try.

As for the CA finish, I'm not a fanatic, specially since I encounter some allergic reactions. But I found out that one can soften the high gloss by sanding between each coat of CA (CA/BLO) with the green micro-mesh sanding pad.

My prefered finishing method is cellulosic sealer + pure carnauba wax (applied with a carnauba stick with lathe running at 3000 RPM). And I can tell you this finish is durable.

Hope this helps.
 
Yes, I have actual plastic polish in addition to the CA.

Thanks for the tip. I guess I have to be more careful with the finishing then - to keep the polish from the bushings. Good thing I found this out before I turned a nice acrylic pen - yikes!

I bet the black stuff is probably what is causing the other streaks/stripes and possibly the cloudiness too. I'll have to experiment and see. But if contact with the bushings is causing it to change color, it is very possible that it would affect the way the pen cured too.
 
I guess it wasn't clear what my finishing procedure was.

1. Sand to 400. Stopping and cross sanding in between grits.
2. Micromesh
3. Shellawax liquid
4. CA, smooth with steel wool. Cross sand with steel wool.
5. Another layer of CA, sanding with steel wool.
6. Plastic polish.
 
Well, I understood the other way around, that is first CA and after shellawax.
I'm not sure about that but as I've read about shellawax, the curing process takes up to three weeks. While this product dries immediately it is sensitive to alcohol, water and other liquids.
 
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OutofTurnSam said:
I guess it wasn't clear what my finishing procedure was.

1. Sand to 400. Stopping and cross sanding in between grits.
2. Micromesh
3. Shellawax liquid
4. CA, smooth with steel wool. Cross sand with steel wool.
5. Another layer of CA, sanding with steel wool.
6. Plastic polish.
Click to expand...
Based on your current method, I would try this:

1. Sand to 400. Stopping and cross sanding in between grits.
4. CA, smooth with steel wool. Cross sand with steel wool.
5. Another layer of CA, sanding with steel wool.
5. Another layer of CA, sanding with steel wool.
5. Another layer of CA, sanding with steel wool.
5. Another layer of CA, sanding with steel wool.
2. Micromesh
6. Plastic polish.

This may not be what you end up doing and is not what I do. It was based purely on the steps you posted you are doing. Take it for what you paid for it, after all it is an opinion, others will differ.
 
OutofTurnSam said:
Yes, I have actual plastic polish in addition to the CA.

Thanks for the tip. I guess I have to be more careful with the finishing then - to keep the polish from the bushings. Good thing I found this out before I turned a nice acrylic pen - yikes!

I bet the black stuff is probably what is causing the other streaks/stripes and possibly the cloudiness too. I'll have to experiment and see. But if contact with the bushings is causing it to change color, it is very possible that it would affect the way the pen cured too.
Click to expand...

Sam, I use masking tape before I put the Plastic Polish on. I just use a thin strip around each bushing right next to the wood. Works well for me.
 
I would not use steel wool on the blank. If the bushings put black gunk onto the pen then using steel wool may well do the same thing. Steel wool breaks down leaving very small pieces behind. This could be part of the problem. If, and only if, the CA needed sanding between coats, then using a 600 grit light colored paper to level the surface would be preferable. Just MHO and YMMV.
Charles
 
ctubbs said:
I would not use steel wool on the blank. If the bushings put black gunk onto the pen then using steel wool may well do the same thing. Steel wool breaks down leaving very small pieces behind. This could be part of the problem. If, and only if, the CA needed sanding between coats, then using a 600 grit light colored paper to level the surface would be preferable. Just MHO and YMMV.
Charles
Click to expand...

That's a very good point too. I had been wiping down in between coats with a piece of sock and paper towel, but I guess that doesn't remove 100% of the steel wool fluff.
 
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