Stabilized blank finish

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rebfan04

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Dec 15, 2010
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65
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Flowood, MS
Newer member here. Question... Whats the best finish? I have used EEE and plastic polish. Used EEE and mm and wax. Used different combos of each. Is plastic polish ok to use on these blanks. I'm not doing CA as of yet, but plan to work up to it.
Thanks
 
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It depends on what you want your finish to look like. I like the glossy look, so I almost always us CA and polish it to a shine. Even on stabilized blanks. I've done some both ways and while I've had stabilized blanks turn out very shiny just sanding and polishing, but I can get them downright glassy smooth with CA. And there are many other finishes you can use, it all depends on what you want the final product to look like...
 
Does a stabilized blank really need a CA finish. Won't it polish up pretty good anyway with MM?

I'm new and have not done a stabilized blank yet, so I am curious as well.
 
Stabilized blanks technically don't need a finish since the wood has been impregnated with the stabilizing medium but a good finish will polish to a much better shine . The main problem is that wood has a variable density that don't always soak up the stabilizer evenly leaving some wood untreated . A CA or Poly or Lacquer finish will give a lasting finish that will hold up the the use/abuse that a pen gets , finishes like friction will look good but the shine will wear away very quickly leaving the pen looking poorly finished . Best use for a bottle friction polish when it comes to pens is as a door stop to keep the shop door open .
 
ldb2000 said:
Best use for a bottle friction polish when it comes to pens is as a door stop to keep the shop door open .
Click to expand...

It also makes a nice paper weight :biggrin:

Wood fibers remain exposed in stabilized blanks. Unless it is finished properly, it will end up developing that 'nice patina' (correctly interpreted as dirty wood) that results from the use of friction polishes and waxes.
 
One of my first stabilized blanks was buckeye burl done for a sketch pencil about a year ago. I finished it using just MicroMesh and it came out with a nice shine (# 1 in this photo)
Pens5363.jpg


During my summer bathroom remodel, at some time in the process I dropped it on the ground near my outdoor workbench (which started it's life and continues to double as our picnic table) and forgot about it. It turned up in the late fall yard cleanup when we moved the table, and while it had it's fair share of dirt and grass stuck to it, and the lead was warped from the moisture, the worst that happened to the wood is it is a bit more dull than it was when it started it's outdoor survival experience. From memory, regular handling of it before it was lost did quite a bit to tone down the nice shine seen in the photo, and I've been meaning to get a new photo of it to show how well unfinished stabilized wood stood up to a summer outside...

I've done other stabilized woods with CA finishes since, and I have to say I'm torn between the high gloss of the CA and the nice matte finish of it natural...
 
I use CA on everything. If I want a satin or "natural" finish it's just a couple of coats of thin CA. I break out the medium CA and MicroMesh for glassy finishes. The pen usually tells me what kind of finish it needs to be "right".
 
To obtain a nice satin CA finish use (sand) 0000 steel wool after going through your MM routine.

Wade
 
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