Thin CA - Time Between Coats

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egnald

egnald

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
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Location
Columbus, Nebraska, USA
Greetings from Nebraska,

I know there are going to be lots of opinions and techniques, but I am going to ask anyway. In my CA regimen I apply 4-6 coats of thin with no Accelerator before switching to medium. At present I use a 90 second hourglass timer to let the CA dry between coats, the lathe is turning at about 600 RPM.

I'm pretty sure 90 seconds is enough as it appears to be working OK for me, but is it longer than it needs to be? Sometimes just waiting 90 seconds for the CA to dry can seem like an eternity!

Regards,
Dave (egnald)
 
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I would think there are a number of variables such as how thick a coat you are adding, humidity/temperature, thickness of your thin CA, brand of CA, density of wood, moisture content of blank, etc.
The first coat or two may soak in more...but not dry as fast as the following coats which are on the surface only.
Dry to touch and cured are usually difficult.
I would say experiment with your particular process and hone in on what works for you.
 
What Charlie said is true. Temp and humidity can make or break the CA process as far as results and timing. Personally I do 5 coats of CA with accelerator between each coat and then apply 5-6 coats of medium with accelerator between each coat. Using this process I have gotten very good results for years. It works for me but may not work for others. We all have to find the process that works for us in our shop for the conditions that exist. I am sure others will come on with what works for them.
Turncrazy43
 
Agree temp and humidity play a big role in finishing of any kind. I apply thin in 3 to 4 coats rather quickly because they dry faster but the med which I use 4 to 6 coats will be over a much longer period of time usually a day. I do not let the lathe spin while they are drying. just when first applied to level it out. Then I work on something else and come back to add another coat. let sit at least 24 hours before polishing. As you said everyone has their own method. Shop conditions and location play a huge part. good luck. If it works for you keep doing it. No need to change.
 
First off I agree with the others. Several factors can change the same procedure. Also if it's not broke don't fix it.
The main reason for my reply is that my son and friends say I need to catch up with the times. You said your using an hour glass timer! That makes me feel pretty up to date!! Ha Ha. Please don't spoil the moment and tell me there's a new hour glass timer and it's not the one that popped into my mind.
 
Kenny Durrant said:
First off I agree with the others. Several factors can change the same procedure. Also if it's not broke don't fix it.
The main reason for my reply is that my son and friends say I need to catch up with the times. You said your using an hour glass timer! That makes me feel pretty up to date!! Ha Ha. Please don't spoil the moment and tell me there's a new hour glass timer and it's not the one that popped into my mind.
Click to expand...
Yes there is, its digital now 😀
 
I just looked up the digital hour glass. Not to get off target with the original question it's still a digital timer. Doesn't matter what shape it's in. So my question back at David is it a digital timer or an hour glass?
 
Kenny Durrant said:
I just looked up the digital hour glass. Not to get off target with the original question it's still a digital timer. Doesn't matter what shape it's in. So my question back at David is it a digital timer or an hour glass?
Click to expand...

Here it is - it's 5 inches tall and 2-1/2 inches in diameter. - Dave
IMG_1164 Cropped.jpg
 
I use thin only for finishing and I've found that for most woods 10 coats work best for me. If it's an open grain wood it may take 3 or 4 more. If there are small inclusions I'll fill them before I start. Then I'll put the first 3 coats on without time between, as some have mentioned they tend to dry faster. Then I'll take the blank off the bushings and finish the last coatS between centers usually waiting around a minute between costs. YMMV.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
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