what did i do wrong?

[Califo]

I recently turned and finished a blank with ca. I inspected the finished blank; It looked good and I assembled it. After it was assembled, I notice that the ca had somewhat peeled off. It didn't shatter but peeled from the wood around the edges causing a foggy spot. Could this be caused by extra pressure when pressing the pen? I was so &#%-# that I had to start the finish process again. Any ideas of what was the cause, other than me?:biggrin:

 

[toddlajoie]

From my experience (others may disagree or have had different experiences),there could be 2 things going on, and I'm making some assumptions on your process, as I don't know how you are actually doing your CA finish:

Sometimes if you are using accelerator, and it has not dried/evaporated well before you put the next coat on, the next coat does not adhere well to the coat before, (i.e. that the CA cures before it has a chance to bond well with the previous layer of CA). Now you have a very weak layer in your CA finish, very similar to grain layers in wood, and stress put on the blank from assembly will cause the 2 layers to move slightly different amounts, and the CA does not have the strength between layers to hold itself together... Trimming excess CA off the end of the blanks in these situations can cause similar results.

The fogging has me thinking that it could also be related to the CA not being fully cured before wet sanding. Moisture will cause clouding in a CA finish, and while I can't say for sure from personal experience, it may cause the same drop in layer adhesion, causing the separation you are seeing.

All of this may be non-relevant depending on your CA technique, and photos might help diagnose it also...

 

[keithbyrd]

When you say it peeled from the edges makes me think that there was a little CA protruding over the end of the blank and when you pressed the parts together it caused the peel. Always sand the end of the blank after the CA is finished before you polish to eliminate this possibility.

 

[Califo]

Thanks gents for the feedback. Both suggestions make sense based on my process. I will certainly tweak my finishing and incorporate your suggestions.