Shopsmith Forums

I did my first pens a few weeks ago and posted a picture of them on the Shopsmith Forum. I was working on another one this morning and used a four step polishing kit that I bought from Woodcraft. It did a good job in polishing up the CA glue that I had put on the pen. But I noticed that the polish had also gone into the grain of the wood, of course showing up as white streaks. I sanded the pens using 150 to 600 grit sandpaper before putting on the CA glue. Here are my questions.

1. Did I not put enough layers of CA glue onto the pen to seal the wood grain. I only used about two layers on this particular pen? How many layers should I put on?

2. Since the wood I was using is just from a grab bag of various types of woods that Woodcraft offers, is the wood grain issue just due to the wood not being the best type for use on pens?

3. Something else that I am failing to do properly?

I would be grateful for your advice!

Thanks,

Alan;
Probably not enough CA to fill the grain. What weight of CA did you use. I generally use medium weight and I put on three coats. Then I sand the CA starting with 600 and progressing to 12000 grit. I use the small sanding pads that are about 2" square and available from Woodcraft or other suppliers. After the first sanding if you see any white streaks wipe with a soft damp cloth with the grain and you can pull the dust out of the grain. Then more CA and more sanding. After three applications you should have a very hard acrylic finish. Be careful when removing the blanks from the bushings so you do not crack the CA where the bushings contact the blank. I have used a very sharp skew chisle to cut the CA glue seam to help with this process.
Bill V

I use a minimum of 4 coats of CA. I've never had a problem with the glue sticking to the bushing, but I'll watch and use Al's suggestion if needed. I sand down to at least 600 grit before I apply my finish, sometimes shellac, make sure it's dry then use CA. Then I start at 1000 grit and work to 12000. And white residue I wipe off with denatured alcohol...it drys real quick and doesn't seem to affect the CA finish.
I use pipecleaners to hold the blanks while drying between CA and sanding.

Welcome to the vagueness of the CA finish. Ask 10 pen makers how to do a CA finish and you'll get 15 answers.

I don't always do mine the same.

The type of wood definitely has an impact on the CA finish. If it is wet or oily, the CA finish will not look right (white streaks or blotches).

In general many applications are required to get a nice deep glossy shine.

Here are some general guidelines that I often see from successful CA finishers.

Only use fresh glue.

Seal the wood with a couple coats of thin before using medium. The thin viscosity will penetrate further and help stabilize the wood.

Use either Thin or Medium CA glue for the final finish. Many thinner applications is better than a few thick ones, just like paint.

Put the CA on the applicator, not the spinning blank.

CA applications will bond to previous applications making one thick layer rather than several layers or coats. It's just the chemistry so, no need to sand between applications of CA.

Sanding of the wood prior to the CA is to enhance the chatoyance (how light reflects) of the wood itself. Chatoyance is improved either through very fine sanding OR burnishing. I have also applied an oil finish (BLO typically) or lacquer/sanding sealer to make the grain really stand out. The start applying CA. CA can be applied over uncured BLO as the BLO will act as a bit of an accelerant.

Once you feel you have sufficient applications of CA (this is purely guesswork and experience), the first sanding is for leveling the surface. 320 or 400 is a good start here. You want a uniform matte whitish appearance to the blank. If there are glossy bits then there are ridges and the surface is not uniform sand down until the all of the glossy bits are gone. Once you have a uniform layer of scratches, turn off the lathe and sand lengthwise. Then wipe down the blank and move up to the next finer grit.

I typically go 400, 600, 800 IF AT ANYTIME THE SANDING DUST IS NOT WHITE, YOU HAVE SANDED THROUGH THE CA AND YOU NEED TO ADD MORE APPLICATIONS. After each successive grit, stop, sand lengthwise and wipe down the blank.

After you get to 800 is when the real fun and choices begin. Basically you can move on to the micromesh (fine abrasive pads that range up to 12000 grit) or switch to buffing. I prefer buffing because it's less expensive for me, (I already had buffs and compounds) it's also faster. I use three wheels and three compounds; stitched cotton with Tripoli (brown compound), loose flannel with white diamond and loose flannel with blue plastic polishing compound.

Remember that polishing to that super glossy finish is nothing more than replacing one layer of scratches with a finer layer of scratches until the scratches are so small they can only be seen under magnification.

The reason for such exacting instructions and fine polishing is that a pen is handled often and the finish is felt and experienced much more closely than furniture. It is also possible to examine the finish much closer. Even an untrained eye/hand can spot deficiencies in a pen's finish that can't be seen in larger projects.

Just some thoughts and ideas on the finishing process.