Pen Finishing

[Bob Yarbrough]

How do you'all finish your pens? I've been sanding 3 grits through 220, using Hut? polishing wax/finish (2 coats) then buffing with wet/dry pads, 1800-4000, wiping, applying a final coat of hut, and a final quick buff from 6000-8000.

Bob

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Well Bob: I do mine a little different.

Start with 320 up through 4000. Wipe with oil with lathe spinning. (This punches up the figuring and is good for the wood)

Then 4 - 6 coats of French polish. It gives a gloss while letting the "Feel" of the wood come through. After several months of use it takes on a patina from the oils of the owner which makes it very personal.

I just bought some gel varnish to see how it will work. It's drying time will not let me assemble the pens right away, so I will only use it when I have the drying time available.

Bruce

[Keith Nielsen]

Hi Bob,

I also use a little different style when it comes to pens First I use 80 grit to get to final depth and shape. Then I work all the sanding grits up to 400 and can't see any lines at all. I then wipe it down with a clean cloth and add a layer of CA glue while the lathe is spinning. I then resand starting at 320 up to 1500grit I then use Hut Friction polish until it shines.

Thats it

Good luck
Keith

[Ron Ainge]

I do mine a bit differently than either one of you. I sand mine to about 400 grit then rub thick CA on it and let it dry. I then go form 220 to 400 girit with sand paper then use Micro Mesh to 12000. I then use thin CA and let it dry. I again go throug the Micro Mesh until it is smooth. If i see that i have gone through the CA I will put a light coat of CA and rub it is while the lathe is spinning real slow. I do another light sanding and then put on a padding laquor called Qualasal (spelling may not be accurate) which brings it to a rich shine. I then finish it on a beall buffing syste. This may sound like a lot of steps but once you get onto it, it only takes a couple of minutes. Good luck in your fininhing.

[Chris Barton]

Finishing techniques are like you granny's biscut recipe, varried and mysterious. I sand to about 600, then apply french polish (Zenzer) then spray on water-based lacquer, allow to dry and polish with the Beal system. If I am making some "give aways" using a less than spectacular wood or inexpensive mechanism I may just french polish and leave it at that. However, anything shy of either a lacquer or poly finish will rub off within a month...

[John Hart]

Once I have my final shape and have sanded a bit with the coarser stuff, I stop the lathe and sand with the grain at 200 to get rid of any lines, then spin it up and go 400 to 3000. Slap on some BLO...then thinned shellac....then BLO/CA....then thinned shellac....then BLO/CA....then thinned shellac. Seems durable so far....but I've heard stories of longevity problems.

[Blake McCully]

Bob,
As Chris says, finishing is an elusive process. Depending on the material, I sand to 400, then buff with the Beall wheels using all three, then I'm done. If I'm using acrylic, dry sand to 400, the wet micro mesh to 12,000, then an acrylic polish. For stabilized burls that I get from BB, I dry sand to 400, then dry micro mesh to 12,000, that's it.

Works for me, customers are happy.

Don't forget, the hunt for the ultimate finish is as challenging as looking for Solomn's mines.:D

[Patrick Lane]

I am going to be following this thread. I have been sanding to 400, applying CA, then sanding to 12000 with micromesh. I have kind of gotten tired of using so much CA so I may swap to something else soon.

Patrick

[Bill Pealer]

I sand thru 12000 mm, wiping with dna between grades. If it is oily wood may not add any finish. MOst of the time i use a sanding sealer then couple of coats of wipe on poly. Set it aside and let it cure a couple of days before assembly.