Pen, CA Glue, and Micro Mesh

[michael gallagher]

All-

I read with interest somewhere around here (and of course can't find it now), how to apply CA glue as a finish to a pen then finishing it off with micromesh tomake it super glossy, so I decided to give it a try.

I got some cedar from my father-in-law's land, so i decided to make him a pen out of some of the stock; I would post a picture but my wife promptly wrapped it. On about 95% of the pen, it glistens and shines and really brings out the colors of the wood. However, that other 5% has what looks like scuff marks from what I guess is the CA glue / friciton fom the sanding.

I covered it up with the thingamajiggy that clips the pen to a shirt.

My question is this - on future pens, do I need to pull out the skew and lightly take this off and start the process over? Is this normal applying a CA finish? I'm seeing a lot of white buildup on the micromesh pads - can I get this off, or do I need to go buy a new packet (this stuff is expensive)?

As a point of clarification, here is my sanding / finishing process:

1. Sand up through with 600 regular sandpaper, then use 0000 gauge steel wool.

2. Wet sand with 400 with a little dab of CA glue.

3. After the CA glue has dried, apply the micromesh up through it's highest pad which I think is either 12,000 or 15,000.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks-

Michael
Kinda Cold Today With a Sick Child Here in the Houson Suburbs

[Michael Robinson]

Hi, and greetings from NY where its cold and raining.....

Could you possibly have some steel wool particles embedded? Just a thought.

I'm a very new turner (probably don't even qualify at that), but have made a couple of Christmas ornaments and one small bowl.

The bowl is another story, while turning it pulled out of the chuck and flew into my face which was unprotected by the face shield which was sitting on the bench about 2' from me. 6 stitches later, I feel very stupid and very lucky that my lip is the only damage. The doctor did a fabulous job so there is very little sign of the hit.

The photo clearly shows the damage.

Older and (much) wiser. You can bet that the shield is on all the time now.

Cheers,

MikeR

[Jason Hallowell]

If it's just a dull spot, it's likely that you sanded through the ca. I use several coats of ca, not just one. If it's streaks, then you may have ca building up on the paper, getting hot, and melting back onto the pen. Make sure when you sand to keep the micromesh moving, and to keep changing to a clean part of the pad. There are some good tutorials and even videos of pen finishing with ca over on the pen forums.

[Jon Lanier]

There is a pen forum on Sawmill Creek???? :confused:

[Rick Gifford]

Hi Michael,

I am no pen expert. Ive only turned 20 or so pens. I am going to move into laminating/inlays soon. Just because I think they look neat!

I posted a reply at this thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=71615

It described Fangars CA finish method that I use with small modification. Also if your really interested in Pens then visit The Pen Shop forum. Those fellows have forgotten more about pen turning then I have even learned yet. Very friendly and helpfull too.

To try and answer your question. You can sand through your finish, and it will leave a dull area. I have done that and you'll need to sand the tube back down to the same level to get rid of that and build it back up.

If the pen is finished you can buy a tool that takes them apart. I have a set of punches I have used successfully in the deconstruction of pens. Thankfully it isnt something that is necessary often.

Or the CA didnt get sanded well in that area and now it shows through.

If it is a pen you want to keep, take it apart and sand it back down. Otherwise it becomes a lesson pen. I had several of those. Ironically they are still around the house being used. Once you start making unflawed pens people start grabbing them :rolleyes:

Good luck!

[Dan Forman]

For a very good tutorial video on using CA for pens, go to penturners.org, then click on "features" in the menu bar under the flags, then click on "library", then "Russ Fairfield's video tips".

Dan

[Bob Hallowell]

Most poeple never mention this. but I have have your streaking problems many times before. Here's what I have learned from my experience. I have made over hundred pens most finished with ca.

It all depends on what time of year it is on how easy it is to use here in Pa. in the spring and fall it works well but using ca in the summer up here is almost completely idoit proof(and I shound know I been one before) But the winter is very hard to do. I believe it all has to do with the HUMIDITY and not the temps. I normally use several coats of thin and when there is very little humity in the air it just doesn't dry quick enough. This can lead to dull spots and all other kinds of a poor quality finish.

I try to replenish my stock long before winter and only make specail orders in the winter cause I know it might take me a few trys to get a good finish

Bob

[Dean Thomas]

In my opinion, one or even two wipes of CA is simply not enough. Multiple coats of CA so that you can indeed sand some away and have a finishable coating left.

Again, IMO, don't use steel wool at that point in the project. I've finished a few grand pianos with lacquer and fully hand-rubbed finishes, along with some other work that would fall in the flat work realm. Steel wool is not a friend of CA or any other fast setting substance. Makes for bumps and sunsightly sanding messes when it needs to be sanded away to redo it again. Learned after MUCH steeper than required learning curve. Lose the steel wool until the very end to be used with high quality wax to control the sheen and to get rid of nits, but not in surface prep for finishing. Again, again, again, IMO. Not stated as though God Himself wrote it on stone for me, but it is one Thomas' immutable laws of woodfinishing that if it CAN be trapped in the finish coats and wreck them, it will.

The guy who taught me CA finishing is really pretty good at it. I've seen his finished products and I've only seen a few that were in process, but he gets a much smoother coat on than I do. I have another dozen or so to practice on after this week, so I'm hoping to improve my technique. Finish sanding your wood up to 400 or 600. Certainly you CAN go higher, but do you really NEED to go higher?? No sanding between coats of CA. Then 400, 1000 being careful not to go through all of the CA layers, and then 400 & 1000 wet plus through the MM grits up to 12000. Wax it and voilà, done.

Right now, my last couple of coats have bumps in them almost like chatter marks. I can't apply it smoothly enough to suit me yet, but it sands away and makes a heck of a finish. CA is pretty forgiving. When you do that with lacquer, it cuts through layers and you can often see mapping where you've cut through.

From the FWIW department of SMC...