GaryG in MD
I had a time when my CA pen finishes were cracking, and it drove me NUTZ!

I went online and searched and read and searched and read... there were lots of people having the same problem, but I never heard a good solution. I expect I asked here on WC too, to no avail.

I did everything "right" according to the likes of Barry Gross, Kurt Herzog, etc. (both in person!). I still got maddening spider-web cracks -- sometimes immediately, and sometimes a day later. Needless to say, the latter later were super maddening. I eventually switched to lacquer, even though it took a log longer. At least I got good results for the time spent.

We have a guy in my club who makes and sells pens professionally -- with a CA finish -- so I picked his brain. We came up with a solution, and it is THE solution. I am now making pens successfully again with a CA finish with 100% success.

The difference, or the problem if you will, is extremely subtle. In short, the problem was too much accelerator. For my failures, I was holding the aerosol can about 8 inches from the work. For my successes, I now hold the aerosol can about 12 inches away, and I'm perhaps a bit more conservative with my sprays.

That's it. Period. Very simple, but very subtle. The bottom line is:
STAY VERY LIGHT WITH THE ACCELERATOR.