Turned Pen finishes

Re: Turned Pen finishes

ben borowsky

>I also tried Hut Crystal coat...

Re: Turned Pen finishes

Jim Shaver Oakville, Ont.

>Hi ben,

Some one posted a similar question on the turning forum, this is my response.

Well the finish I choose for a pen depends on the materials the pen is made from, at least for me. There are as many finishes and processes for pen makers as there are pen makers, so I hope you get lot�s of responses from pen makers to your post.

When I turn natural woods I sometimes use just a friction polish and wax, occasionally I will use CA as a finish, even lacquer. When I turn man made materials I usually just allow the materials properties (plastic, acrylic etc) to be the finish, sanding to 12000 Micromesh with a final application of a plastic polish to clean up the final swirl marks. I most commonly turn stabilized woods, I also use the same sanding process I use for man made materials and I finish with a conservators wax from Lee Valley.

Surface preparation all starts with the final pass of your turning-cutting tool of choice. I look at sanding as surface refinement, not shaping. I find the cleaner surface of tool marks that you start with at the sanding phase the better the result you will have. I know you will find that a good starting point, honing your turning tool one last time before the �Money Cut� will give you a great start.

Take care,

Jim

Re: Turned Pen finishes

Mike-in-Michigan

>You will get more answers in the turning forum, but there are tons of finishes -- my personal favorite for looks on wood is laquer but a close second (very close) is CA-BLO which is by far faster.

You need to sand to at least 400g and 600g is nicer. You need the base to be a smooth as the final finish to get a good deep look.. Check out the Articles for a BLO-CA finish article by Bill Grumbine. BLO reacts with CA to form a quick hard finish. I sand to 400g - stopping the lathe each time to sand with the grain, then 600g wet w/BLO. Stop the lathe, coat with more blo by sanding with the grain & 600g, then turn the lathe on slow or turn by hand, and using the little plastic bags the small pen parts come in, I coat with med thick CA.. coat good then turn on the lathe or turn it up and CA will harden rather quickly. Sand smooth with 220 or 320g then sand wet with BLO & 400, then work up through Micro-Mesh Grits to 12000 and you will get a deep wet look finish. If you don't know what micro-mesh is google it or search on turning forum, lots of info on it, but basically it was designed for polishing out scratches on plexi.

Re: Turned Pen finishes

ben borowsky

>Thanks, guys, I didn't even SEE that there was a turning forum. IT's been QUITE some time since I've been here. I will post there, and look up the old posts. Thanks again.

B2

Re: Turned Pen finishes

Brian

>I have had good luck with a friction polish (Mylands) and Renaissance wax.