CA finish users?????????

Re: CA finish users?????????

Russ

>Don't be concerned about recycling if you are using CA glue. Whatever you use will no longer be biodegradable after it has been soaked with CA.

You can spread CA glue with anything that doesn't react with the glue. The cellulose in cotton and paper is an accelerator for CA glue, and using either will reduce the working time. Other than that you can use almost anything.

My preference is synthetic dressmakers batting. Wrap a strip of masking tape around a small piece of the batting as a handle. The batting will have no reaction with the CA glue.

Re: CA finish users?????????

Joe Herrmann

>Nitrite gloves are used by some and they claim that the finish doesn't stick.

Re: CA finish users?????????

EagleS.C.

>I guess my comment about recycling was misleading.

I realize once I use it for CA it is history.

What I meant was I got some packing peanuts in an oder and I can't remember what I ordered that came with those peanuts.

I saved them in a plastice bag and tried them.

They work well, confrom to the barrel of the pen and they were free.

I just ran out of them.

Re: CA finish users?????????

Greg W. in NC

>I think Russ gave you some good info - use anything that doesn't react with the glue. I stay away from paper towels. Rather, I like using either wax paper folder over (regular wax paper such as from the grocery store), or the small pen kit plastic bags. If you are doing pens, then you probably have lots of those little bags around. Since you're using it for a finish, try to use something with a smooth surface, as it will apply the glue smoother with less surface imperfections.

Re: CA finish users?????????

Jonathan

>A while back I picked up a tip, somewhere on the internet, to use polyester batting material to apply CA glue as a finish. The originator of this recommended folding the wad of batting over, and wrapping the end with masking tape to make a handle. I found that not making a handle usually results in the CA wicking up the batting onto my fingers. This type of applicator has resulted in a smoother application of CA, which in turn results in les sanding. I usually am turning my piece at 100 rpm during the application, and let it kick without accelerator.

Jonathan

Re: CA finish users?????????

Raymond Overman

>A standard roll of wax paper has lasted me a long time. A small square folded for thickness is great for applying an even coat and has a flat surface.

Raymond Overman

http://www.overmanshop.com

Re: CA finish users?????????

EagleS.C.

>How do you keep the CA from dripping off the wax paper when using thin CA?

Re: CA finish users?????????

Raymond Overman

>I use this method with pens and I assumed you were looking to do the same. I'm not familiar with using it for larger items as a finish.

I turn my pen with the profile I'm looking for, put a coat of sanding sealer on it and sand from 150-12000 with the lathe on. Then with the lathe off, I put a small bead of thin CA across the top edge of my pen, then use my left hand to manually turn the headstock while using my right hand with wax paper to even out the CA coating. I go through the sanding gambit again with 320-12000 depending on how the CA sets up.

I usually use thin CA for any non stabalized wood as a second coat after sanding sealer, then thick for a third coat once I have sanded the first to 12000 MM. It's more for sealing the wood than a finish at that point.

Raymond Overman

http://www.overmanshop.com

Re: CA finish users?????????

Raymond Overman

>Eagle,

Are you in South Carolina or does the S.C. stand for something else? I'm in Fort Mill, SC and just wondered.

Raymond

Re: CA finish users?????????

James Fox

>How do you keep the CA from gluing the pen to your bushings/mandrel, etc???

Re: CA finish users?????????

Raymond Overman

>I haven't had that problem yet. I've seen people put slivers of veneer at the ends of their pens or use some wax paper. I personally just wing it most of the time and be careful when I'm spreading the glue. I generally get more on my fingers than on the bushings or mandrels.

Greg W. higher in the post is an expert on this finish. He does some amazingly nice work. I somehow missed his post earlier.

Raymond Overman

http://www.overmanshop.com

Re: CA finish users?????????

EagleS.C.

>"How do you keep the CA from gluing the pen to your bushings/mandrel, etc???"

I"skew" the bushings before I take the pen off the mandrel. I didn't do this until I had a corn cob pen that didn't come off(in one piece)

THe ones that are the problems are 8mm tube pens with the sleeve that goes in the tube.I normally put a piece of wax paper there.

Put a little wax on the bushings and mandrel.

Russ

>

My technique

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>James,

You wrote:

"How do you keep the CA from gluing the pen to your bushings/mandrel, etc???"

Before applying the CA glue, I give the bushing a coat of "Renaissance Wax". This does not stop the CA glue from plating on top of them. It just stops the glue from adhering to the bushings. What you end up with is a clear shell that comes off easily. However, you may find that when you attempt to separate the bushings from the blanks that the finish cracks right where the bushing meets the blank! And that is truly frustrating.

Here's my technique for getting around all this.

After giving the bushing a light coat of wax, I apply a light coat of Boiled Linseed Oil to the blanks. Then I give the pen several coats of thin CA glue. Then medium, then a couple coats of thick, followed by one coat of thin.

On a suggestion from a fellow pen turner on Penturner.Org, I have been using "finger cots" to spread the glue over the pen. These are those little "finger condoms" that doctors use for,...ahem,...examinations. They allow you to spread the glue evenly and keep the glue off your fingers. After you're done, in the trash they go. You can get them rather economically in bulk from any store that sells medical supplies.

BTW, in case you're wondering why I use BLO.Scott Greaves suggested it to me and I've found it to work just as he had said. It helps to pop the grain and for some reason, makes the CA glue wick into the wood nicely. It also seems to react as a catalyst with the CA glue, which hardens to a nice shell.

After the glue has hardened, and BEFORE sanding, I then clean it off the bushing using a thin parting tool. Due to the prior wax application, it comes off with hardly any effort. With the lathe off, I then score the joint between the bushing and the pen blank with a razor knife. I rotate the spindle by hand and just ride the tip of the razor right into the joint. This helps to insure that the CA glue will not crack anywhere but at this joint.

I then sand from 220 grit, all the way up to 12000 grit (micro mesh). Using this regimen, I've found that the CA Glue polishes up to a mirror finish (IMHO, it almost guarantees a sale).

Before removing the blanks from the mandrel, I buff with White Diamond polishing compound, and then Carnuaba Wax.

I remove the blanks, and sand the ends of the pen blanks flush with a piece of 600 grit sandpaper. The sandpaper is held, grit side up on a nice flat surface (my workbench). I then hold the end of the pen blank flat on the paper and move it around a bit. This helps to remove any excess CA glue that may impede the assembly of the pen.

The assembled pen then gets a light coat of Renaissance Wax to help it resist fingerprints.

I was just about to give up on CA Glue finishes forever when I gave this technique a try. So far, it has worked out very nicely.

See ya around,

Dominic

Re: My technique

James Fox

>Thanks, Dominic--and others who replied about the use of the CA. This makes it much clearer--and will probably save me a bit of skin from a finger or two.