# Trouble with CA finish



## Hydrohead (Jan 8, 2013)

Any trick to preventing the CA finish from gluing your bushings to the pen blank? Sometimes when I pull the bushings off it cracks the pen finish.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Hydrohead said:


> Any trick to preventing the CA finish from gluing your bushings to the pen blank? Sometimes when I pull the bushings off it cracks the pen finish.


This is a common problem, i apply the ca without the bushings between centers..


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## keith long (Jan 25, 2013)

You can put a thin layer of boiled linseed oil on them, then apply your ca to the blanks


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

Apply a paste wax to your bushing before you ever start. I don't make many pens but started doing this from the very beginning and it seems to help.


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

do what dema said and finish each between centers
i have been more careful with the finish near the ends


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

RusDemka said:


> This is a common problem, i apply the ca without the bushings between centers..


So t clarify, after you finish sanding, you remove just the center bushing or all bushings? Do you put anything else in place for gaps? Thanks.

Mark


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

Burb said:


> So t clarify, after you finish sanding, you remove just the center bushing or all bushings? Do you put anything else in place for gaps? Thanks.
> 
> Mark


dema uses 2 centers made of steel but i have a piece of wood i use in my chuck that is shaped like a cone then my live center on the other end


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

I wax my bushings with carnauba, when removing them sometimes you need to take them and drop them on the end on the lathe bed to jar the CA loose. I rarely have the CA crack on me.


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

robert421960 said:


> dema uses 2 centers made of steel but i have a piece of wood i use in my chuck that is shaped like a cone then my live center on the other end


Color me confused. I'm new at this. I use an adjustable pen mandrel. I use bushings on the outside of the blanks and one between them.

Mark


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

Burb said:


> Color me confused. I'm new at this. I use an adjustable pen mandrel. I use bushings on the outside of the blanks and one between them.
> 
> Mark


use your bushings and mandrel to turn your pen
then remove them from the mandrel and finish the pen parts between centers


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

robert421960 said:


> use your bushings and mandrel to turn your pen
> then remove them from the mandrel and finish the pen parts between centers


Ok that makes sense.

Mark


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

here is a video i did a couple weeks ago..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHC3Pxr6OOk


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

RusDemka said:


> here is a video i did a couple weeks ago..
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHC3Pxr6OOk


Pretty cool video Rus. Thanks for sharing. After watching it, I found it very informative but I have a few questions:

- Do you sand prior to the first CA application? If so, to what grit?

- With the post-CA sanding, aren't you concerned that most of the CA is removed?

- Where do you get micro mesh packets? 

Thanks for your help.

Mark


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Burb said:


> Pretty cool video Rus. Thanks for sharing. After watching it, I found it very informative but I have a few questions:
> 
> - Do you sand prior to the first CA application? If so, to what grit?
> 
> ...


Yes I do sand before ca up to 220 grit.

You do remove a lot of ca when Sanding before polishing, but I sand only as much as I need to get it smooth, u can also add ca if u feel its getting thin..

Micromesh is sold everywere, woodcraft, penstate, rockler etc.. I get mine at woodcraft I think they run for $16 for the set.. they last along time if u clean them after use...


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

RusDemka said:


> Micromesh is sold everywere, woodcraft, penstate, rockler etc.. I get mine at woodcraft I think they run for $16 for the set.. they last along time if u clean them after use...


Thanks. Your MM looked like it had a foam pad or something. I get my packs from WoodNWhimsiies.com, which is a pen supply place but is local to me. I'll be in Lenexa KS on Tues/Wed and will be stopping at the local WC store there as its located adjacent my companies office. I may check it out then.

Mark


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

when i started this i sanded thru the ca a couple times but since i started using 8 good coats of med ca i have never sanded thru it


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Burb said:


> Thanks. Your MM looked like it had a foam pad or something. I get my packs from WoodNWhimsiies.com, which is a pen supply place but is local to me. I'll be in Lenexa KS on Tues/Wed and will be stopping at the local WC store there as its located adjacent my companies office. I may check it out then.
> 
> Mark


Yes my micro mesh have a foam backing, and paper on both sides...


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## Hydrohead (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks Russ. I will definitely finish my next pen between centers


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## WeekendTurner (May 27, 2011)

One suggestion on the approach in the video.....

I am able to turn, sand and finish completely on the mandrel with bushings left in place. The key is that before sanding I take a minute to put a split piece of blue painter's tape on the bushings. Just wind it opposite the rotation direction. 

The CA never sticks and, more importantly, I never sand the bushings, which can bring metal slurry back into the wood and ultimately change the bushing dimensions by wearing them down over time -- yes, you can sand metal.

-- Norm

...


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## PSDkevin (Dec 18, 2010)

I bought an acetal rod from US plastics and turned my own bushings and finishing cones. CA does not stick to acetal very well. I think a 1 foot 3/4" rod cost me $3 I think. Still have quite a bit left. At most I've had to lightly tap them on the lathe bed and they pop right off.


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## BigDPHoto (Nov 13, 2012)

RusDemka said:


> here is a video i did a couple weeks ago..
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHC3Pxr6OOk


Great video.... I need to buy a pen setup and some MM and try a few.


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## jim dort (Dec 30, 2012)

*question about use of "applicator"*

In video there was mention of a liquid "applicator" used with or between the application of the super glue coats...what is the "applicator" and why/how is it used?


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

jim dort said:


> In video there was mention of a liquid "applicator" used with or between the application of the super glue coats...what is the "applicator" and why/how is it used?


I think you mean CA accelerator... its speeds up the ca to dry quicker..


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

jim dort said:


> In video there was mention of a liquid "applicator" used with or between the application of the super glue coats...what is the "applicator" and why/how is it used?


As Dema said, "accelerator" ... strongly recommend the pressurized spray can version, I had nothing but trouble with the "pump action" sprayers. (After a few uses, they started to spit instead of spray.)


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## kez3000 (Jun 7, 2016)

*Milky Finish*

Does anyone have their CA finish turn milky after using micro mesh? I usually apply between 6 to 9 coats of Starbond thin and then go through the micro mesh. The finish looks glossy for a few minutes but then it starts to turn milky white in spots. I've tried everything I can think of to prevent this but it keeps happening. The only thing that seems to work is going over with one final application of thin after I've sanded.


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## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

CA usually turns white due to moisture. Possibly, the mesh is absorbing humidity?

Just guessing, since I have never used any kind of mesh with super glue.


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## mikeshoops (Apr 3, 2014)

I've always gone by the assumption that heat and moisture are the enemies of CA finish. Then I saw the U Tube video 



 by Hadden Hailers. Afterword, I turned and finished a Teacher's pen for my personal use; I varied his method using WET micro mesh soft touch pads (Vince's Wood'nWonders) and polished with McGuirres Plastix headlight polish. I work with 2 clerks who have the same pens, two days older. After a month with possibly heavier use, the wet sanded pen shines more from a distance, though the appear equal up close. My conclusion at this time, is that heat is especially bad, possibly causing condensation of moisture and white spots under the surface. I recently repaired an obese client's pen that was white on the skin side. After sanding it off, the wood was soaked. Some DNA dried it out and I used BLO to enhance the grain in the Tunisian walnut prior to refinishing the next day with CA. 6 months now and he's very happy. 

Bill Haskell demonstrated in nearby Antelope Valley. He states, as he uses thin CA as a sanding sealer, that the CA chemically interacts with wood, preserving its color. He has a piece of Buck Eye burl demonstrating the characteristic. I believe the chemist who shared this with him is correct; my Cherry products sadly do not warm to their typically reddish color and, happily my Padouk products remain vibrant instead of browning. 

I constantly study and experiment with CA; after five years of using it as a finish, I am struck by how much is to be learned from this forum and others. We just stared using a new, sting free version for wound closure ( replacing Derma Bond) with superb acceptance. There is a relatively new odor free version (Star Bond), and speaking of noxious fumes, I've learned to keep the dust collector on, especially if using a powered air purifying respirator. They'll suck those fumes right inside the face shield.


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