CA finish

[stevenw1963]

Forget the CA - buy some cans of Chestnut lacquer (or Halfords car lacquer, does the same thing) spray from 6 to 8 inches away - leave to dry, light sand, spray another coat and buff up - jobs a good un and just as good looking as CA plus smells a lot better.

 

[Doug]

Try one drop per coat, if it's not going on smoothly then U R applying too much

 

[chas_41_uk]

Iused to have real problems with CA. Then one day it just went as it is supposed to

 

[Buckeye]

I think you are spinning to slowly, put 1 or 2 drops of thin CA on your paper as per David at timberbits don't hesitate move it along the blank in one smooth movement then back again if you haven't spread it all. I use CA activator between coats and I always use a minimum of 20 coats. As you will have seen everyone has his own way, you just have to find what works for you. I have never had any ridges and go straight to wet micromeshing then the final polish which I usually use Silvo Silver polish.

Peter

 

[Vic Perrin]

Hi Harry I hate the bloody stuff and never use it LOL there the can is open

I'm with you on this one Woody. Surely the fumes and vapours that you get even when wearing a decent mask and extraction on can't be good for you.

Tried it once smell nearly killed me and ended up with the paper towel wrapped around and stuck to the blank!

Vic

 

[bellringer]

I'm with you on this one Woody. Surely the fumes and vapours that you get even when wearing a decent mask and extraction on can't be good for you.

Tried it once smell nearly killed me and ended up with the paper towel wrapped around and stuck to the blank!

Vic

It fine with a vapour mask which I wear any way


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[silver]

The ca is ok if thats what ya customers want init..

As per Bill and Doug. I think you are putting too much on each coat and also running lathe too slow.

Ignore the "none" ca's they are just getting too old nd dont like the smell... they are so old they dont know that there is such a thing as respiratory protection now a days..
R

 

[Woody]

The ca is ok if thats what ya customers want init..

As per Bill and Doug. I think you are putting too much on each coat and also running lathe too slow.

Ignore the "none" ca's they are just getting too old nd dont like the smell... they are so old they dont know that there is such a thing as respiratory protection now a days..
R

Bloody cheeky Git

 

[billyb_imp]

Ignore the "none" ca's they are just getting too old nd dont like the smell... they are so old they dont know that there is such a thing as respiratory protection now a days..
R

I'm with the other old'ns here no CA for me

 

[Vic Perrin]

The ca is ok if thats what ya customers want init..

As per Bill and Doug. I think you are putting too much on each coat and also running lathe too slow.

Ignore the "none" ca's they are just getting too old nd dont like the smell... they are so old they dont know that there is such a thing as respiratory protection now a days..
R

Smoking was a good old cultural habit that never harmed anyone ( in the old days). Asbestos was one of the finest building materials (in the old days) Wood dust never harmed anyone (in the old days). Bloody hell I wonder how I have survived. Have a good look at the Material Safety Data Sheets for CA and are you absolutely sure that the control measures that you are using are really giving you the protection required.

And respiratory protection is the very last form of control when dealing with any hazardous substance.

Vic

 

[Woody]

I must admit I do use it for segmenting but I do it outside I got fed up with getting a runny nose sore eyes being short of breath so I wont use it inside

 

[Walter]

Well, as usual we have as many opinions as we have forum members.

Don't despair or give up. Even those of us who have been doing it for years can get it wrong as my demo at York proved admirably. As others have said there are alternative finishes that are as good as CA, but it is worth persevering with nonetheless.

Just remember that the objective of the exercise is to get a thin even coat of CA onto the blank. The detail of how you do it is not that important. Ridges are the result of uneven application. The cause of the uneven application is impossible to ascertain without actually watching your method, those suggested are all perfectly reasonable possibilities.

For what its worth I use medium CA applied without BLO with the lathe either running very slowly or turned by hand. Wiped on from side to side quickly and left to dry without accelerator. Three or four even coats is usually enough. a quick wipe with 1500 or 1800 micromesh should remove any ridges, if it doesn't you have cocked up the application. Burnishing cream or Farecla compound (or toothpaste if you wish to emulate Grump) will then bring it to a high gloss. This works 99.9% of the time but then so do the methods that other people have suggested. It's just a matter of keeping at it until you find the one that works for you.

 

[TK woodman]

Try putting some liquid on the blank and turn the lathe on and see where it sends it! - That's what it's trying to do with the CA. Go to BM bargains buy the super glue at a pound for ten put a thin line on some greaseproof paper and move across the blank from left to right whilst turning the headstock by hand until the blank is coated. Then spray a thin mist of activator from about 2ft away. Repeat twice more and polish with a compound of your choice. No ridges and a glass finish. It has always worked for me.

 

[Harry]

I think I made a breakthrough! I tried again using 1 drop on a paper towel and moving quickly side to side and not stopping until the CA cured. The CA went a bit tacky then smoothed out as it dried. A few more coats then 1200 grit wet & dry used wet, then a polish. Does this sound about right? I had been afraid that the CA would dry and glue the paper to the job, so I wasn't rubbing enough. One video I saw stated this would happen.

 

[TK woodman]

paper towel reacts with CA and heats up - it will also put fibres on your blank i don't know why people watch you tube and think because it's on video it's the best method!. Try greaseproof paper and don't rub it till it's dry or you'll be sanding all day.

 

[Grump]

paper towel reacts with CA and heats up - it will also put fibres on your blank i don't know why people watch you tube and think because it's on video it's the best method!. Try greaseproof paper and don't rub it till it's dry or you'll be sanding all day.

A good method which also takes some practice.

 

[Walter]

paper towel reacts with CA and heats up - it will also put fibres on your blank i don't know why people watch you tube and think because it's on video it's the best method!. Try greaseproof paper and don't rub it till it's dry or you'll be sanding all day.

I agree that CA reacts with the cellulose in paper towel, but I have never found that to be an issue which caused me a problem, nor have I found it to leave fibres on the blank unless I worked too slowly and the CA dried during application. Nonetheless, not being one to dismiss a suggestion for an alternative method I have tried using greaseproof paper as you suggest and agree that it does indeed work very well. I doubt it will cause me to change my own practice but thank you for the suggestion. It is something to add to my repertoire and it might help Harry solve his problem.

I also agree that there is lot of rubbish on YouTube, but there is also a lot of useful and informative material. The problem for newcomers to pen making and wood turning is sorting the wheat from the chaff.

 

[Grump]

I concur with Walter, shame aye?
Wise words mate, I have never had an issue with kitchen roll.
I use the industrial blue stuff and replaced it only the other day, the rep said we now do the white stuff aswell.
I asked " whats the difference" he explained that the blue leaves a dust behind and customers have complained.
The white leaves less or no dust behind, I have not noticed this and nor have most of his customers but some have.
My next order is for the white but what I have just got will last approx 5 years so I might be dead before getting any more init?
No he wouldn't leave a sample roll cos he only had what had been ordered with him, another shame in my book init?

 

[Buckeye]

paper towel reacts with CA and heats up - it will also put fibres on your blank i don't know why people watch you tube and think because it's on video it's the best method!. Try greaseproof paper and don't rub it till it's dry or you'll be sanding all day.

I haven't tried the greaseproof method and will probably not even bother to try it, the kitchen towel works a treat and maybe I use up market kitchen towel, but I have never seen any fibres left behind.

Peter

 

[Harry]

I appreciate all your replies and points of view, guys. It's interesting to see how many ways there are to get the same end result.