Pen finishing.

[Eddski]

and yes i heard the groan when you all read the title.

ive been playing with CA finishing on some test pieces and my first pen today. Its not as easy as Youtube makes out is it.

Anyway, was talking to my brother-in-law and he asked if Ultra-violet resins were used, and i must admit. ive not seen anything about them used for this purpose.

 

[fortress]

Hello Ewan,
IMHO, CA finishing is more trouble than it’s worth, admittedly the glossy shine is super but it doesn’t look or feel natural.
I opt for Melamine lacquer, it is easy to apply and has a beautiful, natural shine and feels very slick.

 

[Bill Mooney]

Sorry I can’t hep you on the uv resin.
Formica tried for years to make plastic look like wood & here we are trying to make wood look like plastic.

 

[flexi]

Hi, there are loads of finishes to choose from and loads of ways to apply. A lot about what you should use comes down to ease of application and durability... Personally I use Melamine finish on all my wooden pens, I have trialled other wonder sauces...I use CA on polymer clay blanks only ....no idea on UV glue.

 

[silver]

Over the years I have tried many, many and many different coatings on to pens.

The easiest is melamine lacquer, gives a better feel to the wood and is popular with customers.

There is a dipping method, there is some info on here and sure there is a dikes section where you will find a PDF on it.

As for UV cured I have heard of it but never heard of anyone using it pens.

Ther is also a plastic coating that you could use, again not seen anyone use it, would need an oven or some way of curing it.

 

[Eddski]

Again thanks for the responses. this is the first i am hearing about melamine lacquer finishing. can i get some more info?
the websites i've seen it on say you "can" use a sanding sealer. Do you guys do this? how many coats do you apply? liquid or spray can is the other option?

 

[silver]

Again thanks for the responses. this is the first i am hearing about melamine lacquer finishing. can i get some more info?
the websites i've seen it on say you "can" use a sanding sealer. Do you guys do this? how many coats do you apply? liquid or spray can is the other option?

Always use sanding sealer on woods. But it's only a wood sealer to aid sanding and not a finish.

Click on the link below which will take you to a PDF file, this is what Phil Dart (Beaufort ink) set up and works really well.

He also sells some great pen kits as well..

https://cdn.sellr.com/assets/files/5503789/melamine as a pen finish.pdf

 

[Curly]

There have been a few people over on the IAP that have played with it but don't know if any are regularly using it.
I'm content doing CA on my pens.

Pete

 

[Phil Dart]

Nail polish bars all use UV gels these days, and I've often wondered if that sort of thing could be adapted for use as a pen finish. The stuff in pretty much bomb proof on my wife's fingernails, and you can buy UV lamps to cure it. I've no idea how much they are to buy, but certainly if there's already one in your household, it might be worth a go with some clear gel.

 

[Penpal]

When I was young a product called Brylcream became the in hair dressing. Then the murmurers wound up and variously praised.

My favourite car colour was British Racing Green ,ever tried to sell a green car?

Do you polish your car or simply use truck wash that I use ,looks great ,no hard work.

Horses for courses and predudice is well alive and active. Commercial whispers abound.

I have heaps of must have chisels purchased in impulse following a demo by a slick operator.

Sharpening methods abound,must haves etc.

Choose ye what you like for yourself ,then make for yourself. Selling and sharing teach reasons for and against all finishes,pen designs. Viva the difference?

Have fun ,trust few, and always paddle your own canoe.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[Pierre]

The UV cured glues are only as good as the penetration capabilities of the UV light (if you are talking about those that need a light like in the dentist). But using them to stick the tube in a pen for example is not much good because it only sticks the first couple of millimetres each end. As far as the resins go, you have to be able to apply them smoothly and then cure them smoothly so whilst I havent used them, they appear to be more effort than say melamine or CA.
As for finishing you will get as many finishes as there are members of this forum since we all use our own systems, so you have been told about melamine, but it doesn't work for me. I tend to use a different finish for each type of wood and its properties. All of my wood gets a sanding sealer at about the 600 grit point and as Silver said its only used to stabilise the outer part of the wood as you sand it beyond the 600 grit point. Then you can use things like the Beal buffing system, or on more open grain wood I make a mixture of beeswax and grape seed oil blend to create a wax coat that can be used with fine sandpaper. (its cheaper than proprietary waxes and has been used by the French masters for centuries) . If your wood is a hard wood like lignum vitae or azobe why bother finishing it with a product in the first place, because their natural oils once sanded down to 12000 micromesh grit will finish them naturally. You can get some very good carnauba wax friction sticks now of different colours to match your woods which just require direct application to the wood as its spinning fast followed by a cloth which melts it into the wood (watch that the cloth does not wrap into the lathe mechanism or wood!!).

 

[Themackay]

Just wondering who uses the melamine dipping method then, or other way to apply

 

[Curly]

When I was young a product called Brylcream became the in hair dressing. Then the murmurers wound up and variously praised.

My favourite car colour was British Racing Green ,ever tried to sell a green car?

Do you polish your car or simply use truck wash that I use ,looks great ,no hard work. ..............

Peter I got to this point in your post and thought the next sentence was going to be about polishing your green car with Brylcream to sell it.

Pete

 

[alan morrison]

on more open grain wood I make a mixture of beeswax and grape seed oil blend to create a wax coat that can be used with fine sandpaper. (its cheaper than proprietary waxes and has been used by the French masters for centuries).

Pierre, what proportions do you use in your mix and can you give a bit more info on this and how you mix it?
Alan

 

[Pierre]

Pierre, what proportions do you use in your mix and can you give a bit more info on this and how you mix it?
Alan

Hi Alan its about 75% grape seed oil and 25% pure beeswax, I say 'about' because fresh beeswax is different everywhere (ie the stuff from the hive and not from the shop.) You get a jam jar and place it in a bowl of hot water, just less than boiling (I sit mine in a saucepan and keep it hot on the BBQ because her indoors doesn't like me cooking my mixtures in the kitchen) with the grape seed oil about 70% up the jar , then you drop the beeswax in and mix it all up, I use a bit of dowel as a stirrer, the aim is to get a constituency of a good thick grease when it is cool, hence the jar should not be too full, because you may need to adjust it by adding more oil if too thick or more wax if too thin (but you can only do that when its cold). If ever you watch one of the good french turners dipping his fine sandpaper into a little pot, this is what he is using, its called 'popote' . A jam jar full has now lasted me over a year and its also food safe and it hasn't gone rancid either. The other thing that it is good for is dipping box hinge screws in to make them screw in better but then I suppose that must apply to most woodscrews.

 

[Penpal]

I solved the danger of both wife and explosion using the double boiler hairdressers use. Safe ,consistent and reliable temps. I found a nice lady going out of a large and medium unit.

Peter.