Thread: ONE FOR THE THINKERS

I have always over the years find questions like this to be very hard to answer because of so many factors. I am sure others will come on here and give you examples of what has happened to them and possibilities of what to look for. To me the very first things I would need to say is why in the world 15 coats of CA???? If they are thin coats switch to med and if they are med you are wasting time and money. That pen will not look any different if it had 4 coats or 15. As far as the fogging goes it could be moisture. I never like to use acclerator because it hardens the ca too fast. I like the coats to naturally dry. There could be moisture in the wood. Not sure what the answer is and I am sure you will get some other guesses. Good luck and hope you find an answer.

Greg ! the myrtle may be a bit oily ,do you wipe with "metho" or the likes before applying the first coats of CA, There should be no need of accelerator for thin CA ,you only get seconds to smooth it before it will go off , But like JT says lots of variables ( did you forget the sugar in the coffee ) cheers ~ John

I don't use medium CA because I have too many problems with ripples forming. That may just be me but I don't have the problem with the thin CA. I have been using 50cps and accelerator every 6 coats (all purchased from K&R International - Ezi-Bond) and have never had the problem before. I always run Metho over any timber blank before I apply CA - mainly to pop the grain. All I can guess is oil in the timber as John suggested, but it amazed me that the CA shine would completely disappear yet come back with MM sanding.

As an aside, the last lot of CA I got was mistakenly sent as 5cps. I tried it today for the first time. That stuff dries so quickly that the paper towel was smoking and gluing to my fingers before I could throw the towel away. It took a bit of getting used to.

I apply 20 coats so that I get a good build up of CA on the timber. The more coats, the greater the depth and plenty remaining after MM sanding.