Glen 20 vs Mitre Fix Sierra's

[Pariss]

G'day everyone. Well, I had another attempt at using Glen 20 as an activator. I carefully studied (for the 3rd time) David's video on it's use, and YES, I am doing it exactly the same method as him, I even changed from the Country Scent can to the Original scent, and sprayed one very small burst at a distance of about 450mm between each of the 20 coates of CA, exactly the same method I have always used when using Mitre Fix. After the final 20th coat of CA, I went through all the MM grades, (wet sanded). I ended up with a milky, murky & scratchy finish, as you can see. The timber is Boccotte. I re-turned the blank, and used the 'same method', substituting 'Mitre Fix' for the 'Glen 20'. Hell of a difference as you can see. :o I just don't understand how David is getting such great results using Glen 20, when my 3 attempts have been so crappy ??.

[HazzaB]

Hey Pariss,

Great result in the end, I never use and accelerator/ Activator, and I usually do the micro mesh before the CA, You will find that what works for you will not always work for someone else, and vice versa.
One thing that you didn't mention when you used the glen 20, did you have 14.5mm of your tongue hanging out of the left side of your mouth ??? sometimes things don't work if you don't have your tongue right. :rolleyes:

HazzaB

[Pariss]

One thing that you didn't mention when you used the glen 20, did you have 14.5mm of your tongue hanging out of the left side of your mouth ??? sometimes things don't work if you don't have your tongue right. :rolleyes:

HazzaB[/QUOTE]

Yeah, ha ha Harry, I thought of that :rolleyes:. I always worry about using something other than the accepted & time proven product or way of doing a job anyway. I actually found that the Glen 20 left a white residue powder on the surface of the blank AFTER it had reacted with the CA, so when my tissue pad applicator was wiping on each new coat of CA, it was picking up the residue powder, and mixing it in with each new coat of CA. It also made the CA go off much quicker, I could feel it starting to grab & glue the tissue pad to the blank within about 2-3 seconds. :oo:. Just hope down the track that the "Ring in" accellerator doesn't start to de-laminate or blister & dis-colour.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Is everybody using the same brand of CA as David? There may be something special between David's brand of CA and the Glen 20 that other brands of CA don't have!

Just a thought to reduce some variables.

[Pariss]

Is everybody using the same brand of CA as David? There may be something special between David's brand of CA and the Glen 20 that other brands of CA don't have!

Just a thought to reduce some variables.

Yep, I get 95% of my pen making supplies from David, and i only ever use his brand of CA. I have a funny feeling that I may need to reduce the speed of my lathe when finish sanding with MMesh, as the white scratches in the CA look almost 'melted' into the finish. I usually MM wet sand at MAX RPM, (3000 rpm) when using Mitre Fix as an accelerator. ....................WHY / HOW is David having such success with Glen 20 ???? :-:o. Just what is your secret Dave ! ?? :-)

[timberbits]

Hi Pariss

Sorry to hear that you are having a problem with your finish.

Can you experiment for me.

Issue 1 - looks like the droplets coming out of the bottle for you are too large.

1. Your new bottle of Glen 20, let it sit over night.
2. In the morning, without shaking the can, release half the can into the air. This will release a high portion of the ethanol (still sitting on the bottom of the can) out and leave the majority of the propellant still in the can.
3. Shake the #### out of the can for good minute to two.
4. Apply the finish as the video.

I am thinking that the vapor droplets are too large in a new bottle of Glen 20. Towards the mid to end of the bottle, the vapor drops are a lot smaller.

Issue 2 - the new layer of CA is not dissolving the last layer of CA

1. Use Sorbet or Kleenex brand toilet paper (super absorbant toilet paper - not the John Wayne toilet paper)
2. When dropping on the CA (make sure your lathe is turned down to 800rpm) drop about 5 drops on each tube. When dropping on the CA, go slow enough so that you actually see the white film on the surface of the blank disappear.

I am thinking that your either not applying enough CA to dissolve the last layer, the paper towel is contacting the surface long enough to dissolve the last layer or that the lathe is spinning too fast for good contact.

If you want to use Mitrefix, you still can. Purchase it directly for the distributors - JW Agencies - (02) 9748 2300. I am not telling anyone not to use Mitrefix it is still available. I am only saying that I found a cheaper alternative.

Let us know how you go. Good luck with it.

Timberbits.

[CharlieC]

Well, having run out of Mitre Fix yesterday I'll have to give this a go now.
I'll follow the above advice and see how I get on. I'll keep you folks informed.

[Rum Pig]

Reading these threads with interest I had a thought (and yes it hurt and will need to numb the pain with rum later:C) would geographic location have anything to do with it. I'm guessing that Cains is like Darwin at the moment where the humidity is going throw the roof. I know from experience that it does have an effect on my finish. If I make a pen during the wet season I have to take extra care other wise I get all sorts of problems.
Just a thought:?

[d5k]

I've had the exact same experience as Pariss, but i am using Loctite 401.

[Dorno]

Being away from home at the moment and only picking up on some of the news going on here the way I have understood this is that mitre fix is not available at the moment ? I am not sure if that is correct or not but I do know if you contact Mark at 043Turning he usually has it because I carried for him while looking after things for him awhile ago. Also by memory it was a pretty good price.


cheers. Ian

[Pariss]

Being away from home at the moment and only picking up on some of the news going on here the way I have understood this is that mitre fix is not available at the moment ? I am not sure if that is correct or not but I do know if you contact Mark at 043Turning he usually has it because I carried for him while looking after things for him awhile ago. Also by memory it was a pretty good price.


cheers. Ian

G'day Ian. Yeah, David (Timberbits) has stopped carrying Mitre Fix, and has discovered that Glen 20 will do the same job, but I, and a few others that have tried it are not having much success with the final finish, worse luck. :(

[issatree]

Hi All,
I get the feeling, that you all seem to be Spraying to Looonnnggg.
In other words, you are using to much Accelerator. Could this be the Problem ?.
I must admit to have not used the CA finish on anything yet.

So today I will make an effort to do something in Wood & try the CA finish.

I will be using My Baking Soda Accelerator & Loctite 406.

Report to follow.

[munruben]

Interesting to know the results of these tests being conducted by members.. Can someone point me to David's video. :2tsup:

[Sir Stinkalot]

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/alternative-accelerator-ca-141069/

[munruben]

Found it.:)

[plantagenon]

I'll give the Glen 20 a go. From the video it seems the frosty finish clears totally when the MM is applied.

[Pariss]

I'll give the Glen 20 a go. From the video it seems the frosty finish clears totally when the MM is applied.

Good luck with it. Please post pics of you good /bad results. :rolleyes:

[Ironwood]

I gave the Glen20 another go this afternoon.
I had better results this time. After watching the video again, and reading Davids comments, I tried moving the paper towel a lot slower than the first time, I could see the frosting dissapear as I went.
I held the can a lot further away as well, about 800mm ( with the dust extractor hose right behind the blank, it sucks it straight past the blank ) I just gave it one short burst.
I also went back to the normal speed I do my finishing at, 1800rpm, works for me .

[plantagenon]

OK I tried David's new Glen 20 following the instructions carefully and I finally managed to get success in one pen. However, the CA was put on too thick and I will have to sand back anyway as I got a few ridges :C. I think this time I was too light handed in applying the CA and it went on too thick whereas my previous drama was that I was too heavy handed and the MM cut through the thinly coated CA . Just my style that I have to perfect yet :~

Where I ran into problems was using a thick CA to fill the ruts in the timber and then using Glen 20. It resulted in a white streaky finish that could not be removed with the next coat (that's the multi timber blank in the photo I made up using off cuts from blanks).

When I used thin CA only (that I bought from David) it worked well on the final pen (photo of the one on the mandrel) but only after I sprayed it from a distance of around a metre.

End result = all blanks will have to be sanded back to timber.

Future outcome = Getting very sick of CA and I will try the PPG lacquer or simply go back to the ultra-slow WOP which gives a mirror finish but requires very fine sanding.

[plantagenon]

OK - Here is my latest efforts with CA and Glen 20. The timber I used is Eastern Red Cedar from the US. The Glen 20 does not give as smooth a finish as the spray fix which is more expensive. In fact in this round I have found that the timber has stained and I have white spot. If these blanks were human legs, a doctor would be treating them for tropical ulcers. My conclusion - I will throw out these blanks, start again with spare tubes and use Mitre fix as it does the job that I cannot achieve like David with Glen 20. Obviously there is a precis technique to use with Glen 20 that I cannot achieve.

[munruben]

So is the jury still out on this or has a verdict been reached.?

[plantagenon]

:((My verdict :((

I spent hours making a blanks from a variety of timbers only to use CA to glue the tube in as I wanted a fast turning and then only to have the bloody CA dry before I could get the tube in. Very, very annoyed:(( From here on in its Sika poly glue for gluing tubes into blanks for me even though it takes longer.

As for the Glen 20 - it can stay in the bathroom. I will use Mitre Fix if I ever use CA again. I have dipped one blank in PPG mixed with thinners and will see how it turns out. After the initial coat its looks ok but there are a lot more coats to go. Time and Patience is the criteria for this guy.

[Pariss]

Yeah, I think we have all had that bugger of a problem when using thick CA to set the tubes into the blank. It depends alot on the type of timber & it's moisture content, as the slightest bit of moisture will act as an activator and kick off the CA before you get your tube half way in !:((.