Pen Finish's

[Babytoolman]

Hi All,
I made some more pens the other day and i finished them with wax nice shine and they looked great and i got an order for 5 to do this weekend. I have used the pens or the last three days and the shine has gone. I had the same issue when i used shelawax cream and eee or glow.
Am i doing something wrong to loose the shine. What do you finish your pens in given people are going to use them.

Thanks in advance

Roger

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I made some more pens the other day and i finished them with wax nice shine and they looked great and i got an order for 5 to do this weekend. I have used the pens or the last three days and the shine has gone. I had the same issue when i used shelawax cream and eee or glow.
Am i doing something wrong to loose the shine. What do you finish your pens in given people are going to use them.Sad to say, I don't think there's any such beast as a permanent finish. A poly/acrylic finish is probably the longest lasting, but once it starts to wear it's downright fugly and I don't like the look or feel (too "plasticky") anyway.

With regular use untreated timber will absorb oils from the skin and develop its' own lovely patina. For pens that're to be used straight off the lathe (as in the new owner is standing there watching...) I don't finish them at all beyond sanding to 1200 grit and/or burnishing. Otherwise to protect the wood before use I use either Shellawax or a plain wax-stick as it doesn't soak into the wood and will wear off fairly quickly and evenly without looking particularly ugly.

I explain this to most recipients of my pens but if you're worried you could always include a slip of paper saying something along the lines of "to protect the surface during shipping this pen has been lightly waxed..."

Purely decorative & acrylic pens, now they're a different kettle of fish...

[bdar]

Hi Roger,

First I finish my pens to 2500 wet and dry for market sales and up to 4000 wet and dry for gallery pens. The finish I use for the market pens are the Shellawax products. Once sanded to 2500 I apply shellawax cream then cut back with EEE, I do this about 5 times, I don't think I have to do that much because it looks great after the first application, then I finish with Shellawax Glow, cutting back with EEE between the coats of Glow.

Because I am turning large amount of Pens the Shellawax finish is quick and does not lack quality.

Gallery pens I finish to 4000 wet and dry. I use a CA/BLO finish. CA is super glue and BLO is boiled linseed oil. With the CA/BLO finish use a medium viscosity CA. Make sure you have the CA and BLO handy and a Pair of scissors close at hand as well.

I would recomend you use thin rubber gloves while using this type of finish. Take some paper towels and fold them in half and keep folding until you have a pad 150mm long by 25mm wide; make a few; these will be your BLO applictors and have some paper towel to wipe down excess BLO.

Turn and finish pens to at least 2500 wet and dry or micro mesh equivalent.

1. Put on rubber gloves and saturate one end of the pads you have made up with BLO.

2. Run lathe at turning speed and apply BLO to pen surface. THis will bring out the grain and get surface ready for CA finish.

3. With pad still in contact with pen blank moving steadily from one end of the blank to the other, apply CA where pad touches the pen blank move pad back and forward while applying the CA.

4. Keep applying CA in a stady flow keeping in contact with the pen blank, do 2 to 3 end to end passes.

5. Then continue back and forward passes until you don't see any CA/BLO ripples on the pen blank.

6. Remove pad and cut off the end of pad, soak new part of pad and the repeat 1 through to 5 on other half of pen blank.

7. Use paper towel to burnish and remove excess BLO.

8. Repolish blanks from 1200 to 2500 grit.

9. Make a second application of CA/BLO repeating step 1 to 8.

10. When satisfied add coat of laquer or wax of choice. Let the blanks rest a few minutes on the lathe.

11. Let blanks cool off and harden for an hour before taking off mandrel and let harden overnight before assembly.

It may seem hard but, 1 application takes less than 5 minutes. 1 to 2 applications are necessary but depening on how porous the timber, upto 5 applications. End results will be a a physical flat glass like high gloss. The high gloss is there after first application.

Sorry for the length Roger but I hope it helps.

Darren

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

8. Repolish blanks from 1200 to 2500 grit.

9. Make a second application of CA/BLO repeating step 1 to 8.

Darren, why the second round of BLO? Wouldn't the first coat of CA seal off the pores? Does the BLO prevent it from penetrating deep enough, so the final grits "break the seal"? Just curious, I haven't tried it on pens as most of mine are daily users. I know you said you use it for your gallery pens, but surely some ended up in regular use? How do you find it holds up to normal use?

I've also found that on other objects CA can dramatically change the wood colour, depending on the species. I don't mean just darkening, either. Not that this has stopped me from using it on other jobs where I deem appropriate... ;)

[Babytoolman]

Hi Daren,

Thanks mate i will give this ago over the weekend and let you know how i go.

[bdar]

Sometimes I do a 2nd or a 3rd CA/BLO depending on how porous the timber is. Cut back between each application to remove any little ripples that burnishing might not have got. The BLO acts as a lubricant to allow the CA to flow along the blank better. If I am doing a straight CA finish I use grease proof/ wax coated paper to work the CA. I guess my gallery pens do end up being used but the CA will never wear, only downside is that you have a hard plastic like finish.

Cheers

Darren :)

[Babytoolman]

Hi Darren,

I tried it and it worked great. The lady i sold them too loves the finish. I only did a single coat but it worked great.
Cant wait to strip back some of my previous pens and refinish them.

Thanks

Roger

[bdar]

Hi Roger,

I am glad to help, though the explanation is a bit long the finish of the pen isn't. If you use a dense timber you generally can do only one coat. You will have to post some pictures. This what it is all about, sharing ideas and experiences. That way the knowledge flows and hopefully more people will get involved in wood turning at a younger age. Once again, glad I was able to help.

Cheers

Darren :D

[ubeaut]

Roger - Save the Shellawax Cream for use on large items. Use Shellawax or Shellawax Glow on pens, lace bobins, knife handles, etc and you will get an entirely different finish to that of the Cream. Much higher shine and infinitely more durability. Even better still use the Shellawax or Glow without EEE and you will get even more durability. You must sand to at least 1500 or better for this finish to be at its best without EEE.

Ideally use Shellawax on hard close grained timbers, not open grained wood, don't use it on timbers like NSW rosewood, huon pine and other timbers with natural oils also avoid most white woods and any timber with dead boring grains.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :)

PS if your Shellawax has a white lid you will never get the same durability as the new stuff with the black lids, these all contain a special hardener which has a high resistance to marking from water, alcohol and heat.

[Babytoolman]

Hi Neil,

Thanks for the tips. I think it is because i use the pens alot that the finish wears a bit and the shine comes off. I saw a pen i did 7 months ago and it looks as good as the day it came off. I will order some of the new shellawax now and see how it goes.
Mate it is a great product and i keep singing your praises at the southern highlands group.

Roger

[tonysa]

excellent topic Babytoolman

I have lots of experimenting to do which will be fun, I too appreciate all the useful information. Pens are quick and easy to do so you can see results of your efforts in minimal time, plus they look really great.

Friends are very impressed when you give them a handmade pen.

I'll be at the ubeaut stand friday to get some more product, including the black lidded shellawax - thanks for the update Neil

Cheers
Tony

[Alastair]

2c worth


I have also found that most finishes dull, only the time varies. The quest for an "undullable" finish invariably involves far more time and effort than is delivered in the improvement gained.

While a natural patina from handling would be nice, you still have to start somewhere. As I prefer satin finishes on most of my work, I have developed the following compromise.

I sand to 400, and then with the lathe stopped, apply a common commercial sanding sealer(Wattyl I think), rubbing well in to ensure good penetration. Restart the lath, and friction dry, changing the rubbing rag a few times.

Result is a satin finish, which highlights the timber features, but without a gloss to dull, and whch does not feel plasticky. With handling, the pen darkens slightly over time, but retains the same satin sheen, without any tendency to become sticky, which I have found with most shellac/wax/resin type finishes in the past.

Hope this helps

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've turned up some matching pens & keyrings out of asstd materials over the last few weeks, to give to various rellies at a gathering today.

Laid out a selection to make their own choices and... surprise, surprise! All the womenfolk chose acrylics! The men mainly chose Tassie timbers (fiddleback blackwood, sassafras, etc) but the women really surprised me. I've always felt that, with the rare exception, acrylics looked tacky.

I simply sand 'em down to 1200 grit and give 'em a quick Shellawax. Quicker & easier than timber, yet obviously just as popular!

[tonysa]

do you use the same method to turn acrylic as you do for wood ?
i got a couple of acrylic blanks at fridays show to try
cheers
tony

[Jenny Brandis]

do you use the same method to turn acrylic as you do for wood ?
tonyHi Tony

Same technique - different speed! Slow it right down or it MELTS!

Can you tell I found out the hard way?

[tonysa]

melting blanks eh ?
well that's somehting I wasn't considering
thanks for the warning
cheers
tony

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've turned quite a few with no problems, until polishing with Shellawax the other day... spotted a minor scratch I thought'd polish out no problems, so gave it that little extra oomph and OOOPS! The surviving half is now a key-ring. ;)

FWIW, I like to keep a few key-ring kits around for just that purpose.

[Ruffy]

I've turned quite a few with no problems, until polishing with Shellawax the other day... spotted a minor scratch I thought'd polish out no problems, so gave it that little extra oomph and OOOPS! The surviving half is now a key-ring. ;)

FWIW, I like to keep a few key-ring kits around for just that purpose.


DITTO

[bdar]

Hi Giuys and Gals,

When it comes to acrylics, I turn at normal speed with both gouge and skew, but I slow the rate of travel of the chisel across the acrylic blank with a light touch. I use EEE to polish acrylics with a light touch, not much pressure is required. Before I discovered EEE I use to use toothpaste on a cloth dipped in water and the acrylic came up a treat.

Cheers
Darren