Thread: Finishing Help

Originally Posted by Rikk38

I just turned nine pens that are due at a store in Chicago in two days. I have always used Hut Crystal Coat, and have never had any problems. Until now.
I finished the pens the normal way, but noticed that the wax was a little goopy on the rag.
Will these eventually dry?

I don't think they'll dry. If I'm not mistaken, Crystal Coat is a shellac based finish, and
shellac has a limited shelf life, especially once it is opened. The dates you mention may mean 'best if opened by this date" .. but once opened, I wouldn't keep them past
a few months. Once they stop drying correctly, throw them out.

This goes for regular shellac, too. It it doesn't dry to the touch in a few minutes, or if it
is gummy, sticky etc. get rid of it. It will do nothing except break your heart.

Gently tap out the pen parts to disassemble. There's no saving a gummy finish, so you
need to either disassemble or throw them away. Or give them as gifts to people you
don't like very much. Visitors who show up uninvited always appreciate such gifts.

You can take off the finish with denatured alcohol or acetone. Wet a rag and apply it
to the spinning blank just as you would apply a finish. Clean the blanks well and then
try a different finish.

There are tutorials here for applying finishes, or you can pick up more of the same
product .. just get the newest bottle you can.

I agree with NL

Originally Posted by NewLondon88

I don't think they'll dry. If I'm not mistaken, Crystal Coat is a shellac based finish, and
shellac has a limited shelf life, especially once it is opened. The dates you mention may mean 'best if opened by this date" .. but once opened, I wouldn't keep them past
a few months. Once they stop drying correctly, throw them out.

This goes for regular shellac, too. It it doesn't dry to the touch in a few minutes, or if it
is gummy, sticky etc. get rid of it. It will do nothing except break your heart.

Gently tap out the pen parts to disassemble. There's no saving a gummy finish, so you
need to either disassemble or throw them away. Or give them as gifts to people you
don't like very much. Visitors who show up uninvited always appreciate such gifts.

You can take off the finish with denatured alcohol or acetone. Wet a rag and apply it
to the spinning blank just as you would apply a finish. Clean the blanks well and then
try a different finish.

There are tutorials here for applying finishes, or you can pick up more of the same
product .. just get the newest bottle you can.

Thanks for your help. I'm pretty ticked off about this. These are some nice looking pens, not to mention the time involved.

I had to get the Crystal Coat from a different store than in years past. I used to buy it at a local Rockler's - they couldn't keep the stuff on the shelf, so it was always a fresh inventory. But when the store closed, I had to go someplace else. Obviously the new place does not sell much of this product, and it sits on the shelf. These pens are the first time I opened one of the bottles. O'well...live and learn.

I like the way CC goes on - it protects the pen, yet does not give it a plastic look or feel. BUT...perhaps it is time to look into a different way of finishing.

Again, thanks for your help...and ideas. These will make some nice "garage pens."

Originally Posted by Rikk38

Again, thanks for your help...and ideas. These will make some nice "garage pens."

ooo . no .. if you tap out the parts, you can salvage the whole pen.
No need to lose most of your work, once you put it back on the lathe, you're
about 15 seconds from a ready-to-finish pen!

Put it back on the lathe and put a CA finish on top of it.

If you don't like the plastic feel of CA, then you could probably rub it back with alcohol and reapply a shellac finish on it (from a new bottle of course).

Timberbits.

Are you using it as a friction polish? Each coat has to be buffed real good. After it is set up, pinch the blank between the fingers with the towel & let it get kinda hot. Paper towel folded about 4 times. This friction is what helps it set up. Then 1 -2 coats of Ren Wax.

Originally Posted by NewLondon88

ooo . no .. if you tap out the parts, you can salvage the whole pen.
No need to lose most of your work, once you put it back on the lathe, you're
about 15 seconds from a ready-to-finish pen!

I have never disassembled a pen before, and I'm not sure how to do that while keeping everything re-usable. However, you are right - there is a lot of work at stake here and it is at least worth learning something new. Any help with this from anybody would be greatly appreciated.

Also, after watching DJ's video on applying a ca finish, maybe this is a technique worth checking out.

What pen kit it it?

Originally Posted by Mobil Man

What pen kit it it?

They're cigar kits. Since I last posted, I went to Penn State Industires and found that the sell disassembling kits - 7mm and 10mm. Both are very inexpensive and look to be well worth the investment.

I'm curious to know: has anyone used these disassembling kits before, or have you come up with your own method? Either way, what was your result?

I've got the one like the 'J' in the picture. Have only used it for Slimline, but it will work on quite a few others. Very easy to use. The part that the mechanism is pushed into is a little snug & hard to get it back out of. Well worth the bucks.

A set of pin punches with long business ends(the part that fits inside the tube) is all you need,failing that sometimes a close fitting drill will do it for you, the nibs need a small enough punch to fit through the activater to knock out the nib,then a 1/4 drill using the straight end as a punch will knock out the mechanism of any of the 7 mm tubes,same for the filial end,best to hold the part in your hand and tap sharply to remove the parts. I got some brass pin punches at super cheap a week ago in a case that seems to cover most needed sizes ,was about 30 dollars from memory.Sometimes a mistake can be made putting the parts in the wrong ends on matching grains or woods ,no need to throw it away if a simple dissasembly will save the day

Originally Posted by Rikk38

They're cigar kits. Since I last posted, I went to Penn State Industires and found that the sell disassembling kits - 7mm and 10mm. Both are very inexpensive and look to be well worth the investment.

I'm curious to know: has anyone used these disassembling kits before, or have you come up with your own method? Either way, what was your result?

I'm an expert with a disassembly kit ... er .. I mean .. NO! Why would I need one ??

ok, once in a while I do something like drop a pen before the finish has really set, or
someone else sneaks into the shop and helps me put them together upside down .

The kit usually has two or three pieces of steel rod in different sizes. That's really all it
is. You need a firm rod that will fit into the pen, but too big to go through all the way.
It has to push he parts out from the inside.

For a cigar pen, take the top off, remove the transmission and refill. Take the SMALL
rod from the disassembly kit and put it through where the transmission was. It won't
go all the way through, because it gets stuck in the nib. It's too fat. That's good.
Turn it upside down and rap it on something firm. I use the back side of my anvil/vice.
Don't try to knock it out in one shot, you might just ruin parts. A half dozen or a dozen
good knocks and it will pop out.

I do it two handed. One hand holding the blank, and the other one holding the rod.
Don't get your fingers pinched unless it is a dark colored blank. The blood doesn't
show up on dark woods.

The larger rod should fit through this end but not come out the other side. This is where
the transmission screws on. Do the same thing here and knock the part out.

Be careful poking out the finial and clip on a cigar pen. You want to catch the rim of
the finial, not the center.. but if you knock against the rim too many times in one spot,
you could warp it and it won't go back together cleanly. And if you do it right in the
center, you might pop out the very top (chrome, gold, black ti) part and need to glue it
back together.

Also be careful / gentle poking out the center band. This one is easily damaged if you
use something too small. Use the widest rod you can, so that you can more evenly
disperse the force applied when you knock it against something hard. If you use the
small rod, you'll get the center band out to find that it is all chewed up and it will never
work right. (transmission won't extend or retract) I guess you might be able to ream it
out if you damage it, but I never got it to work..

I was out of town for a few days, but I wanted to follow up and let everybody know how this turned out.

I invested in a disassembly kit - worked like a charm. All three cigars are now ready to be refinished. I wish I had known about these kits in the past.

THANK'S SO MUCH to everybody who offered help. I greatly appreciate it. NewLondon88, thanks for the tips. I hope I never become an expert either!

Glad it all worked out