Originally Posted by
gawdelpus
Everyone who tries the CA finish has to find what works best in their own circumstances ,you start off with a general perception then adapt , as you get more experience it gets easier, mainly their are three grades of CA used ,thin which is very fast drying, a matter of seconds, and activater not needed , one or 2 quick swipes along the blank is all you get :) this is usually a sealing coat to help later coats have a good bond to work on . too much speed and the centrifigal force will tend to make ridges as it tries to fly off all over things ,can get messy very quickly :). The Medium CA coats will tend to try and do the same thing as the dry time is longer so more time to ridge up as well. after a couple of coats you can sand back to smooth again if needed , make sure you have no shiny spots as this indicates a hollow that is hard to get filled with the next coats , I do a couple of thin coats then about three in medium ,sand back to smooth ,then about 3 more of medium , sand again and by then I usually have the amount of buildup needed for micro meshing , again speed is your enemy as when sanding the CA can get hot and it starts to melt , it doesn't like heat at all, wet sanding is preferred :) You can also use "0000" steel wool, from bunnings or any large hardware retailer, it is less agressive than sandpaper when getting to finish coats . Again it is a balancing act with time and speed and thickness , If you need a thicker coating you use thick CA and then you do have to use the activater or wait a much longer time between coats , some folks use closed cell foam as an applicater and have great success as the CA does not soak in to it nor stick easily ,so giving more time to spread the coats evenly :) Seems most of my customers like the shiny new glossy look for their pens so thats what I do for them, sometimes its a necessity to protect the pens and enhance their natural attributes. It is a matter of taste in most cases,but a necessity in others :) Have fun and enjoy the journey ,this addiction has no limits hehe, cheers ~ John