Question for pen turners

Tom Baugues

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Lafayette, Indiana
I'm trying to make my first "decal" pen. After some trial and errors I have two pens turned from "holly" wood. I added two light coats of CA on the turned blanks, sanded and let sit overnight. Tonight I got the decals on and had good results getting them laid flat. So now I'll let them dry overnight. Tomorrow I'll need to put several more coats of CA to protect the decals. My question is....Do I apply the CA with the lathe running or stopped?. I'm using thin CA on a towel to apply. I have been told both ways. How do you do it?
 
Paul, that tutorial is the one that has me questioning which is best because he says in that tutorial to wipe it on with the lathe OFF first.
I have asked this on IAP but getting mixed answers there too.
 
I don't use a towel, I use a paper towel. If you meant a regular towel it will leave lint. First let me say I have not ever done a decal. With any CA finish, I apply with the lathe on. Otherwise it will puddle and drip off of the bottom (also cover your lathe with a rag/towel below the blank). Slow speed, apply at the bottom edge of the blank and go back and forth across. Mack does a lot of CA finishes, if he doesn't respond, pm and ask him direct, you won't go wrong with his information. Look forward to seeing the blank completed.
 
It will work either way, I like to do it with the lathe on because that is how I have always done it. To me the CA would go on smoother with the lathe running. I use CA as my finish and have always applied it at a slow speed, pour some on my towel and run it across the blank. Just the way I learned from watching Youtube videos when I started making pens. Try it one way on one blank and the other way on another blank and see which you prefer. Do some practice blanks.

I meant paper towel and I usually use the blue shop towel type. I cut it in strips and double it, apply the CA then tear the piece with CA on it and do it again until I use up the strip of towel. I also cover my finger with blue painters tape to keep the CA off. Use to use the stretchie gloves but I like the tape better. I have also used that thin white foam stuff you wrap things with to pack them. It work great. Mack should speak up here. He has probably made more pens than I have.
 
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I don't use a towel, I use a paper towel. If you meant a regular towel it will leave lint. First let me say I have not ever done a decal. With any CA finish, I apply with the lathe on. Otherwise it will puddle and drip off of the bottom (also cover your lathe with a rag/towel below the blank). Slow speed, apply at the bottom edge of the blank and go back and forth across. Mack does a lot of CA finishes, if he doesn't respond, pm and ask him direct, you won't go wrong with his information. Look forward to seeing the blank completed.

Jonathan, I too use paper towel. I got lazy and didn't type it all out. I have used CA as a finish and always do it with the lathe running with good results. My concern here is now that I have a decal on the blank I need to add several coats of CA over it. I've read that the decal can be very fragile until it has a coat over it so I'm just wanting to do it correctly so I don't screw up the decal.
I'll post photos of the finished product IF it turns out ok. LOL :rofl:
 
Jonathan, I too use paper towel. I got lazy and didn't type it all out. I have used CA as a finish and always do it with the lathe running with good results. My concern here is now that I have a decal on the blank I need to add several coats of CA over it. I've read that the decal can be very fragile until it has a coat over it so I'm just wanting to do it correctly so I don't screw up the decal.
I'll post photos of the finished product IF it turns out ok. LOL :rofl:

Okay, that sheds new light on the situation for me. When I turn the laser cut blanks I coat them with CA glue with the lathe off from time to time to insure the little pieces (like the keys on the keyboard and the spacer between the scope and barrel) stay where they are supposed to stay. I use the thinnest glue I have and turn the lathe by hand. Oh, I use the little plastic baggy from the pen kit for my pointer finger to keep CA glue off. So you could apply this with the lathe off but turning the wheel by hand and rubbing the CA onto the blank insuring you get one coat over it without disrupting it from the blank. I assumed the decal was permanently affixed and no worries.
 
(also cover your lathe with a rag/towel below the blank).

Harbor Freight sells a stack of 10 half-inch diameter magnets for about $2. Two of these on the tailstock and two more on the headstock do a great job of holding paper towels in place beneath your pen blank while you're applying multiple coats of CA. Keeps you from knocking it off or having it blow off. I leave them there all the time so I don't lose them.
 
I don't use a towel, I use a paper towel. If you meant a regular towel it will leave lint. First let me say I have not ever done a decal. With any CA finish, I apply with the lathe on. Otherwise it will puddle and drip off of the bottom (also cover your lathe with a rag/towel below the blank). Slow speed, apply at the bottom edge of the blank and go back and forth across.
Mack does a lot of CA finishes, if he doesn't respond, pm and ask him direct, you won't go wrong with his information. Look forward to seeing the blank completed.
Mack has yet to do any CA finishing over a decal. But all of the CA finishes that he does is with the lathe in motion!
 
I have one customer that loves decals. I pour a flat blank apply the decal and wait a day to dry. I start with 2 coats of thin just to get it sealed then medium until it's smooth. All my CA is applied with a paper towel. Hope that helps.
 
Well, I have another question for you guys. I have never liked using an accelerator when using CA because it always seems to leave a rough surface. So on these pens I'm planning on putting 8-10 coats of CA to protect the decal so tonight I chose to use it to hurry up the drying process a little. I don't like it!
It causes the CA to bubble up and I end up with a very rough coat of CA. I only barely "mist" the blank with it but it dries so rough. I know many people swear by the stuff but I just don't like it. I'm using it with medium thick CA.

Am I doing something wrong?
 
Well, I have another question for you guys. I have never liked using an accelerator when using CA because it always seems to leave a rough surface. So on these pens I'm planning on putting 8-10 coats of CA to protect the decal so tonight I chose to use it to hurry up the drying process a little. I don't like it!
It causes the CA to bubble up and I end up with a very rough coat of CA. I only barely "mist" the blank with it but it dries so rough. I know many people swear by the stuff but I just don't like it. I'm using it with medium thick CA.

Am I doing something wrong?
Yup! You're using accelerator!

Is overnight too long to have to wait for the CA to cure? That's what I do.

Sand the CA finish back the next day very gently with well used 600 grit after applying without accelerator. I go to the buffer after that. Nothing more is needed as far as I'm concerned!
 
This works for me....others will have other thoughts. Make sure you have a happy temp...60's would be good...CA is exothermic so high temp, faster cure. Second, you have 3-5 seconds of good working time with the paper towel...keep moving and look for the grain of the paper; one direction will leave it a little rough, the other will be smoother. Leave on the smooth side. I apply at 2k rpm. Next...let the lathe run. It helps the finish flow out. I mist a shot or two of accelerator sometimes, but usually just let it spin. 5th coat I hit with steel wool LIGHTLY. Then wet sand at 10...I start at 1000. I really only go to 2k wet anymore...the Huts really does a great job of anything my glasses forgot. Again, this is just how I do it, others will have better ideas.
 
Well, I have another question for you guys. I have never liked using an accelerator when using CA because it always seems to leave a rough surface. So on these pens I'm planning on putting 8-10 coats of CA to protect the decal so tonight I chose to use it to hurry up the drying process a little. I don't like it!
It causes the CA to bubble up and I end up with a very rough coat of CA. I only barely "mist" the blank with it but it dries so rough. I know many people swear by the stuff but I just don't like it. I'm using it with medium thick CA.

Yup! You're using accelerator!

Is overnight too long to have to wait for the CA to cure?

No... not at all but.... what do you do if you want 8-10 coats of CA on a pen? How long do you wait between coats?
 
...what do you do if you want 8-10 coats of CA on a pen? How long do you wait between coats?

When I've done a CA pen finish, I put a new coat on as soon as the previous one feels dry (un-tacky) to the touch. For me, that was just a matter of minutes. I could do 8-10 coats in an evening pretty easily. If your CA is staying tacky much longer than that, I'd suspect there's an issue with the glue.
 
I bought the glue just a couple hours before using it so unless it's old stock from the store it should be good glue. I don't think it is an issue with the glue. I'll never use accelerator again though. I can tell you that.
 
Light sanding, or lightly cut with the skew and don't go through the glue just skim it and take off the big bubbles. Never thought about you using the accelerator. CA finish is the only time I leave my lathe running and go do something else. I have often thought about a little fan blowing on it at the same time but haven't done that to see if it speeds up the drying, maybe a heat lamp? It should still be able to be saved. Frustrating right now, but 6 months from now you'll be a pro!
 
I have always used accelerator when applying CA, fine mist after each coat. Never been a problem, which reenforces that you have to find the method that works best for you and perfect it. I also like the BLO/CA method of finish.
 
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