Applying a CA Finish (Pen Turning How-to)

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Enjoy the video and please share if you enjoyed it :)

[@thomasharder9582]

Oh my God was I happy to see you in this search on applying CA Glue Finishes Mike. So many amateurs, it's hard to work through all of their talking. It's a pleasure to watch a professional who knows how to use all the tools. Plus you cover all the bases like the type of paper towel to use!

[@bobs64ford352]

Add me to the folks that you really helped out. I'd been finishing pens and handles for awhile, with CA glue with good results and then one day I just started having trouble out of no where and gave up for awhile. I came back to it for this holiday season and the first handle I finished looked great until the next day when I came back to the lathe and it had completely cracked. That's when I turned to youtube. The big things I took from your video and others I watched (yours was the most helpful, though) were ditching the white household paper towels for the blue shop towels, using fresh CA glue and just using a fine mist of accelerant from further away. Probably the biggest issue I had was using old CA glue, which probably started to expire back when I first had troubles that caused me to give up and from what I've seen definitely caused the cracking. The next biggest thing were that the blue paper towels work so much better; I always noticed that the glue always began hardening as I was applying it with the white towels, which didn't give me a lot of time for smoothing, the blue towels have given me much more time for smoothing out the finish and has really reduced the finishing time. Looking at a few comments here about the hard, rough and blistered surface is exactly what I was getting with accelerant by over spraying too close to the work piece. Although; I find myself not using the accelerant that often still and just let it dry naturally. It usually doesn't take long anyways and I just do something else for a few minutes. With these changes, for me personally, I've been going straight from the last coat drying to just a couple minutes on the slow speed buffer with the white clay, with no sanding and have been very happy with the results and so have my customers.

[@davejohnson9495]

Thanks for the tutorial. Finally, after following your step by step instructions, I have a pen I am happy with.

[@clintnaftzger4257]

I liked your video, so I watched it a second time and wrote down step by step and then went to shop and recreated it and my pen turned out beautiful. Thanks for the video.

[@chrislunsford368]

I just wanted to thank you, I had issues with a CA finish until I found this video. It’s my go to when applying a CA finish now! Great results every time!

[@KOTEC525]

best video on this process I've seen! Even easy enough for me to follow! thank you!

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Good to hear! Good luck with your finish.

[@silencedogood7186]

This video took me from taking a week to CA polish with little to no success to polishing a piece in a matter of an hour or a little more and even that might be a long time after watching this video. Many thanks, you just changed my business!!!

[@todds4101]

Great video!!!!! We have a lot of customers at Woodcraft in Loveland who are new at turning pens, and they often ask about best practices for finishing a pen. This will be a great resource to point them towards for sure. Keep up the great work as always.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

It's a great finish for pens. Thank you for watching the video :)

[@MrClarkio]

Excellent video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and know how.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Glad it was helpful! 😊

[@aprildegele1510]

CA finish is for me! I love it, especially for acrylic blanks. Don't discard the shop paper towel after each pass! Just turn it/refold it. You should have 4 usable sides to one cut of towel. And if you pay attention to the folding of the towel, you can get many more applications.

[@inspectr1949]

Nice refresher Mike, got away from pen turning some time ago as I found that I just couldn't sell them for the time, material and tools needed to make them but now that I'm old and in failing health decided to use up my inventory and must admit done right they are very self gratifying to leave behind. Miss the Craft Supplies USA symposiums in Provo and your Dad.

[@Jaykav99]

tired this for the first time with this video playing next to me...i was wondering if a resin blank would even need this treatment...glad i did the surface texture feels like perfect glass. thanks for the vid.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

We're glad you found success. Sometimes it takes a little practice.

[@LearningTradeSecrets]

I have struggled with a CA finish and it was great to see this video. Professionals always make things look so easy. You didn't mention using any kind of respirator. The CA burns my sinuses and it takes about 3 days to get back to normal. Please beware of inhaling such chemicals.

[@knothead5]

I keep my Shop Vac on while applying the CA.

[@bwrightaway2877]

Thanks for the video. I have failed many times trying to do a CA finish. Hopefully these tips help out.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Good luck!

[@heinrich-peterhimmelbauer1418]

Great Video, came in time, but no description below, only shop-link. Not, what I expected. Nontheless I ordered most of the parts. Looking forward to that sort of finishing.

[@TheTranq]

Successfully turned my first pen tonight! Not perfect but excited to keep working on it. It's a good introductory project to the lathe

[@johnkennethreposo9411]

Were to buy??

[@drummerman1206]

Love this video. Thank you so much. The pen looked amazing.

[@josephalbert7680]

Like the video. But when I sprayed the finish with the accelerant, it "blistered".that is it sort of "bubbled". Why? What would I do to stop this.? Joseph Albert

[@cfoskeeter]

Can I clean the blank with mineral spirits if I don't have denatured alcohol?

[@knothead5]

Why add CA to a synthetic blank material? Here goes: I used the Micro Mesh pads but had CA build up on the pad. How do you clean residue from the MM pad? Also, I built custom fishing rods and used lint-less coffee filters. Much cheaper than the blue towels. I like how you dripped the CA onto the blank instead of applying to the towel. Thanks.

[@newbie0156]

I have a small jet lathe that does not go down to 200 rpms, any suggestions on how to achieve this great finish?

[@chrisdemeglio7983]

Just saw this video, it was very informative. I did what you said and I still had some areas where the ca glue didn't fully fill. The material I was turning was a plywood pen blank which is on the soft side. I tried to just fill it and then I was going to sand it down but I got a chemical reaction and an area turned white and I can't sand it out. I'm going to have to cut it back and start again. Have you ever encountered this?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

I've had this happen, usually the CA will turn white if it has been sprayed with too much activator. I would recommend trying Gluboost CA, it is specially formulated to not "bloom" when activated.

[@chrisdemeglio7983]

Thanks

[@chrisdemeglio7983]

Thank you. Which type would you get for this? The fill n finish medium or thin?

[@Dusty727]

CA finish looks really good but can you also apply laser engraving on pens with CA finish?

[@laurayoung8342]

HI. THanks for the video, but I have a question about the acrylic buffing mandrel. In the video, you recommend applying compound to "the left wheel" and then no compound on the "cotton wheel." However, in the video in your shop for the mandrel wheel, it recommends the OPPOSITE. Compound on the cotton wheel and no compound on the "flannel" wheel. Which is it??

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Laura - thanks for bringing this to our attention - in both videos we managed to use the wheels in the wrong spots! I added a note in the descriptions but here is the correct way to use them - The beige is the cotton wheel and takes the compound, the white wheel is the flannel wheel and is used for final polishing.

[@petermarshall5450]

Excellent tutorial! I just completed a finish, not on a pen but on a small long vase and it looks and feel great. I have a question: Why is water used with the sandpaper? Does it make a difference? Thanks again. As always, Craft Supplies is the place to go for woodturners. Peter

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Wet sanding on acrylics or CA finishes allows the sandpaper to remain cool, cut more efficiently, and it prevents the paper from clogging up.

[@harryvanessendelft1723]

White spots show up in rosewood walnut and open pore woods. Suggestions?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Chances are the white spots are low areas in the open pores that get filled with sanding dust when polishing and turn white. Shoot us an email with a photo of your blank and we can have a better idea of what is happening. Thank you!

[@enterprise59]

What if you have a mandrel saver instead, can these plastic bushings still be used? My lathe only goes down to 450 rpm

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Plastic bushings can be used with a mandrel saver. 450 rpm shouldn't be a problem you'll need to work just a bit quicker so the paper towel doesn't adhere to the blank. 😊

[@enterprise59]

Turned my first acrylic blank today. I have the CA glue but not the plastic polish or the buffing mandrel. Are these necessary?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

You'll want some way of polishing the acrylic. You can use Micromesh, Magic Juice, or Dr. Kirk's Micromagic.

[@frankkirschner]

Thanks for the tips. My "lathe" (a Shopsmith) has a low speed of 650 rpm. Any suggestions on how to use this process with the higher speed?

[@Liquidfer1]

Great video, it will help a lot. Thank you.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

You're welcome.

[@williamhanna9108]

Any advice for the overhang that I get when doing a CA finish? By design the plastic bushings aren't flush with the finished level of the blank, and when I apply CA that gap gets filled with glue which effectively lengthens the blank. I've watched a number of videos and this is not addressed, so I assume I have a problem with my technique of application. Appreciate anyone's advice.

[@uniqko]

Very useful video

[@silencedogood7186]

This video was really helpful!

[@rodbuilder]

How many coats would you recommend if I stick with thin CA instead of switching to medium after the first coat?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

I average about 10 coats of thin. The nice thing about using thin is that it will self level and reduce your sanding time. -Mike 😊

[@davidgraham2673]

Great video. Kudos!

[@avramw]

Thank you for this video. This is pretty much the process that I currently use with great results. I bought the Dr. Kirk stuff in hopes that it would substitute for the micromesh pads but can't get it to work right. Have you tried doing that? If so, how?

[@braxtonhicks8302]

Question? If my lathes slow spin is 750rpm... What would you recommend for CA finishing? More for rings and duck calls. Thanks

[@markkuklinski9969]

I have seen a few questions regarding lathe speed. As like a few others, my lathe slow speed it 750 RPMs. Do you have any suggestions?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Good news: you can do a CA finish at that speed, but we'd suggest 2 small changes. 1 - only use thin CA glue. Medium or thick at that speed will almost assuredly form ridges in the finish. 2 - apply it quickly in one pass. The heat will cure the glue very quick at higher speeds so you'll want put your glue on your rag, then in one quick motion apply it to the length of your project. Don't move the rag back and forth. We have been successful with this method at 1,000 RPM so you shouldn't have a problem - but practice will definitely help! If you have more questions, give our techs a call at 1-800-551-8876

[@markkuklinski9969]

@@CraftSuppliesUSA Thanks for the update and suggestions. I will give this a try.

[@stevemoore3379]

Question; I just finished a shaving kit and bowl. All out of birds eye burl. And the wood was dry. But the larger peace's bowl and brush had what looked like soap in spots. I cleaned and let dry after each step like I always have. Even sanded finish off and tried again. It still came back??

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

If you don't put enough CA coats on burl, sometimes water can seep in the the burl "eyes". This can cause the CA to lift. Please call us at 1-800-551-8876 if you have any further questions.

[@loganjoyner6466]

I live in Alaska, so I am unable to ship activator up here. Any recommendations on how to get a glass finish without it?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

If you call us at 1-800-5551-8876 we can assist you in shipping activator to Alaska - it takes a long time but I'm told it can be done. As far as doing a CA finish - activator is really key. I'm not sure you can do a proper finish without it. We've never tried, so it might take some experimentation.

[@phamquangloc2611]

Great video!thk you

[@harryvanessendelft1723]

I had been doing well with this process but lately have noticed that small white flecks of something are appearing on the blank before polishing. Any thoughts?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

There's a number of things it could be. Can you send a pic of your blank with the white flecks to us? [e-mail]

[@harryvanessendelft1723]

will send@@CraftSuppliesUSA

[@reforzar]

That’s a great finish!

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Yes it is. Thank you for watching :)

[@garysilva8233]

I have used this process to finish turned pens with CA glue. I have some finished pens done with this process show cracking in the under layers of the CA finish. When first finished they look perfect but after setting a couple days in the house the cracks appear in the under layers. The top layer is still smooth to the touch. What is causing the finish to appear cracked in the under layer of the finish after a couple days? What can I do different so this issue does not occur with the CA Finish?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

This is very difficult to diagnose... The 2 most likely culprits are: 1. The material you turned is too wet. Moisture (even a low amount) in the wood can ruin a CA finish. 2. The CA is bad. CA glue has a shelf life and can do odd things if it's really old. These are just guesses - I'd recommend calling our tech department (1-800-551-8876) so they can talk to you about your entire process and help get to the bottom of things. Good luck!

[@Wiiman915]

Whenever I try to use CA activator, it makes my piece super rough and splotchy. It leaves those splotches even after sanding. What am I doing wrong?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

If you are getting the splotches in the finish it is most likely from applying too much activator to the CA, usually a result of spraying too close to the blank. You want to get a fine mist of the activator on the CA. If you have any questions please call us at 1-800-551-8876 - and good luck!

[@knothead5]

A burst of one second is all that is needed.

[@Jawsjawsjawsrg]

The last time I used activator the CA glue puffed out, and I had to sand it back down to base.

[@jasonhunsperger513]

I want to get into wood turning and the lathes I am interested in says lowest rpm is 500. Is that speep too high for applying ca? What lathe do you recommend

[@jonniemann2501]

How long do the sanding pads last? Is there a recommended way to clean them?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

They last a very long time, you can do hundreds of pens with them. We recommend using a toothbrush and water to clean them.

[@jackreeves3001]

Great job Mike. KANSAS

[@MyGarageWorkshop]

I have turned many acrylic pens but never considered using CA as the micro-mesh finish typically looks very good. I do like CA on wood. Does it just make the finish more durable?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Some acrylic/plastic materials don't polish to a very high gloss, that is when I'll use a CA finish on plastics.

[@SilverBack.]

Hi where did you get the green blank from ????

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

It’s our Green Dyed Box Elder Burl Pen Blank. Here’s a link www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/7/5043/pen-makers-choice-Stabilized-Dyed-Box-Elder-Burl-Pen-Blanks?term=dyed+box+elder

[@judyl.761]

How long does each micromesh pad last? I ask because each set costs a whopping $17.50! I can’t afford to use one set per pen.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

If you wet sand with them and clean them occasionally, the pad set should last 300-400 pens.

[@kevinbrown8960]

What was the name of gloves.

[@kaygrant5358]

I tried the CA finish for the first time today. How do you deal with the stench and the burning at the back of the throat? I had a helmet on but had to quit after 5 layers because of the fumes. What did I do wrong?

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

Sorry to hear of your troubles! CA glue will bother some people more than, others myself being one of them. Whenever I use CA glue I make sure there is plenty of ventilation to blow the fumes away from me

[@joshhaas2410]

I found certain shop towels react chemically quite a bit and cause heat/smoke and a nasty smell. Scoot shop towels are much better and have almost no reaction.

[@kaygrant5358]

@@joshhaas2410 I found the same thing. I use Scott shop towels for everything. Thank you.

[@totallynotabot151]

Run the lathe at slower speed, use less glue per layer.

[@jonlanier_]

If this doesn't work for you... be creative until you find the best way you can do this finish. Many guys do it differently. I found this has more steps than necessary. Especially buffing... no need for that after micromesh. And I finish with Renascence wax with a soft cloth while it is running.

[@totallynotabot151]

I do notice a slight improvement with the buffing even after going through all the micro mesh grits.

[@bigfoot8778]

I heard craft foam is good for appling.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

I've heard of people using it but never tried it. I asked around the office and no one here has tried it either - if you have good luck with it let us know!

[@jarodmorris611]

Also don't be discouraged the first time the glue dries and pulls the paper towel right out of your hand, stuck to the blank

[@LocksmithSteve]

Why would you put a CA finish on an acrylic pen blank ?. They polish up even better, just using Micro-Mesh & Brasso + car polish.

[@CraftSuppliesUSA]

I like to apply CA on top of acrylics because I can consistently get a glass like finish. Acrylics vary quite a lot in hardness and some of them don't polish to a very high gloss due to them being a softer acrylic. -Mike

[@theogburner]

Plastic Polish. Now that's funny!

[@markbiagi4609]

Whats funny about plastic polish?

[@theogburner]

@@markbiagi4609 Did you watch the video?