That can happen if the blank is not completely dry. Also if your BLO or CA are not fresh. The first thing I would try is hitting it with a soft buffing wheel. If that doesn't bring up the finish, disassemble the pen, sand it lightly and try again. \
I had to buy new CA and BLO when I forgot to bring it in the house when not using it. The high temps in Phoenix will affect both. The CA still works OK for gluing, but will not bring up a good finish. It could be that the high heat you have been having has damaged your CA and/or BLO. I buy them in fairly large quantities, and now I decant a small amount into smaller bottles to use at the lathe, refilling them as needed from the bottles in the air conditioned house. My dad kept his CA in the freezer because he didn't use it that often, but I've never tried that.