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Pen Finishing

geordie0928

Graduate Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2020
Posts
466
Location
Whickham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
First Name
John Joseph
I've been looking around YOUTUBE for some hint's on Pen Finishing polish or really anything that will make a finshed pen shine and make it more attractive to the onlooker, now I am totally and bewildered on the subject. What would anyone suggest to use?. I am open to any comments or suggestions this subject that you may have .

Thanks.
Joseph


:thumbs::thinks::thinks::thinks::thumbs:
 

fortress

Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Posts
5,178
Location
Astley
First Name
John
Hi Joseph,
I think you’ll find that Melamine lacquer is very popular, I myself never use anything else. I think there is a tutorial somewhere on this site. Maybe somebody will give you a link. :thumbs::thumbs:
 

monophoto

Full Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Posts
67
Location
New York
First Name
Louie
Every turner has his/her own favorite. And to some degree, you are limited to what is available in your area.

One of the issues is that the oils that typically exist on hands will quickly degrade many possible finishes. So, for example, a shellac-based friction polish might initially look nice, but the appearance isn't permanent.

The most common response to this question is to use cyanoacryllate adhesive (aka CA or superglue) as a finish. This is typically wiped on in multiple thin applications to build a fairly thick coating that it then sanded smooth, and polished using superfine 'micromesh' abrasives, and then finally finished using a plastic polish. CA can be polished to a high gloss and is fairly permanent. Personally, I don't care for a CA finish - it's a lot of work and takes practice to master, CA smells awful, and the final product is very 'plasticky' - after all, a CA finish is nothing more than a coat of highly polished acryllic plastic.

My preferences are:
  • The quickest finish is a lacquer-based friction polish made by blending ordinary lacquer, lacquer thinner, and a drying oil (I use Tung oil but boiled linseed oil also works well). I think you could accomplish essentially the same thing using multiple coats of a cellulose lacquer sanding sealer, probably sanding lightly between coats. I typically apply two or three applications of friction polish - I want the finish to be thick enough to protect the pen, but not so thick that it becomes a plastic sleeve over the pen - I want to be able to feel the wood from which the pen is made. Because lacquer dries so quickly, it is only necessary to wait a few minutes between applications. As a result, this is a very fast way to finish pens.
  • For a thicker, more shiny finish, I wipe on multiple coats of polyurethane varnish. This is a tough finish - its the same stuff used to finish hardwood floors. Poly takes time to cure between applications - typically an hour for water-based materials, and 2-3 hours for solvent-based finishes, so this is a much slower process. After the poly has cured fully (allow at least a full day, and preferably several days), it can be buffed or polished using an abrasive polish such as Yorkshire Grit or EEE Ultrashine. Incidentally, some people use a dipping process to apply polyurethane - that's a great way to build a fairly thick finish that can be buffed to a great shine, but it takes time and requires that you build a special jig for dipping the pen, and also provide a rack for the finish to cure. That has always struck me as unnecessarily messy.
 

Pierre

Graduate Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Posts
996
Location
Southern Central France
First Name
Pierre
Over the last 20 years I have worked my way through many of the preferred finishes and have been an advocate of Boiled linseed oil and ca glue (BLO/CA) however in that same 20 years I have also listened quite hard to my customers, bearing in mind that in my peak production years I was doing 50 pens per month and selling well. Finally it came down to the fact that most finishes that aimed to get a high polish in the main looked like they were covered in plastic and so at one point also ended up with a customer complaining that I was buying and reselling Chinese (He soon changed his mind after a day in my workshop!!). BUT one thing I found soon stopped that attitude, I stopped trying to enhance with lacquers and polishes and just used the natural sheen of wood finely sanded then buffed to the equivalent of 12000 grit micromesh (sometimes finished with a Carnauba wax sometimes not) . You get a matt shine with a smoothness of the proverbial and a look that says 'wood well finished' and as a result my sales increased and I had no more comments about 'Chinese imports'.

Now if you look at a Mont Blanc it looks like a highly polished piece of plastic at £300-00 and that is what it is with good marketing and machine made consistency. But look carefully at the equivalent wooden pens with the same guarantee and you will find a thousand different ones because the wood itself leads to and attracts different finishes as well . The dense s. american woods have their own oils and so need different finishes to the lighter European woods which can take BLO/CA in their more open pores/cells.

So ultimately I believe that the answer to your question comes after ---what is the wood? and what does your customer want, then I will suggest a finish .
 

flexi

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Posts
6,159
Location
Maidstone
First Name
mark
As above, I am with Bill again on this.....
If your finishing technique is good and its a good timber you can get a real high gloss finish with Melamine unlike CA which is used to cover a whole miriade of things with a glossy finish:whistling:
 

wm460

Grand Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Posts
23,095
Location
Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.
First Name
Mark

monophoto

Full Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Posts
67
Location
New York
First Name
Louie
For a thicker, more shiny finish, I wipe on multiple coats of polyurethane varnish. This is a tough finish - its the same stuff used to finish hardwood floors.

Is this what you are talking about?

Cabot's 1L Water Based Matt Cabothane Clear Polyurethane Varnish

Varnish available from Bunnings Warehouse

Close - that's a matte polyurethane. I generally prefer a gloss polyurethane. They are basically the same chemical composition, but the matte version contains an additional ingredient that leaves a non-glossy surface. That additional ingredient (which might be a fine silicone) tends to make matte polyurethanes slightly less transparent, which means that they obscure the grain of the underlying wood. The impact of glossiness is profound, while the impact on transparency is slight, but may still be a concern.

Incidentally, you can create a matte surface using gloss polyurethane by simply buffing it with wire wool. The matte formulation is merely a convenience.
 

wm460

Grand Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Posts
23,095
Location
Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.
First Name
Mark
Some of my shopping from bunnings,
Marine grade should be OK in the cold, wet environment here.[emoji56]
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