CA Finish

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scrofts1219

scrofts1219

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
123
Location
Fairview (north of Dallas), Texas
I have been finishing pens with CA for a couple years now. I use thin CA sold as Pen Finish by woodturnerscatalog.com and have been happy with it. The other day I ran out and decided to use Medium CA. Same brand. It seemed to work okay and I liked doing fewer coats. Is there any particular reason to use one vs the other? I was trained in the beginning to always use thin for finishing.


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Wright said:
I have always used medium CA with 10 coats.
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10 coats of medium sure does build the diameter of a pen blank.

For me 3 thin and about 4 coats med is all I need to get a nice shine and do not have to overturn a blank to fit a kit. No fast rule on weather you use thin, med or any other finish. Just another method. Add yours to the long list.
 
I use Mercury Thin Flex and Mercury Medium Flex CA. It is considered "pure" CA as others have additives in them. It makes a big difference in the quality of my CA finishes since I switched to Mercury Adhesives CA products. The Flex CA's were specifically formulated to be used as a CA finish so I'm told.
 
lhowell said:
I use Mercury Thin Flex and Mercury Medium Flex CA. It is considered "pure" CA as others have additives in them. It makes a big difference in the quality of my CA finishes since I switched to Mercury Adhesives CA products. The Flex CA's were specifically formulated to be used as a CA finish so I'm told.
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Technically it's the reverse of what you said. Yo have the concept down but the tech is opposite. Pure ca is thin and brittle and clouds like crazy. Adding ingredients like plasticizers makes it flexible. Adding acid makes it less dependent on environmental humidity and less reactive in general, adding the plexiglas component makes it medium or thick depending on the ratio.
 
edstreet said:
lhowell said:
I use Mercury Thin Flex and Mercury Medium Flex CA. It is considered "pure" CA as others have additives in them. It makes a big difference in the quality of my CA finishes since I switched to Mercury Adhesives CA products. The Flex CA's were specifically formulated to be used as a CA finish so I'm told.
Click to expand...



Technically it's the reverse of what you said. Yo have the concept down but the tech is opposite. Pure ca is thin and brittle and clouds like crazy. Adding ingredients like plasticizers makes it flexible. Adding acid makes it less dependent on environmental humidity and less reactive in general, adding the plexiglas component makes it medium or thick depending on the ratio.
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Thanks for the clarification. I was under that impression as Mercury states on their website that their CA's are 99% pure CA in each bottle. All I know is it is good stuff to work with and has made a difference in the quality of my CA finishes.
 
It does not take that much additives to achieve the results. Stick fast would be more "pure" as in little to no additives. Mercury uses hydroquinine which is good. You want more stabilizers and more plasticizers which makes it a better product and more stable. I.e. using in the rain and high humidity areas with no bad results.
 
Jplupercio_CSUSA said:
I have found that using thin CA also helps with getting a smother coats so less sanding is required to get pen looking smooth.
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That's relative to the surface structure before you add the CA and how much is needed. If you have dips gaps dings bumps and valleys then thin won't cut it. If it's flat and smooth and nothing needed then it will be all that's needed.
 
I use 1 coat of extra thin for penetration, followed by multiple coats of thick CA to build quickly and give good depth. The thick does take significantly longer to dry, but doesn't bother me personally.
 
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