Danish Oil with a CA finish?

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Hawaiikook808

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2025
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9
Location
Kapolei, Hawaii
Hi all,

I'm a noobie to pen-turning and CA finishes, but I have restored plenty of vintage boxes for watchmaking tools. My regular go-to for the boxes is to sand them to a very fine finish and then coat them with several coats of Danish Oil. I love how the oil accentuates the wood grain and captures its natural beauty. I have two custom pens I'm turning for a friend with un-stabilized cherry wood (wood of importance to his family).

I have turned the pens and considered using Danish oil and a CA finish coat. Will this even work? In a sense, I'm trying to encapsulate the Danish oil finish with the durability of the CA.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks,

Frank G
 
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Hawaiikook808 said:
Do you think the CA coating was worth it, or would applying a friction polish over the oil be better?
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I'm not a fan of friction polish. I might have been using a cheap one but it seemed to me the shine was dull by the time I pressed the pen together. That's when I made up my mind to go with CA. I use a thin CA as a first coat and let dry naturally to give it time to soak into the wood. When dry I'll put one more thin and switch to med. I'll put three coats of med then start wet sanding. I've been pleased with that so I very seldom put anything else on the wood.
 
My thoughts are this. The old method that has been around for a long time was to use BLO and CA. This has worked well for many over the years. But they use it together. Some use BLO to highlight the grain pattern in a piece of wood and then top coat with CA. That is a different method. You want to change the use of BLO with Danish oil. My thought on this yes it will work fine but you would get same results with BLO because Danish oil is basically BLO, mineral spirits and small portion of polyurethane with some driers mixed in. So the poly will be cancelled out with the use of CA. I too love to use Danish oil for my scrollsawn wood projects and have been using for well over 30 years. It highlights the color of the wood and grain but not too much but with Danish oil it leaves a protective coating of poly on it. BLO does not. It leaves the wood silky smooth to the touch especially when you sand to 220 or higher before hand. If you use Danish oil do not use a friction polish. Just buff it. Hope this is not confusing.
 
Thank you all for the great responses. It's not confusing at all. Two of you mentioned skipping the friction polish, which is also my thought. Though I've only turned a dozen or so pens, the few I used the friction polish on turned dull. I will try using Danish oil and a buff on the first pen. If it looks good, I'll leave it. If not, I may add a CA finish once the Danish oil has cured. I'll be sure to post pics of the results. You guys are the best.

Mahalo,

Frank
 
Hawaiikook808 said:
Thank you all for the great responses. It's not confusing at all. Two of you mentioned skipping the friction polish, which is also my thought. Though I've only turned a dozen or so pens, the few I used the friction polish on turned dull. I will try using Danish oil and a buff on the first pen. If it looks good, I'll leave it. If not, I may add a CA finish once the Danish oil has cured. I'll be sure to post pics of the results. You guys are the best.

Mahalo,

Frank
Click to expand...
When I first started pens, wood was the 'one and only' respectable thing to use for the body blank. I always had issues with the friction pen finish looking great when I first turned and finished it, but after only a little use, the finish would be dull as you said has been your problem. I went the way of applying BLO and CA together for a good while and it was a definite improvement, but after some time, it also dulled. Times pass and methods change and I've moved from mostly wood body pens to resin, but when I do still do a wood or hybrid wood/resin pen, my principal finish is now GluBoost versus anything else. I find the product to be long wearing, and it remains flexible which was one of the advantages of the BLO/CA finish vs pure CA which tended to crack and be rather inflexible causing issues as the wood naturally moved with humidity. I even use GluBoost at times as a final finish for my Alumilite pen blanks when I have embedded something in the Alumilite on casting - the GluBoost seals everything up and allows for a smooth finish over the Alumilite.

If you give the danish oil a while to dry and then give it a light texture with some 0000 steel wool, I would then give applying either straight CA or GluBoost as the final finish - just make sure the oil is dry and that you do not have any wax of any sort on the surface which a quick cleaning wash with Denatured Alcohol should take care of. Good luck!
 
NJturner said:
When I first started pens, wood was the 'one and only' respectable thing to use for the body blank. I always had issues with the friction pen finish looking great when I first turned and finished it, but after only a little use, the finish would be dull as you said has been your problem. I went the way of applying BLO and CA together for a good while and it was a definite improvement, but after some time, it also dulled. Times pass and methods change and I've moved from mostly wood body pens to resin, but when I do still do a wood or hybrid wood/resin pen, my principal finish is now GluBoost versus anything else. I find the product to be long wearing, and it remains flexible which was one of the advantages of the BLO/CA finish vs pure CA which tended to crack and be rather inflexible causing issues as the wood naturally moved with humidity. I even use GluBoost at times as a final finish for my Alumilite pen blanks when I have embedded something in the Alumilite on casting - the GluBoost seals everything up and allows for a smooth finish over the Alumilite.

If you give the danish oil a while to dry and then give it a light texture with some 0000 steel wool, I would then give applying either straight CA or GluBoost as the final finish - just make sure the oil is dry and that you do not have any wax of any sort on the surface which a quick cleaning wash with Denatured Alcohol should take care of. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much NJturner. Before becoming a member of this forum I tried to order some Gluboost for delivery here in Hawaii, and no company including Gluboost will ship here. It has something to do with it being a hazardous material on an aircraft I think. My next trip to the mainland I'm going to bring some back. I've heard nothing but good things. Thanks for the advice on using the Danish Oil. Since posting I have done exactly what you said and it worked out quite well.

My biggest issue now, as it pertains to flaws in my pens, is getting the wood near the bushings to look as good as the middle portions. Sometimes it darkens (maybe from the bearings being hit during turning) and sometimes the CA turns white. I'm also having a hard time getting that area to be smooth as the rest as well.

In this pic the bottom blank just below the center ring is discolored.

Thank you!

1737165046040.png
 
Hawaiikook808 said:
Thank you so much NJturner. Before becoming a member of this forum I tried to order some Gluboost for delivery here in Hawaii, and no company including Gluboost will ship here. It has something to do with it being a hazardous material on an aircraft I think. My next trip to the mainland I'm going to bring some back. I've heard nothing but good things. Thanks for the advice on using the Danish Oil. Since posting I have done exactly what you said and it worked out quite well.

My biggest issue now, as it pertains to flaws in my pens, is getting the wood near the bushings to look as good as the middle portions. Sometimes it darkens (maybe from the bearings being hit during turning) and sometimes the CA turns white. I'm also having a hard time getting that area to be smooth as the rest as well.

In this pic the bottom blank just below the center ring is discolored.

Thank you!

View attachment 381160
Click to expand...
I think the white near the lower barrel CB is sanding through the fiinsh.
 
@Hawaiikook808 - I didn't realize the issue with GluBoost shipping to Hawaii....that is disappointing! But if using the Danish Oil and then CA works, you are ahead of the game. You might want to try just using simple Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) on a rag but before touching it to the pen, add a few drops of CA to the rag, blend it together and then apply the mixed finish with the rag - just work fairly quickly, as you don't want the CA to start setting up. I would skip the accelerator when doing this. This is the old school first cut finish lots of us used for a good amount of time and by using the mix, it brings out the best features of both the chemistry and the pen - flexibility and depth. Not quite as hard wearing as GluBoost, but a good middle ground.

As for the white showing - typically as @TonyL said, this means you sanded through the finish. Black marks typically would mean you have metal from the bushings mixing in the wood from sanding. Watch how evenly you apply your finish to the pen when doing the finishing step - often folks I have helped stop short of applying the finish to the very end of the blank, as they are trying to avoid putting finish on the bushings, so the finish mid-pen vs end of pen is different thicknesses, so the ends sand through quickly while the middle is still fine. Maybe switch to delrin bushings when applying the finish - the bushing dimensions no longer matter and you can apply finish across the whole pen to your hearts content! Good luck!
 
I just bought another round of GB (about my 6th batch since it has become the go-to finish. ..this time with ultra thin and nice caddy. I still like mercury flex better. I can't get it down to the 4 to 6 coats that they demonstrate. It is just one of those things fot me. I can use 10 coats of mercury thin and or 5 thin and 5 medium and start with 400 or 600 and be done in 5 minutes. I would love to witrness an in-person demonstartion and see their results in-person.
 
NJturner said:
@Hawaiikook808 - I didn't realize the issue with GluBoost shipping to Hawaii....that is disappointing! But if using the Danish Oil and then CA works, you are ahead of the game. You might want to try just using simple Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) on a rag but before touching it to the pen, add a few drops of CA to the rag, blend it together and then apply the mixed finish with the rag - just work fairly quickly, as you don't want the CA to start setting up. I would skip the accelerator when doing this. This is the old school first cut finish lots of us used for a good amount of time and by using the mix, it brings out the best features of both the chemistry and the pen - flexibility and depth. Not quite as hard wearing as GluBoost, but a good middle ground.

As for the white showing - typically as @TonyL said, this means you sanded through the finish. Black marks typically would mean you have metal from the bushings mixing in the wood from sanding. Watch how evenly you apply your finish to the pen when doing the finishing step - often folks I have helped stop short of applying the finish to the very end of the blank, as they are trying to avoid putting finish on the bushings, so the finish mid-pen vs end of pen is different thicknesses, so the ends sand through quickly while the middle is still fine. Maybe switch to delrin bushings when applying the finish - the bushing dimensions no longer matter and you can apply finish across the whole pen to your hearts content! Good luck!
Click to expand...
@NJturner - Thanks for all this great information. I have some family members visiting soon and will have them bring the Gluboost with them. Can you tell me exactly what Gluboost products you use?

So, my latest finish was this...

1. Sand with five grits up to 600.
2. Use some denatured alcohol to clean the wood.
3. Put on a thick coat of Danish Oil with a clean cotton rag and let it sit for an hour or so. Then, with the lathe on medium, wipe with another clean cotton rag.
4. Three coats of thin CA applied with a cotton rag (the paper towel seems to leave groves), then two coats of Medium CA. Accelerator between each coat.
5. Nine levels of wet micromesh sanding.
6. Plastic polish on slow, then buff it out on high.

Thoughts? Also, I have some EEE paste, which I tried a couple of times, but I'm unsure if it's something I can incorporate into this process and at what point it would be appropriate.

The finish came out nice. I also like the suggestion of getting some Delrin bushings. Are they made of plastic? I already have the plastic nonstick CA bushings. Are you aware of any folks 3d printing bushings? A 3D printer is something I'm about to pull the trigger on, so I thought I would ask.

I need to get some BLO and try the "old school" method.

Mahalo!

Frank
 
Hawaiikook808 said:
@NJturner - Thanks for all this great information. I have some family members visiting soon and will have them bring the Gluboost with them. Can you tell me exactly what Gluboost products you use?

So, my latest finish was this...

1. Sand with five grits up to 600.
2. Use some denatured alcohol to clean the wood.
3. Put on a thick coat of Danish Oil with a clean cotton rag and let it sit for an hour or so. Then, with the lathe on medium, wipe with another clean cotton rag.
4. Three coats of thin CA applied with a cotton rag (the paper towel seems to leave groves), then two coats of Medium CA. Accelerator between each coat.
5. Nine levels of wet micromesh sanding.
6. Plastic polish on slow, then buff it out on high.

Thoughts? Also, I have some EEE paste, which I tried a couple of times, but I'm unsure if it's something I can incorporate into this process and at what point it would be appropriate.

The finish came out nice. I also like the suggestion of getting some Delrin bushings. Are they made of plastic? I already have the plastic nonstick CA bushings. Are you aware of any folks 3d printing bushings? A 3D printer is something I'm about to pull the trigger on, so I thought I would ask.

I need to get some BLO and try the "old school" method.

Mahalo!

Frank
Click to expand...
Hello Frank!
Your current process sounds like a good one - my only suggestion might be to try some of the white thin foam craft sheets instead of the towel or the paper toweling - you have already notices why, as I also found the paper towel left grooves and roughness for me as well. The foam sheets don't absorb the finish and they leave a pretty smooth flow of finish after the application. Something like this https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Cosp...8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

As for the GluBoost products, and which to use, I use the Fill and Finish (Orange Label) and the Fill and FInish (Blue Label) the most. Check out a number of YouTube videos by Mark Dreyer on the process - I pretty much follow his instructions to a 'T" https://www.youtube.com/@markdreyer2865. Mark uses Zona paper in his sanding process, and I like it as well, although it makes for a longer prep process with all the grits. I've switched from the Micro Mesh to Zona for a bit - jury is still out whether I will stay with Zona or not.

I've been struggling with polishing - mostly because most products do not list the grit of the polish on the package, making it real easy to go finer and finer and then goof it all up with something coarse, as it is not identified by grit. To help stop this, I am slowly switching to some automotive polish products, used by painters. Mequires products are all pretty good, but I like a product coming out of Italy called Rupes that a car painter supplier who was on the show floor at a local turners event introduced me to - https://www.amazon.com/RUPES-Coarse...d=1737469264&sprefix=rupes,aps,75&sr=8-3&th=1 . This stuff is graded simply - course, fine, and extra fine - and it works, but is a bit pricey. Not sure what products you can get in Hawaii, but something that shows grit size would be helpful. With this stuff, you can actually cut back on some of the sanding.

Hope this helps - and I hope you get to use this process on some pretty Koa wood!!!! Not easy to find here in NJ unfortunately...lol

Kevin
 
Sorry, forgot about the Delrin - which is actually a type of plastic. Anything other than wood or metal is a good thing to use to keep contamination from the bushings to enter your finishing. I buy delrin rods at a local supplier and cut them down for custom bushings, or buy cheap ones at a local Woodcraft store. The secondary benefit if the plastic bushings is that the finish typically doesn't stick to them.

3D printed? I recently bought into the 3D printing idea and am slowly learning new and cool things to use it for. I bought an AnyCubic Kobra 3 Combo and have been very satisfied with it so far. Have been printing all kinds of workshop tooling and some pen resin blanks and molds for casting. Is a fun toy - not sure that I can yet call it a tool, as I am a real newbie on how to use it so far. We shall see!
 
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