GluBoost questions

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hertzogcraig

hertzogcraig

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I've never been a fan of applying CA finishes so I figured I would give GluBoost a try, I ordered the starter set from Exotic Blanks last night. I was just curious though for those of you that use it, is this purely a finish or is it a CA glue as well. Also I noticed that they have 2 other bottles besides what comes in the starter set, should I look at purchasing these as well? Thanks for any help here.
 
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GluBoost seems to be just a hybrid CA material that makes what I believe to be an exceptional finish. If you follow the directions and don't rush the process allowing it time to harden, it provides a high shine that is much more durable and flexible than normal CA. GluBoost builds better and delivers a more level finish when correctly applied than typical CA needing less sanding. That said, it is also a lot more expensive than normal CA, so unless you don't care about price, I would think you could use it as glue as well but honestly, I have not tried it. I use Starbond CA for normal gluing and some coloring work with their new colored CA's and GluBoost for finishing. Starbond also makes for a good finish, pretty durable and long lasting, but I don't think it is as flexible over its life like GluBoost. No matter what you buy, be sure to also buy the release agent so you can unstick yourself when accidents happen!
 
GluBoost has their fill and finish line of CA finishes and they also have some CA Glues branded under the line MasterGlu. If you bought the the starter pack from Exotic Blanks then I would use that as a finish and not as a an expensive glue. I've pretty much only used GluBoost as a finish aside from the occasional lacquer finish so I'm not much help to compare against other finishes.

Mark Dreyer and John Underhill have both done videos on how they apply GluBoost. I think they're both right, it's a super easy product to put on a pen and extremely forgiving. If you've not done a CA finish before then I would watch their videos on how to do it. Mark's is on his 10 minutes to better turning on youtube and I think John's video is actually on GluBoost's youtube page.

I have a bottle of the super thin MasterGlu and use it to seal the ends of cast blanks to make sure nothing can seep in after I face the blank.
 
For pure finish on a pen - what you have will work perfectly. I have been using GluBoost (with John Underhill and Ed Brown) for many years. John and I do a lot of testing for the product line with respect to turning finishes and finish correction. I have tried all the finishes and brands over my 30 year pen making career and simply think this one is the best. It was designed not as a CA but as wood repair and finish correction for the musical instrument / guitar space.

As for your question - with the orange (thin) and blue (pro formula) labels you are ready to go for pen finishing. I do it completely different from John, John does it completely different from Ed but they all come out great. My technique is lathe off blue / pro formula first - to level the small recesses from sanding. Then the orange (thin) as a finish, The difference in product is that I only use 2 of blue and 2 or 3 coats of orange. Check out my video below and it should answer all your questions as to how I apply the finish. One note - the accelerator should be used allow the finish to dry from the inside out. I see many people suggest not using it and just waiting - the issue is the finish is drying from the outside. This is with most CA finishes not just GluBoost.

As for the other colors / lines. These are things to consider if the need arises.

The red (ultra thin) is great for woods that need the finish to wick in. Light punky woods - the red acts as a great stabilizer. It is, as mentioned on the bottle, thin enough to wick into the wood and help obtain a perfect finish. Also great for (as mentioned above) sealing the ends of the piece.

The new teal green ultra thin pro formula is great for scratch repair / finish. I know this will sound silly but I swear it is thinner than water and its wicking ability is great and over a sealed surface the self leveling is great on scratches.

Hope this help and let me know if you have any question.

Here is my technique on YouTube.

YouTube - Mark Dreyer - GluBoost
 
mg_dreyer said:
For pure finish on a pen - what you have will work perfectly. I have been using GluBoost (with John Underhill and Ed Brown) for many years. John and I do a lot of testing for the product line with respect to turning finishes and finish correction. I have tried all the finishes and brands over my 30 year pen making career and simply think this one is the best. It was designed not as a CA but as wood repair and finish correction for the musical instrument / guitar space.

As for your question - with the orange (thin) and blue (pro formula) labels you are ready to go for pen finishing. I do it completely different from John, John does it completely different from Ed but they all come out great. My technique is lathe off blue / pro formula first - to level the small recesses from sanding. Then the orange (thin) as a finish, The difference in product is that I only use 2 of blue and 2 or 3 coats of orange. Check out my video below and it should answer all your questions as to how I apply the finish. One note - the accelerator should be used allow the finish to dry from the inside out. I see many people suggest not using it and just waiting - the issue is the finish is drying from the outside. This is with most CA finishes not just GluBoost.

As for the other colors / lines. These are things to consider if the need arises.

The red (ultra thin) is great for woods that need the finish to wick in. Light punky woods - the red acts as a great stabilizer. It is, as mentioned on the bottle, thin enough to wick into the wood and help obtain a perfect finish. Also great for (as mentioned above) sealing the ends of the piece.

The new teal green ultra thin pro formula is great for scratch repair / finish. I know this will sound silly but I swear it is thinner than water and its wicking ability is great and over a sealed surface the self leveling is great on scratches.

Hope this help and let me know if you have any question.

Here is my technique on YouTube.

YouTube - Mark Dreyer - GluBoost
Click to expand...
I was actually watching your video right before I posted this. Your reply is perfect thought as I was mainly wondering what the differences were in all the formulas. Thank you
 
mg_dreyer said:
For pure finish on a pen - what you have will work perfectly. I have been using GluBoost (with John Underhill and Ed Brown) for many years. John and I do a lot of testing for the product line with respect to turning finishes and finish correction. I have tried all the finishes and brands over my 30 year pen making career and simply think this one is the best. It was designed not as a CA but as wood repair and finish correction for the musical instrument / guitar space.

As for your question - with the orange (thin) and blue (pro formula) labels you are ready to go for pen finishing. I do it completely different from John, John does it completely different from Ed but they all come out great. My technique is lathe off blue / pro formula first - to level the small recesses from sanding. Then the orange (thin) as a finish, The difference in product is that I only use 2 of blue and 2 or 3 coats of orange. Check out my video below and it should answer all your questions as to how I apply the finish. One note - the accelerator should be used allow the finish to dry from the inside out. I see many people suggest not using it and just waiting - the issue is the finish is drying from the outside. This is with most CA finishes not just GluBoost.

As for the other colors / lines. These are things to consider if the need arises.

The red (ultra thin) is great for woods that need the finish to wick in. Light punky woods - the red acts as a great stabilizer. It is, as mentioned on the bottle, thin enough to wick into the wood and help obtain a perfect finish. Also great for (as mentioned above) sealing the ends of the piece.

The new teal green ultra thin pro formula is great for scratch repair / finish. I know this will sound silly but I swear it is thinner than water and its wicking ability is great and over a sealed surface the self leveling is great on scratches.

Hope this help and let me know if you have any question.

Here is my technique on YouTube.

YouTube - Mark Dreyer - GluBoost
Click to expand...

Mark - your analogy on the green label being thinner than water is the best one I've heard for it. It's like air it's so thin. I've actually been playing around using it on acrylics first and then doing normal "thin" and then regular fill & finish
 
bugradx2 said:
Mark - your analogy on the green label being thinner than water is the best one I've heard for it. It's like air it's so thin. I've actually been playing around using it on acrylics first and then doing normal "thin" and then regular fill & finish
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That's how I use it… the teal green ultra fill and finish first to fill in any sanding scratches, then blue (if needed) or orange. Then after lightly sanding everything down smooth and level, I apply the teal again to fill the Sandi g scratches before wet sanding with micromesh. Works great for me, and I often need no buffing after using the plastic polish or micro Yorkshire grit.
 
After watching a bunch of GluBoost videos, I ordered some. I've been using Pens Plus with good success. However, after watching Marks's video, I can see that GluBoost saves time and is more convenient. I'm currently in the process of doing around 12 pens for friends and family for Christmas. This is a much better time of year here to do finishing. Most of the time, I end up bringing Christmas ornaments into the house to dry when winter comes. I put them in a bathroom shower stall to dry and close the bathroom door to keep the lacquer order from the rest of the house. It's too cold in the garage.
 
I receved my Gluboost order and have tried it on a couple of pens. After application the finish is a little rough. Not smooth like my Pens Plus finish. It's almost like Gluboost raised the grain? I sanded it with 600 grit and then reapplied 2 finish coats and got the same result. I'm using Mark's 2 coats blue bottle and 2 coats Orange bottle.. I'm wondering if I'm applying to much? Maybe too much accelerator?
 
shastastan said:
I receved my Gluboost order and have tried it on a couple of pens. After application the finish is a little rough. Not smooth like my Pens Plus finish. It's almost like Gluboost raised the grain? I sanded it with 600 grit and then reapplied 2 finish coats and got the same result. I'm using Mark's 2 coats blue bottle and 2 coats Orange bottle.. I'm wondering if I'm applying to much? Maybe too much accelerator?
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What are you applying it with? Also, it's well known, what works for one person might not work for you. You pretty much have to find your own groove. Case in point, some like to use craft foam as an applicator. I gave it a try once. You would not have believed the mess I had. Foam works for some but not me. I'm a blue towel guy has always worked best for me.
 
KenB259 said:
What are you applying it with? Also, it's well known, what works for one person might not work for you. You pretty much have to find your own groove. Case in point, some like to use craft foam as an applicator. I gave it a try once. You would not have believed the mess I had. Foam works for some but not me. I'm a blue towel guy has always worked best for me.
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Good points, Ken. I was using a blue towel and a piece stuck to the pen. I used some acetone to soak it and get it off. I switched to a piece of old handkerchief. The glue really set up fast on that. Blue shop towels are good but I'll have to be quick and use a different piece for each coat. I think my problem is not being fast enough with the application and applying too much. I'm checking after each coat now. If it's not smooth. I'm smoothing it out with 800 grit sandpaper with the lathe off. I learned real quick to use nitrile gloves.
 
When I apply I go up and then down, 1 time ,and always a clean spot of the blue towel. If the wood has pits, I use the thicker on first, hit it lightly with 1000 grit paper and then finish up with the thin. No pits, I do the thin first. I consider myself very lucky with getting my technique down, as I've never had a hard time with a CA finish. One other thing I can think of is to make sure you're a good bit back when using accelerator, 10-12 inches.
 
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Hi Ken. Your way works very well for me. I was applying too much glue and holding the accelerator too close. Also 1000 grit sandpaper works quite well also. I'm also going to redo 2 pens that I've already done. You have really helped me along the learning curve.

To help redo the 2 pens, I ordered some nylon rods from Amazon today. Probably using a collet chuck, I will make something similar to the nylon piece on my pen press that the tip goes into. For the other end, I'll turn a piece and drill it to fit the twist mechanism. I have a disassembly kit to remove the clip on the top section.

I really appreciate you help. I like your avatar, too. The avatar I use is my email is"

"The key to the gateway of wisdom is to know that your don't know."
 
I would first like to say I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but thought since it's a Gluboost question it is appropriate to add here. For those that finish with Gluboost, when turning a pen that could use a bit off CA stabilization do you use Gluboost or another product? I understand that most do not use it for bonding tubes or pieces of a segmented blank, but is stabilization different? Looking forward to ask your responses. While we are at it do any of you use MasterGlu for the structural bonding at all?

Thanks
Gregory
 
KenB259 said:
Like I said though, my way might not be the way that works best for you. GluBoost is almost foolproof, so don't give up kn it.
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I've used this on 6 pens so far. My results are mixed. I've messed up by applying too much. The glue bunched up and I had to remove it and start over. I think I've finally figured it out. Like you said, it's just a swipe back and forth. For some reason I didn't watch closely enough and ended up adding where I had already applied. When that happened (more than once, duh), the only thing to do was to remove most of the glue and start the glue application process over again. Thanks again for your post or I probably would have gone back to my previous method.
 
GFHWoodWerks said:
I would first like to say I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but thought since it's a Gluboost question it is appropriate to add here. For those that finish with Gluboost, when turning a pen that could use a bit off CA stabilization do you use Gluboost or another product? I understand that most do not use it for bonding tubes or pieces of a segmented blank, but is stabilization different? Looking forward to ask your responses. While we are at it do any of you use MasterGlu for the structural bonding at all?

Thanks
Gregory
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They do have an ultra thin that is thinner than thin. I have used it when I want it to seep in.
 
I typically use the GluBoost Thin on things that need a little filler as I'm turning them down. Seems to be a pretty common occurence with some redwood and mallee blanks. I ran into it on a hybrid blank I was working on over the weekend, I'm not 100% sure what the wood was. My GluBoost bottles live on my worktable and that's where my lathe is at the moment so they're always at hand. It penetrates well and I know the worst thing that will happen is a little extra & early finish.

I use the GluBoost MasterGlu Ultrathin (red bottle if I remember correctly) to seal the ends of blanks. When I buy something that has embedded objects or photos under resin then I'll face the blanks, hit them with MasterGlu and then lightly reface them if needed. Seems counterintuitive to face them again but I'm just trying to make sure the area around the tub is flush so the pen fits well. JohnU suggested I do it when talking about using some of his blanks at the MPG.
 
I do use a lot of CA to stabilize either punky, spalted wood or when I find soft spots as I am turning due to whatever happened to the wood when it was 'in the wild'. I don't use the GluBoost, even the thin, to do this task. I do use the thin to seal off ends of blanks after turning and to 'float' it on the wood surface if things are a bit less than smooth, but most of the GluBoost tasks are finishing related versus adhesive related. I like the flexibility and durability of the GluBoost vs typical CA, so I try and keep things specific - CA for glue, GluBoost for finishing. Not sure if it is a perfect method, or if its truly that much more beneficial, but it works for me.
 
I have been using GluBoost for couple of years now. I started noticing some spider like cracks in a couple of my pens that are around 6 months old. The wood that I used was walnut Burl. I have not changed my process. Three coats of thin, then I start with the blue bottle and use Glueboost accelerator between each coat. I'm also using blue paper toweling for putting it on. Any advise has to why or do I need to change the way I'm putting it one.
 
NJturner said:
I do use a lot of CA to stabilize either punky, spalted wood or when I find soft spots as I am turning due to whatever happened to the wood when it was 'in the wild'. I don't use the GluBoost, even the thin, to do this task. I do use the thin to seal off ends of blanks after turning and to 'float' it on the wood surface if things are a bit less than smooth, but most of the GluBoost tasks are finishing related versus adhesive related. I like the flexibility and durability of the GluBoost vs typical CA, so I try and keep things specific - CA for glue, GluBoost for finishing. Not sure if it is a perfect method, or if its truly that much more beneficial, but it works for me.
Click to expand...

I'm similar, I like the GluBoost products because they don't bloom. I've had some other CA glues do that. I try to use the MasterGlu where I need glue vs the finish bottles. That said, I do generally use the Fill and Finish to fill small voids as I'm turning down
 
Fuzzy63 said:
I have been using GluBoost for couple of years now. I started noticing some spider like cracks in a couple of my pens that are around 6 months old. The wood that I used was walnut Burl. I have not changed my process. Three coats of thin, then I start with the blue bottle and use Glueboost accelerator between each coat. I'm also using blue paper toweling for putting it on. Any advise has to why or do I need to change the way I'm putting it
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Not sure, I've had a couple instances with a particular wood (red mallee) but it was more my issue than the wood I think. Perhaps someone else will have a recommendation for you.

How many total coats do you have on it?
 
I am down to Mercury Flex or GB. I get better results and have less issues with MF. I do u GB on my guitars though. I gave GB a good long try though (would still use it), just found MF easier to apply and more forgiving. I also stopped used medium viscosity. I find thin to and and finish more quickly.
 
Fuzzy63 said:
To answer your question, I have 13 total coats.
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Wow! That is a lot of coats of finish!! I think possibilities of cracking from wood movement and possible stress cracking of the finish might be increased when you consider the thickness of this many coats of finish. I would think that thickness of finish would decrease the needed flexibility of the finish to normal changes in humidity and use. I might suggest trying about half or less of finish coats and see over time if that helps. I typically apply a max of 4-6 coats of GluBoost on any given pen - I think less is better - and haven't seen any issues with pens in use and pens just sitting in my display box. One of the reasons I like GluBoost is it is able to get to a really nice finish with less applications of material, which offsets the higher cost of the finish as I am using a lot less than with a classic CA.

I do use a lot of different wood types including some domestic and exotic burls and usually apply a coat of GluBoost to mixed media blanks (resin and burl). To help keep down my reliance on finish to add 'pop' or 'hand feel' to the pen, I typically sand my pens down to a fairly glossy point before applying finish allowing me to use the finish more as a protectant than something that adds hand feel to the pen.
 
Thanks for the response. I believe I will cut down to six coats and give that a try. I also sand all through the grits to get a nice finish before applying Gluboost.
 
Fuzzy63 said:
Thanks for the response. I believe I will cut down to six coats and give that a try. I also sand all through the grits to get a nice finish before applying Gluboost.
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I'm usually around 8, maybe 9 coats at the outside. Honestly, I've not one idea of what is too few coats or too many coats. Anecdotally, it seems like most people using GluBoost are not using very many coats
 
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