ultra-violet light and CA glue

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txcwboy

txcwboy

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Jul 9, 2006
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Location
Melissa, TX, USA.
I searched but found nothing so here it goes. The guy I buy some of my wood from, asked me what I was using to finish my pens. I told him CA glue. He said I needed to use a sealer then lacquer . The UV lights are going to get thru the CA and the wood will turn or loose the grain. Like in a nice DIW, the pen will turn muddy after a time. But it wont happen if its done the way he told me.Anyone heard of research on CA glue blockin UV light ?

Dave
 
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I can't see how CA would protect against UV light - Just like a brown bottle keeps beer fresher than a clear bottle, I don't think a clear finish can ever really BLOCK UV light...but then again, there are stories of purpleheart staying purple for a really long time after being encapsulated in CA..

But that brings us to whether it's a UV based reaction, or a heat-based reaction...I think it's heat, which again leads me to the thought that CA probably doesn't have UV inhibitors...but that's just a guess based on my preconceptions that UV inhibitors must impart some colour...
 
On another forum I participate on this has come up several times (Front door protection). Depending on your level of exposure, no clear finish will protect from extended UV exposure. The best I've heard of so far for protection from UV is and untinted base (can't remember the specifics offhand but if anyone wants more info I'll dig around for it). The untinted base dries to a fairly clear finish, but has enough particulate in it to prevent substantial wood discoloration for up to 2 years on a front door of a house facing west (most substantial UV exposure).

As for a pen, I wouldn't worry about UV turning/damaging a pen. If they've left it in the elements for that long they don't care about the pen anyway.

TM
 
The guy telling you that is either A) full of caca, or B) ignorant or C) trying to make a buck off of you by selling you his product. I am not a huge CA finish user, but I do on occasion, and it is a great finish if you can do it right on a consistent basis.


First, there isn't a lacquer on the planet that blocks UV rays UNLESS a UV-blocking additive has been added to it (and some do, but they always hype it up and is very easy to tell by the label). Sherwin Williams "Sherwood Precat Lacquer" is a good example. They use it, and they tell you with a big ol' starburst on the can that say "UV Inhibitor".

Secondly, UV inhibitors are not permanent. Third, UV inhibitors vary in their quality. Fourth, the amount of UV inhibitor added to the lacquer likely varies from "useful" to "useless". Just because they dribble a bit in a vat of lacquer and say "UV inhibitor added" doesn't mean it's worth a flip.


Go ahead and use CA all you want. No, it may not block UV rays, but pens aren't going to sit on a hot tin roof all day either--- there is such a scant amount of UV in indoor lighting that it won't make much of a difference.
 
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