# Yet Another CA Question



## GBusardo (Aug 30, 2006)

Hello everyone again.  I have gotten a lot of great tips and ideas in my last CA question post. I been working on a few different pens and will post a pic of one that comes out halfway decent. Thanks again for everyone's input.  
I would like to hear from the seasoned CA vets and the newbies on the question: Are some woods harder to finish with CA than others? And if so, What woods seem to be easier and tougher. In my very limited experience, BOW seems a lot harder to get a good CA finish than Curly Maple. 
Thanks Again!!
Gary


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## Dario (Aug 30, 2006)

Not a vet on CA finishing but know for a fact that some wood are more difficult to finish than others.  I can't find a pattern as of yet though to pin point which is which.

Some claim that cocobolo are difficult to CA finish but it is easy for me.  Maple is one of the easiest though and olive is definitely more difficult than maple.   

There are other factors that affect the finishing by the way and same wood type may not finish the same way.


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## Fangar (Aug 30, 2006)

There is definately a difference in various species of woods, and even within the same species.  Some of the Red Mallee Burl that I have is strange at times. Open grain causes issues with debirs trapped inside.  PH and oils are also a factor.  BOW is one of those that can go either way.  I usually don't do CA on BOW as the finish seems to react over time. In my area since most people buy the BOW for the meaning behind the wood, they are more accepting of a softer less glossy finish.  

Fangar


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## bonefish (Aug 30, 2006)

A few days ago, I turned a piece of African Blackwood, and sanded it smooth, up to 2000 grit. I didn't make a pen out of it. I only wanted to try different finishes.

I used CA, using Fangar's method, and it came out a beautiful, smooth, glossy, solid black. The only problem, it had a few dull spots, about 1/4 inch in diameter. Even sanding back to the bare wood and refinishing would not prevent these dull spots, nor would buffing it removed the dull spots after the CA dried. 

Strangely, when I refinished, the dull spots seemed to appear in the same locations as they had before.

I don't have an explanation, other than to say that even the same piece of wood can react differently in some places.


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## GBusardo (Sep 1, 2006)

I just assembled a Jr Gents Pen (from Dario's group buy) made out of curly maple.  I think it came out pretty good. Best of the 4 or 5 i tried with CA so far).  The wood and finish came out pretty close to life as far as color goes, but for some reason, the gold looks like shiney copper. I have no clue why. As everyone here knows, I am photograhically challenged []
I am going to try and get a chance to look at the video Russ posted this weekend and maybe give that method a try. 
Any and all comments and hints welcome. It's incredible how helpfull everyone has been
Thanks
Gary





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## bonefish (Sep 1, 2006)

What type of light did you use?

Once, I made some still pictures using a movie camera light for a light source. The pictures were of polished stainless steel, and they turned out to look like they were made from gold. It must have been the temperature of the light, of which I know nothing about. 

The pictures were made using 35 m/m film.

Bonefish


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## GBusardo (Sep 1, 2006)

Bonefish,  i took the picture in my kitchen with a kodak easyshare digital camera,  the lighting consists of day light bulbs. They are pretty bright. I also had the flash on with this picture.  i took a few with out the flash, but they were too dark. Maybe I can take them with out the flash, then use software to lighten them up.  I also scanned the pen,  you can see it below. I think I probably need to set up a tent or something and get a tripod, or use my 35mm camera, which would be a real pain. Whenever I scan, you can see it does tricks with the metal plating also. 
Gary



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## GBusardo (Sep 1, 2006)

With the scans, you cannot see all the curls either. Can you tell if the finish looks ok with these shots? 
Thanks 
Gary


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## chigdon (Sep 1, 2006)

Some woods do finish very different.  Some woods will cure almost instantly when you apply the first several coats.  Other open grained woods like maple take extra coats as the first few coats soak into the grain.  Oily woods like blackwood and BOW are more challenging with CA.  I haven't done this but have read where someone would wipe down the wood with DNA before applying the finish to remove the surface oils.


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## GBusardo (Sep 1, 2006)

Ok...I am going nuts now and I am probably driving all you people crazy too. This Pic is without a flash, 600 watts of daylight bulb light and 600 watts of halogen light. It's pretty interesting how you can take three digital pictures, with different lighting and they all come out a lot different. I got to assume the blurriness is due to not having a tripod.  Of course it could be the camera too.  It can't possibly be due to my rock steady hands, can it?  hahaha
Gary


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## GBusardo (Sep 1, 2006)

Sorry, here is the picture




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## RussFairfield (Sep 1, 2006)

Besides the different lighting that you used, all of us have different monitors from yours. Our color, brightness, and color settings can be different from yours. Add to that, all of these different brands and types add their own spin to the picture when it is put on the screen.

The bottom line is that you have no idea what we are seeing when you post a picture.


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## GBusardo (Sep 1, 2006)

Russ,  Good point, I didn't think of that. 
Gary


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## redfishsc (Sep 2, 2006)

Russ is right. I made an Emperor the other day, the pic looked great on my computer, but now I am using the computer at work and it looks somehow different. Almost like it's a different Emperor. 



I dunno, just looks so much darker than it does on my home monitor. What do you think?









And back to the topic: 

Pretty much any wood that is oily will present a challenge at some point in time for you. It will vary tree to tree, board to board, inch per inch. 

Lol, with a little acetone rub, I can make lacquer stick to anything[]


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## GBusardo (Sep 2, 2006)

LOL   Nice Emperor!  
Shellac will stick to anything too and it's a really beautiful finish, too bad it doesn't old up on a pen.
Gary


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