# CA on top of Friction Polish?



## thunderwear (May 22, 2016)

Hi all, 

Another question from a new pen turner. I'm still having some trouble with evenly applying CA finish and found that I love just using friction polish on my wood pens. It looks beautiful and it is so easy. But after time, the friction polish doesn't stay shiny like CA does. Can I put CA on top of friction polish?  What will the CA do to the friction polish?  Will the CA flake off at some point due to the friction polish?  Worried that the negative effects of this may not show up for some time?  Is there something else I should be using over top of the friction polish instead of CA? Anyone have any experience with this?  Thanks!

-- Jeff


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## jttheclockman (May 22, 2016)

Jeff

Stay away from putting a finish on top of any wax (polish is wax) It will peel off. If you are going to use CA skip the polish and go right to a couple coats of thin to seal the wood and then 4 or 5 coats of med CA. Others use more coats but that is an individual thing. If you have friction polish on the pen already and want to CA, I suggest you take the blank apart and wash it down with some acetone and let dry. Then proceed with CA. Friction polish does not hold up well when a pen is handled as much as it is. Good for those show pens. Good luck


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## Curly (May 22, 2016)

Try Craft Coat Finish instead of your friction polish altogether. You shouldn't need the CA at all then. Sold by a number of the vendors here. A search will reveal a number of past threads about it.


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## KenV (May 22, 2016)

Jeff

One of the revered ancients of pen turning was  Russ Fairfield.  A link to his old web pages is located in the library.

Russ liked to sand wood using wax as a lubricant, noting that there was very little left on the wood when he got to the point of applying finish.

Friction polishes are formulated from shellac, finishing oil of some kind, and a wax.  After application and "burn in" most of the wax should be on the polishing pad.   A couple of quick wipes with mineral spirits on a pad will help assure most all wax is gone.  Shellac is not soluble in mineral spirits.  

I use an oil-CA finish, using walnut finishing oil with the CA.  My friction polish is Doctors Workshop brand which is made with walnut oil.  CA is compatible with shellac.

I do not do it as a common practice, but have done refinishing with friction polish, mineral spirits wipe down, and the walnut oil-CA finish without problems.  Started with 5 cps thin and finished with medium.  I use no accelerator.

I suspect the very active 5 cps thin probably reacts with the small residual amount of wax as well as with the drop or two of oil used.

Try it and see if it works for you.

I do suggest you work out your CA finish process as that will serve you well over the long haul.


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