# Finish for Ebony pen



## ssajn (Jun 16, 2009)

I just finished turning an ebony pen and would like to ask what people think is the best way to finish it. The last ebony pen I turned was a few years ago when I started turning pens and used a friction finish. Never really likes it. I put a BLO/CA finish on the rest of my wood pens.
Thanks for the help.
Dave


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## rjwolfe3 (Jun 16, 2009)

Unaxol would work.


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## jttheclockman (Jun 16, 2009)

ssajn said:


> I just finished turning an ebony pen and would like to ask what people think is the best way to finish it. The last ebony pen I turned was a few years ago when I started turning pens and used a friction finish. Never really likes it. I put a BLO/CA finish on the rest of my wood pens.
> Thanks for the help.
> Dave


 

Dave

It comes down to a matter of personal choice I think. I sometimes read about people's take on the friction polish and have wondered are these people just polishing these woods on the lathe. I do alot of scrollsawing work and on some of my pieces that I have used oily woods such as rosewood, bacote, and ebony, I sanded to 600 grit, sealed it with blo and then polished it on my Bealle buffing wheels using all 3 wheels and the shine is perfect. Now the problem here is these are pieces that are not handled like a pen so not sure how they would hold up. One of these days I am going to try this method on a pen and use it as my everyday pen. Just thinking out loud. In fact I just cut up some blanks of Zircote that is in the same oily wood family and will try one of these. After a few months I may report my findings. 

Happy Turning.


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## Dvoigt (Jun 17, 2009)

Third time was the charm for my Ebony pen CA finish here: http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46639


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## workinforwood (Jun 17, 2009)

I would put one coat of shellac on it, and then you can apply any finish you want over that with no problems.


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## jkeithrussell (Jun 17, 2009)

jttheclockman said:


> One of these days I am going to try this method on a pen and use it as my everyday pen.


 
I've done this.  After about 8 weeks, it was bare wood in all the places where you grip or handle the pen and a very dull finished surface on the rest.  I wouldn't use friction polish or buffing as a finish on a pen unless someone specifically asked me to.


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## ed4copies (Jun 17, 2009)

workinforwood said:


> I would put one coat of shellac on it, and then you can apply any finish you want over that with no problems.



In this case, the shellac yellowing the wood sure won't matter.

Do you think one coat of shellac will adhere to ebony, Jeff??


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## jleiwig (Jun 17, 2009)

I would wipe down with DNA or I read somewhere about someone wiping down with CA accelerator before doing a CA finish on Oily woods.


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## THarvey (Jun 17, 2009)

jleiwig said:


> I would wipe down with DNA or I read somewhere about someone wiping down with CA accelerator before doing a CA finish on Oily woods.



With the ebony pen I did recently, I wiped it down with acetone before applying the CA.


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## woodchip (Jun 17, 2009)

I did the same as tharvey with good results.


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## GouletPens (Jun 17, 2009)

THarvey said:


> With the ebony pen I did recently, I wiped it down with acetone before applying the CA.


 I third this....acetone is a MUST with an oily wood like ebony in order for any finish to adhere properly.


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## GouletPens (Jun 17, 2009)

jttheclockman said:


> Dave
> 
> It comes down to a matter of personal choice I think. I sometimes read about people's take on the friction polish and have wondered are these people just polishing these woods on the lathe. I do alot of scrollsawing work and on some of my pieces that I have used oily woods such as rosewood, bacote, and ebony, I sanded to 600 grit, sealed it with blo and then polished it on my Bealle buffing wheels using all 3 wheels and the shine is perfect. Now the problem here is these are pieces that are not handled like a pen so not sure how they would hold up. One of these days I am going to try this method on a pen and use it as my everyday pen. Just thinking out loud. In fact I just cut up some blanks of Zircote that is in the same oily wood family and will try one of these. After a few months I may report my findings.
> 
> Happy Turning.


 For a while I was using Behlen Woodturner's Finish which is basically shellac, with ren wax. I could get a glass-like shine, but it doesn't hold up long at all, maybe a week, when handled with oily hands every day. I'm a big CA advocate.


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## philb (Jun 17, 2009)

workinforwood said:


> I would put one coat of shellac on it, and then you can apply any finish you want over that with no problems.



Do you do this for all your pens or just the oily ones?

Also, what form of shellac do you use as there's literally hundreds in many incarnations or forms!

Cheers PHIL


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## justaccord (Jun 17, 2009)

Don't know how it's labelled in the UK, but you want de-waxed or wax-free clear shellac.  You can thin it 50-50 or even 2/3 (denatured alchohol) 1/3.  When it gets really thin, it tends to get into the pores of woods like cocobolo better.

Immediately before you shellac, you should wipe down with acetone, as others have said.  It gets rid of the oils on the surface so the shellac can adhere.

If you thin it substantially, I might go with 2 thin coats (quick drying, shouldn't be too much of a burden).

HTH


Dave


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## jttheclockman (Jun 17, 2009)

GouletPens said:


> For a while I was using Behlen Woodturner's Finish which is basically shellac, with ren wax. I could get a glass-like shine, but it doesn't hold up long at all, maybe a week, when handled with oily hands every day. I'm a big CA advocate.


 

My point was not really to put any finish on the wood and use the woods natural oils to produce the shine. See with friction polishes that is all they are is a polish. I was thinking out loud. I will still try this. I would always suggest when in doubt wipe with acetone and use a dewaxed shellac such as Zinnser. Then top coat with whatever your heart desires. If you use a shellac that has wax additives you will get peeling of the top coat. Shellac like that are finishing shellacs. You can actually finish a piece using shellac only.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10310


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## workinforwood (Jun 18, 2009)

philbaldwin said:


> Do you do this for all your pens or just the oily ones?
> 
> Also, what form of shellac do you use as there's literally hundreds in many incarnations or forms!
> 
> Cheers PHIL



Well Ed...yes, 1 coat of shellac will dry and stick on ebony.

Phil...no I don't do that on any pen.

I use acrylic on most of my pens, but acrylic and shellac have a similar property.  They do not rely on solvents in order to bond.  If you use any solvent based finish, the solvents will mix with the oils and thus not dissolve properly.  I dont know so much how shellac works, but with an acyrilic urethane...ie Enduro, the plastic is floating in water, the water simply evaportates, as that happens, the plastic paritcles float together and when they touch, they chemically unite into a single unit, thus the oil has little effect, although the oil can cause the adhesion to the surface to not be as durable.  Shellac...you can put shellac on a table after you just polish it with furniture polish.  It will stick and stick quite well to that waxy stuff.  I would not finish a pen with shellac.  Just a coat to deal with the oil, then switch to something else, like a polyurethane, CA, laquer.  And finally..no matter what you use, you should wipe that wood down with some de-natured alcohal before you do anything.  Even though there's things that will stick to the oily surface, they will stick better if the oil is removed.  Better it sticks, the longer it lasts.


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## ldb2000 (Jun 18, 2009)

All friction polishes are is shellac and some waxes . It won't last very long on pens . Heck some peoples body chemistry will take the Tn gold and rhodium platings off the kit parts so what chance does a little shellac and wax have . For bowls and most other turnings shellac is a great finish but I wouldn't sell a pen with it as a finish .
Penetrating oils like Tung , Teak and Walnut oil  can be used as a pen finish and will hold up well but you need 15 to 20 coats and lots of time for it to cure , although if you bake it in a kiln you can cut down the time involved . I've had very good results with this method on dense oily woods like BOW and Cocobolo and Ebony . You get a more natural finish this way but it's allot more work , and an acetone wipe down is extremely important with this method of finish , you have to remove the surface oils so the finish can penetrate .
CA is still my number one finish with Poly a close second .


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## MDWine (Jun 18, 2009)

I wouldn't do anything on real ebony that involved heat!


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## ldb2000 (Jun 18, 2009)

The kiln I was refering to don't get hot enough to hurt the wood (about 90 degrees) . I have yet to have a problem with this method on any of the Ebony pens I have made , and so far this method of finishing has not failed . One of my best friends has an Ebony Baron that was finished this way almost a year ago and it still looks great .


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## ssajn (Jun 18, 2009)

*Thanks*

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate all the help. I plan on finishing the pen this weekend and will post a picture when it's done.
Dave


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## W.Y. (Jun 18, 2009)

ssajn said:


> I just finished turning an ebony pen and would like to ask what people think is the best way to finish it. The last ebony pen I turned was a few years ago when I started turning pens and used a friction finish. Never really likes it. I put a BLO/CA finish on the rest of my wood pens.
> Thanks for the help.
> Dave


 
Dave.
Liberal acetone wash and dry (or well evaporated) followed by six coat BLO/CA finish all within a few minutes works well for me.


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## ssajn (Jun 23, 2009)

ssajn said:


> Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate all the help. I plan on finishing the pen this weekend and will post a picture when it's done.
> Dave



The pen is done, Here's a few pictures.
Thanks again for all the help.
I used a lacquer and wipe on poly as a finish. 
Dave


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## W.Y. (Jun 23, 2009)

ssajn said:


> The pen is done, Here's a few pictures.
> Thanks again for all the help.
> I used a lacquer and wipe on poly as a finish.
> Dave


 
Looks Wonderful Dave.


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## ldb2000 (Jun 24, 2009)

Great looking pen Dave . That Poly will hold up nicely .


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## aggromere (Jun 24, 2009)

check out the posts from Pipecrafter.  He has put a couple of detailed posts and links on how he finishes ebonite.  I actually tried it tonite and was pleased with the results of the finish.


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