# CA Which one first?



## jd99 (Jan 25, 2012)

Ive been doing ok with my CA finish, I know I still have a bunch to learn but for the most part I've been able to make it work.

But I'm not sure I'm doing it in the most efficent manner.

Do you guys start with Medium or thin, or thin them medium, or thick then medium, then thin, or or......

And how many coats do you all put on?

Thanks
Danny


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## tumbleweed676 (Jan 25, 2012)

I just go with thin most of the time


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## Lenny (Jan 25, 2012)

I usually use 3 coats or so of thin and then switch to medium. Depending on the pen, I will do 6 to 15 (or more) coats of medium. Then sand through all grades of MM and polish with Novus 2 and finally Meguiars PlastX.


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## Ruby pen turning (Jan 25, 2012)

I personally do Medium for every coat of my CA. If it is a real real soft wood I may do a few thin but I never use thick


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## firewhatfire (Jan 25, 2012)

I do one coat of thin then start with medium. 10 coats or so.


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## Ruby pen turning (Jan 25, 2012)

OH... usually 10 -12 coats.


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## Ray McLeod (Jan 25, 2012)

I start by using one coat of Thin unless it is porus like oak then I use two, Next I use medium up to 8 coats.


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## 76winger (Jan 25, 2012)

3-4 coats of thin because it soaks into the wood and stabilizes it.
Then 4-6 coats of medium to fill grain and build up a good coat.
Then smooth with 400 & 600 SP (rarely 320 will be needed because I put some on too heavy and it got rough on me)
Finally polish through all the MM grades via wet-sanding with each.


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## PenMan1 (Jan 25, 2012)

Lenny said:


> I usually use 3 coats or so of thin and then switch to medium. Depending on the pen, I will do 6 to 15 (or more) coats of medium. Then sand through all grades of MM and polish with Novus 2 and finally Meguiars PlastX.



Ditto. This method seems to give me the best and most consistent finish.


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## Lenny (Jan 25, 2012)

^ I knew I heard that somewhere! :wink: ^


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## Younka (Jan 25, 2012)

I do about 4 coats of thin than do about 10 coats of medium..


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## leehljp (Jan 25, 2012)

Lenny said:


> I usually use 3 coats or so of thin and then switch to medium. Depending on the pen, I will do 6 to 15 (or more) coats of medium. Then sand through all grades of MM and polish with Novus 2 and finally Meguiars PlastX.



Same for me except for the Meguiars Plastx - however I have used similar products.

Lenny, you heard it again! :biggrin:


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## Lenny (Jan 25, 2012)

leehljp said:


> Lenny said:
> 
> 
> > I usually use 3 coats or so of thin and then switch to medium. Depending on the pen, I will do 6 to 15 (or more) coats of medium. Then sand through all grades of MM and polish with Novus 2 and finally Meguiars PlastX.
> ...


 
Yeah, Andy was kind enough to share his methods with me way back when, and I've seen no reason to deviate from it yet.   (at least until he tells me to) 

It's great to see you back here and active Hank!


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## keithbyrd (Jan 26, 2012)

76winger said:


> 3-4 coats of thin because it soaks into the wood and stabilizes it.
> Then 4-6 coats of medium to fill grain and build up a good coat.
> Then smooth with 400 & 600 SP (rarely 320 will be needed because I put some on too heavy and it got rough on me)
> Finally polish through all the MM grades via wet-sanding with each.


 
Ditto - exxcept I have not done any wet sanding yet -gonna give that a try tho


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## Monty (Jan 26, 2012)

PenMan1 said:


> Lenny said:
> 
> 
> > I usually use 3 coats or so of thin and then switch to medium. Depending on the pen, I will do 6 to 15 (or more) coats of medium. Then sand through all grades of MM and polish with Novus 2 and finally Meguiars PlastX.
> ...


Same here except I don't use Novus.


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## Justturnin (Jan 26, 2012)

I dont count. I use Thin until it stops sucking it in then switch to Medium. I use measurments to tell me when to stop. When turning the blank I turn/sand it to .1mm below the actual component part not the bushing, I use some cheapo Digital Calipers from HF. I build back up w/ CA to .1-.15mm thicker than the part. I wet sand w/ 600 to about .08-.09mm (This will/should have taken all the ridges out) then switch to MM, the MM typically will bring it to .02-.03mm and you cant see or feel that. I MM to 12000 and thats it. I have done tests and can not see a benefit of using Polish over MM and I prefer to use MM. That is my preference and as you go you will develop your own prefrence. As long as the finished product is what you are looking for there is no wrong way to do it.


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## jd99 (Jan 26, 2012)

Thanks Guys, I've been expermenting with a couple of ways and wasn't sure which was right (if there is a right way )

Lately Ive been doing a couple - three coats of thin then use medium to build up, then wet sand to 2500, and wet MM to the finest one (33,000 I think) then Novus 3, through 1. Is Meguiars PlastX better then Novus? I use the Novus because I had it in the shop.

Thanks
Danny


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## Lenny (Jan 26, 2012)

jd99 said:


> Thanks Guys, I've been expermenting with a couple of ways and wasn't sure which was right (if there is a right way )
> 
> Lately Ive been doing a couple - three coats of thin then use medium to build up, then wet sand to 2500, and wet MM to the finest one (33,000 I think) then Novus 3, through 1. Is Meguiars PlastX better then Novus? I use the Novus because I had it in the shop.
> 
> ...


 
I wouldn't say it's neccessarily better .... but it's available almost everywhere including my local Auto parts dealer and WallyWorld.


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## ctubbs (Jan 26, 2012)

jd99 said:


> Thanks Guys, I've been expermenting with a couple of ways and wasn't sure which was right (if there is a right way )
> 
> Lately Ive been doing a couple - three coats of thin then use medium to build up, then wet sand to 2500, and wet MM to the finest one (33,000 I think) then Novus 3, through 1. Is Meguiars PlastX better then Novus? I use the Novus because I had it in the shop.
> 
> ...



The only right way is the one that works for you and your shop.  Everyone has to figure that out for themselves.:frown:  I have stolen a piece here and another there.  Most of the time, it works for me.  Sometimes I need to stand on the right foot wearing a yellow sock on the left foot, but at other times the sock has to be on the right one.  The required chant must be whispered to the East or yelled straight up. :biggrin: Things change and must be accounted for.  As always, YMMV
Charles


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## ed4copies (Jan 26, 2012)

To add to the confusion, NOT ALL CA is the same.  One manufacturer's Thick CA (monty's) is the same as many medium CA's I used before I found Monty!!  

So, "thick" can mean different things to different people.


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## jd99 (Jan 26, 2012)

ctubbs said:


> The only right way is the one that works for you and your shop. Everyone has to figure that out for themselves.:frown: I have stolen a piece here and another there. Most of the time, it works for me. Sometimes I need to stand on the right foot wearing a yellow sock on the left foot, but at other times the sock has to be on the right one. The required chant must be whispered to the East or yelled straight up. :biggrin: Things change and must be accounted for. As always, YMMV
> Charles


Crap!!! Now I gotta get yellow socks, every time I turn around I gott get something. :wink:


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## ed4copies (Jan 26, 2012)

jd99 said:


> ctubbs said:
> 
> 
> > The only right way is the one that works for you and your shop. Everyone has to figure that out for themselves.:frown: I have stolen a piece here and another there. Most of the time, it works for me. Sometimes I need to stand on the right foot wearing a yellow sock on the left foot, but at other times the sock has to be on the right one. The required chant must be whispered to the East or yelled straight up. :biggrin: Things change and must be accounted for. As always, YMMV
> ...



I don't think I would bother---that was the JANUARY color!!  Better wait until someone announces the color for February!!


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## leehljp (Jan 26, 2012)

Justturnin said:


> I dont count. I use Thin until it stops sucking it in then switch to Medium. I use measurments to tell me when to stop. When turning the blank I turn/sand it to .1mm below the actual component part not the bushing, I use some cheapo Digital Calipers from HF. I build back up w/ CA to .1-.15mm thicker than the part. I wet sand w/ 600 to about .08-.09mm (This will/should have taken all the ridges out) then switch to MM, the MM typically will bring it to .02-.03mm and you cant see or feel that. I MM to 12000 and thats it. I have done tests and can not see a benefit of using Polish over MM and I prefer to use MM. That is my preference and as you go you will develop your own prefrence. As long as the finished product is what you are looking for there is no wrong way to do it.



Chris,

You bring up a great point that new people miss and don't see a need for early on. But it would be great if they would do as you do. I turned my blanks down to about .005 or .006 smaller than the fittings and build up, starting with thin for two or three as noted in the first post. And medium to build up to about +.003 or +.004 and then sand down to around .001 and round over with the 8000/12000 MM.

Generally for me that is around 4 to 6 coats of medium. But sizing by using calipers and measuring that against the matching pen parts is far superior to judging by bushing size. It doesn't take hardly any more time to use the calipers for sizing during the finishing process of CA. Adding finish and sizing are all in it together - for a great pen.


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## jd99 (Jan 27, 2012)

*Finishing Socks*

Here ya go i found these will these cover me for multiple months. :biggrin:


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## Kaaawaz28 (Jan 27, 2012)

I am so glad I am on this site,alot of good info out there.I sell at a local farmers market to locals and tourists and do pretty good.I had a couple local pen turners who have been doing this for awhile look at my finish and wonder how I got it so nice.They told me their process and I told them mine.They came over to my house with a couple other pen turners visiting from the mainland and I showed them. I use medium ca about 3-4 coats as a sealer then sand up to 1500 dry sand in both directions,then I hang all my pens and spray with a laquer finish about 1 coat every 5 minutes,4-5 times. Then in about an hour I sand 400,600,1500 then medium rogue buff then fine.
I havent tried their way yet,but am going over to his house to learn.This is just how I learned on my own,Taking ideas from all the other things I make


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