# Tiny holes in my finish....



## picnic42 (Feb 6, 2013)

New here...  new to pen making... Heck... new to wood working!

I have looked around reading a lot of the posts... I enjoy reading them.  I have not seen any posts about my problem.  I started making pens only a few months ago... mostly did the HUT friction finishes... then experimented with CA finish and found that I liked that finish.  ( I am mostly turning OAK for now)  I am finding that after turning a nice pen and putting it all together... there are a few little tiny holes in the surface of the CA finish...!!!! (I did one coat of thin CA then two coats of medium CA as per instructions... then I used the material (not sand paper) sent in the CA finish kit to sand it down... then used the micro pads... then satin polish and then gloss polish)
The Oak is pretty porous and the holes seem to show that the CA did not fill and cover some of the pores of the wood.  I usually do not see the holes until after I polish the blank, leaving dried white polish in those holes.  I love the finish... but not those pesky holes!
Where did I go wrong?
Ralph


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## SerenityWoodWorks (Feb 6, 2013)

You will get alot of different tips..but the one that I would use is 2 coats of thin..followed by atleast 5 of med. It seems you are not using enough to fill the voids. Just my 2 cents


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## panamag8or (Feb 6, 2013)

SerenityWoodWorks said:


> You will get alot of different tips..but the one that I would use is 2 coats of thin..followed by atleast 5 of med. It seems you are not using enough to fill the voids. Just my 2 cents



This.


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## Sylvanite (Feb 7, 2013)

Open grain woods such as oak have this tendency.  The finish does not fill the grain, so you need to fill it before finishing.  On flat work, you'd normally apply a clear "sanding sealer", but there is another method works equally well on wood pen barrels.  

After you've turned the barrel to shape, while sanding with the first grit, build up a small pile of sanding dust on the sandpaper under the spinning blank and add a few drops of thin CA glue to it.  Sand back and forth gently, distributing the dust/glue slurry across the blank until it sets up (but remove the sandpaper before it attaches to the blank).  Moving to a fresh spot of sandpaper, sand the barrel back down to the previous surface.

The dust and thin CA will now have filled the grain, leaving a smooth color-matched surface.  Now you can complete the sanding regimen and apply the finish.  

I hope that helps,
Eric


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## picnic42 (Feb 7, 2013)

Sylvanite said:


> Open grain woods such as oak have this tendency.  The finish does not fill the grain, so you need to fill it before finishing.  On flat work, you'd normally apply a clear "sanding sealer", but there is another method works equally well on wood pen barrels.
> 
> After you've turned the barrel to shape, while sanding with the first grit, build up a small pile of sanding dust on the sandpaper under the spinning blank and add a few drops of thin CA glue to it.  Sand back and forth gently, distributing the dust/glue slurry across the blank until it sets up (but remove the sandpaper before it attaches to the blank).  Moving to a fresh spot of sandpaper, sand the barrel back down to the previous surface.
> 
> ...



Thanks... this helps!  I have been watching videos and reading how to do CA finishes.  I think at least one video says to blow air on the pen blank to "get rid" of the wood dust/debris.  Maybe I shouldn't????  After I am done sanding... why not leave it right in the pores????  I have been blowing it out!!!!
I will try your suggestion!  I have an order for 4 more pens today!
Thanks again!
Ralph


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## tim self (Feb 7, 2013)

All the above and a buffer to remove the powder/dust.  buff on an old mandrel w/ the bushings *diagonally*.  And if you think oak is bad, try some wenge or jara.


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## picnic42 (Feb 7, 2013)

tim self said:


> All the above and a buffer to remove the powder/dust.  buff on an old mandrel w/ the bushings *diagonally*.  And if you think oak is bad, try some wenge or jara.



Tim... thanks for your response!
Are you saying to REMOVE the sanding dust/debris from the pores before applying CA?  OR... Do you mean use a buffer to remove the white residue in the holes from the polish after finishing?

Thanks
Ralph


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