# Please help me with my sanding/finishing skills



## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

Hey everyone,

I've been making pens for about a year on and off.  I have not problems turning pens casting blanks or any other aspect, but I just can't seem to get a scratch free finish on acrylics or alumilite.  I've looked at all the videos, read all the threads, tried higher lathe speeds, lower lathe speeds, starting with a higher grit, starting with a lower grit, less pressure, more pressure, and I just can't get a finish I'm happy with.  I attached a couple of photos of the pen I'm working on at the moment, it has been dry sanded starting at 320 grit to 400 to 600 to 1000 to 1500, then wet sanded from 1500 up to 3600.  I know already at this point if I keep going the scratches will certainly not come out.

Does anyone have the magic tip I'm looking for?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VERRvtUivmmKDivC3

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rzwAZcKg0CwH9oXa2


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## WriteON (Mar 25, 2018)

Start out with 150 or lower. On acrylic I use 80 for the first sanding. I feel the beginning is the most important stage.


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

WriteON said:


> Start out with 150 or lower. On acrylic I use 80 for the first sanding. I feel the beginning is the most important stage.



Thanks, I'll start over with this one and see if I get better results.


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## Ambidex (Mar 25, 2018)

I start with 220 or 300 on acrylics...that's plenty rough in my book...any stronger grit will just dig deeper gouges. It looks like you didn't laterally sand(side to side) by the pictures. After each grit I stop the lathe and sand laterally to get the radial marks out. Try to make any radial scratches disappear before moving to the next grit. I usually wet sand to 12000 and don't have problems getting a good finish.


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## flyitfast (Mar 25, 2018)

Agree with Ambidex - sanding laterally with the lathe stopped between grits with same grit will help to get rid of rings/ridges.  I always wet sand on acrylics.  This all applies to sand paper and micromesh.  Also wipe down blank between grits to remove slurry with holds the previous grit ( you are sanding with 2 grits if you leave the slurry ).
Gordon


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

flyitfast said:


> Agree with Ambidex - sanding laterally with the lathe stopped between grits with same grit will help to get rid of rings/ridges.  I always wet sand on acrylics.  This all applies to sand paper and micromesh.  Also wipe down blank between grits to remove slurry with holds the previous grit ( you are sanding with 2 grits if you leave the slurry ).
> Gordon



Thanks guys but I've done all that.  Sanded laterally, wipe off after every sanding step.

As I said I've tried harder pressures, lower pressures, the lathe at 1200 rpm, the lathe at 800 rpm, I've tried spending more time wet sanding than dry and visa versa.  

Why can't I seem to get a good finish?  There has to be something I'm doing wrong.

What RPM are you sanding at, how much pressure are you applying?

Here's starting at 120 grit(actually looks worse then before):

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LRuZWA0VR8aMDj6t2


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## magpens (Mar 25, 2018)

In my opinion, ALL "finish" sanding should be done by hand, laterally, WITH THE LATHE OFF and turning the headstock by hand ... from the first grit (180) to the last (2000).

No sanding with the lathe rotating for me ... I just cannot control the scratches.

Unless, of course, you are just doing rough shaping.


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## leehljp (Mar 25, 2018)

Chris,

Have you tried liquid polishes or polish compounds? Also, by looking at the pictures, it looks like you might be too aggressive with your chisel and sandpaper, at least that is what I see in the second picture. I have never gotten to 12000 MM (micro mesh) without it being shiny. 

Are you using CA on top, or using another finish on it? Rarely do I do a cast without adding CA on top and finishing with the CA. That is just MY preferences.

What finish ARE you using?

BTW, I rarely start out less than 400 sanding. I bring my blanks up to very smooth and shaped with my chisel before adding a finish.


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

leehljp said:


> Chris,
> 
> Have you tried liquid polishes or polish compounds? Also, by looking at the pictures, it looks like you might be too aggressive with your chisel and sandpaper, at least that is what I see in the second picture. I have never gotten to 12000 MM (micro mesh) without it being shiny.
> 
> ...



I have this polish in the shop but have not tried it yet.  I have one of the harbor freight buffers but I believe it operates at too high a speed for this?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009SPY04/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know I may be too aggressive with the sandpaper at times.  I'm frustrated and tried add more pressure medium pressure, super light pressure.  I just can't find anything that works to my satisfaction.  The photo was up to 3600 MM but I know from experience with how deep the scratches are they likely will not come out from using the remaning grits of micro mesh.  

Do you think I should try the harbor freight buffer with the polishes?  Any recommendations I'd be happy to try at this point.  

Thanks


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## gtriever (Mar 25, 2018)

Another question is, what brand of sandpaper are you using? I used to have a lot of scratch problems before changing to a good grade, in my case 3M papers.


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## JimB (Mar 25, 2018)

It looks like you have sand8ng scratches on the bushings. If you are hitting the bushings with your sanding process you will get material from your bushings into your sandpaper and micro mesh. The metal from the bushings will leave deep scratches.


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## MRDucks2 (Mar 25, 2018)

My guess, and I am new also, so learning from my mistakes, is a combo of the above. 

I use as fine a sandpaper as I can to start, sometimes that is 400 sometimes it is 240. I am now using abranet and micro mesh. Getting away from the turners packs of sandpaper  (except for some shaping) has made a world of difference for me. 

I make sure I get a uniform finish before moving on to the next grit. In the lower grits that is a uniform scratch finish, always finishing laterally. On the finer grits it means no scratches left before moving up or a uniform glare from my lighting. 

While theoretically possible, I have learned that I cannot sand out scratches from a previous grit with a finer grit. If I see ANY scratches, I will go back one or two grits and work up. 

I normally wipe between grits and clean the blank between every three grits. Most alumalite I am finding I must clean between every grit. 

Just started wet sanding the plastic blanks a couple of months ago. Amazing difference with dry sanding.  That could be more difficult on your hybrid blank (which is very cool). 

If I am struggling with tool marks I will use a sharp round nose scraper  burr up to clean it up before sanding (or re-sanding). 


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

gtriever said:


> Another question is, what brand of sandpaper are you using? I used to have a lot of scratch problems before changing to a good grade, in my case 3M papers.



I am using this stuff off Amazon.  Perhaps that is the problem?  Never considered the quality of the sandpaper before................

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZ6TG05/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

JimB said:


> It looks like you have sand8ng scratches on the bushings. If you are hitting the bushings with your sanding process you will get material from your bushings into your sandpaper and micro mesh. The metal from the bushings will leave deep scratches.



Thanks I will keep that in mind.


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## magpens (Mar 25, 2018)

Just a suggestion ... learn to post your pictures inline without the viewer having to go to a separate website .... there is a short learning curve but you will learn it quickly and it is a whole lot better both for us viewers and for you (believe it or not).


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## gimpy (Mar 25, 2018)

Below is what use.


This is what I use for stabilized wood and acrylics:  and yes, sand laterally

1. Flitz Polish (for metal, plastic and fiber glass
2. Mequiars Plastx (clear plastic cleaner and polish
3. Hut Ultra Gloss (plastic polish


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## leehljp (Mar 25, 2018)

acturbo said:


> Do you think I should try the harbor freight buffer with the polishes?  Any recommendations I'd be happy to try at this point.
> 
> Thanks



As you gain experience, you will find by reading what others do that there are a thousand ways that attain what you want, but there will be only two or three that works for you, your skills and techniques. 

By all means, try the HF buffer. I have one and haven't learned how to use it "effectively" yet. But in the last couple of days, I discovered I was using too much "polish". It doesn't take much.


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

MRDucks2 said:


> My guess, and I am new also, so learning from my mistakes, is a combo of the above.
> 
> I use as fine a sandpaper as I can to start, sometimes that is 400 sometimes it is 240. I am now using abranet and micro mesh. Getting away from the turners packs of sandpaper  (except for some shaping) has made a world of difference for me.
> 
> ...



I have some 3M polishing paper that I just ordered to try.  Maybe I'll give that a shot and see if the results differ.  I am using a round carbide bit as a final turning step and usually have some minor marks in the final product but nothing crazy.


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

leehljp said:


> acturbo said:
> 
> 
> > Do you think I should try the harbor freight buffer with the polishes?  Any recommendations I'd be happy to try at this point.
> ...



Appreciate the help.  I'm willing to try anything at this point to get a better result.


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## WriteON (Mar 25, 2018)

If that is the result of lateral sanding I’m going to say that you need to work on better chisel control. Get the large scratches before sanding. Find a chisel you are comfortable with and make light gentle  passes until the scratches are hardly visible. As for the first application of sanding try a little more pressure and keep the direction lateral.


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## MRDucks2 (Mar 25, 2018)

Frank has a valid point. It looks like you may not be sanding along the length of the pen blank enough with the lathe off before changing grits. There should be no scratches left around the pen like shown after wiping it down before moving to the next grit. 


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## acturbo (Mar 25, 2018)

MRDucks2 said:


> Frank has a valid point. It looks like you may not be sanding along the length of the pen blank enough with the lathe off before changing grits. There should be no scratches left around the pen like shown after wiping it down before moving to the next grit.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app



I took another layer off with the chisel and used the polishing paper, starting with the equivalent of 400 grit.  Not perfect but much much better.  I'm not leaning toward turning skills but something is up with either my sanding technique or the materials I'm using.  I'll keep experimenting and see what happens.  It's awfully frustrating though.  

I appreciate all the help.


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## Fred Bruche (Mar 25, 2018)

My experience from sanding/finishing CA, if the sanding grit doesn't look homogenous don't move to the next grit. Homogeneous means no valley (shinier than the rest of the blank) that would look like grooves in your case. If not homogeneous, keep sanding with the same grit until homogeneous. If it takes too long, back off and use lower number grit sanding. Speed and pressure are not really a factor in my experience.


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## TonyL (Mar 25, 2018)

Heed the advice of all of the above, you will eventually (and not in a very long time) find a process that balances the desired outcome/finish and amount of effort/expend you want to expend. Continue to observe (maybe with a light and a 10x loupe) what the finish looks like after each step.

In my experience, the best finishes have started with fewest tool marks (sharpest tools and gentlest cuts, especially as I am approaching the pre-sanded diameter). Sometimes I can start at 400, and sometimes (and I am not embarrassed to say) I hit the blank with 150 grit. I practice the process that works for me most, but not all of the time. Many on this forum in addition to my own trial and error, went a long way in helping me get to where I am today and I am no means any where close to the best of them - but I am pleased. You will get there, just as we all did. Very nice blank BTW. Happy turning.


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## gimpy (Mar 25, 2018)

Also, don’t use the same piece of sand paper over and over, the sand paper can and will make scratches as well.  Don’t be afraid of using new sand paper it’s cheap enough, plus it’ll  be lease frustrating for you


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## dogcatcher (Mar 25, 2018)

Buy a GOOD QUALITY sand paper, and use it like someone else is paying for it.  Cheap sandpaper and failure to dispose of used sandpaper when it is worn out is one of the worst things a woodworker can do.  Slow the lathe down, if you have to the speed too fast, it doesn't allow for efficient sanding, and using worn out sandpaper will burnish wood.  Use a wetting agent when sanding acrylic, most people use water, but some use auto transmission fluid.


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## WriteON (Mar 25, 2018)

For wet sanding I swear by the micro sanding pads and Kingpor wet/dry sheets. 
On wood is use the strip packs that go from 150-800


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## jttheclockman (Mar 26, 2018)

All in the tools. learn to use a skew and throw away the sandpaper. If you have to use sandpaper then wet sand always on acrylics. Start with nothing less than 600 grit. All in the tools. My opinion and have been doing it this way for over 10 years now.


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## DJBPenmaker (Mar 26, 2018)

I normally start sanding with 400 through to 1200 and use the wet and dry type, grey paper with a light touch and lathe running at 600rpm, then the micromesh grits. You should achieve a uniform, even finish before moving on. Sand laterally with the lathe off before going to the next grit and clean. After stepping through the grades I then use Plastic X as a final polish. Btw I don't wet sand at all. Lots of good advice given here, you will settle in to your own technique before you know it and then be giving others advice [emoji106]

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## leehljp (Mar 26, 2018)

In my first post on this thread, (#8) I mentioned that it looks like you are being too aggressive with the tool and sandpaper. I need to explain that a little bit. By saying "Too aggressive" I mean too much "pressure" using the sandpaper and the tool. I can see that on the bushing - the light gouges in the bushing. 

Too much pressure/agression in using is often linked to the tool not sharp enough to do what is needed so more pressure is applied.

I agree with those that mentioned starting with 400 to 600 sandpaper. If your tool is sharp like it should be, you can sneak up on the size without making gouges. There are several good methods of sharpening tools. (Or get a good carbide insert tool). A few people have two or three chisels sharpened to use during the turning of a pen so that they won't have to stop and re-sharpen. I have a board with four 3" strips of sandpaper on it with the last one being .5?micron. A couple of swipes on that and my favorite scraper tool is sharp again. 

JT mentioned that he starts at 600. That is because the tool does the work so that sandpaper doesn't have too. A SHARP tool eliminates a lot of sanding and keeps the deep sanding scratches out. 150 SP is good for flat work and large bowl work, but if one learns how to sharpen the tools and is OCD about sharp tools, that will mean less work with sandpaper, And you can start at 400, or if smooth enough - start at 600!

THAT sets the stage for getting smooth shines. 

BTW - I remember a couple of posts over the years of some castings that just would not shine - similar to satin paint. No shine there. I don't remember what the cause was but it seemed to be a particular resin problem. It can be over coated with lacquer, poly, CA to get a permanent shine.


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## Ambidex (Mar 26, 2018)

acturbo said:


> MRDucks2 said:
> 
> 
> > Frank has a valid point. It looks like you may not be sanding along the length of the pen blank enough with the lathe off before changing grits. There should be no scratches left around the pen like shown after wiping it down before moving to the next grit.
> ...



This pic looks worlds apart from the original. I believe you're getting the hang of it and when you reach the OMG moment and get a glass like finish I think you'll find it's worth the practice and frustrating moments. If I remember correctly it only took me about 100 pens and struggles through many different styles of finishing to find the process that worked for me. Multiply that by many different materials and you get the appreciation of experience and all the wonderful help and knowledge available here. Just remember to apply others knowledge in a way that works for you as there is NO one way that works for all. Have fun and post your pics!


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## WriteON (Mar 26, 2018)

TonyL said:


> Sometimes I can start at 400, and sometimes (and I am not embarrassed to say) I hit the blank with 150 grit. .



Why is it a crime? I told someone I start with 80 on certain applications and I got The Look.


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## leehljp (Mar 26, 2018)

I see two different discussions emerging and they have to do with your OP question.

1. Sandpaper
2. Finishing

Sandpaper is usually the initial stage of finishing, but "finishing" usually goes beyond the sandpaper stages. To get a scratch free finish as your OP asks, this means moving beyond basic sandpaper usage. 

OH, apologies to you on one item that I just saw: Yes the sandpaper you ordered from Amazon does cause problems. I have had that. I remember being told to ditch the black sandpapers a long time ago - but for a different reason - color on lighter woods. Still, those weren't quality sandpaper. Get some at an automotive place or speciality woodworking site.


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## nativewooder (Mar 26, 2018)

*Sanding*

My advice to anyone seeking help with sanding/finishing is:  Go to Wood Central, scroll down to Russ's Corner. Read everything that Russ wrote as far as sanding and finishing.  He was a genius.  It took me a long time to realize that his saying about "no shortcuts".  Then I had to read everything about MicroMesh sanding (wet) with mineral spirits and how to keep the MicroMesh from loading up with dust.  Practice, practice, practice!  MicroMesh is what jewelers use to polish all kinds of gems and will eliminate all scratches visible to the human eye.  When you get to that point, you will realize that you have created some beautiful work.  Practice, practice, practice!


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## acturbo (Mar 26, 2018)

Thanks for all the help everyone.  Some great tips and info here.  My first post and admittedly was not expecting so many responses.  Great community here.  I will def continue to share and gather information from you all.


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## WriteON (Mar 26, 2018)

acturbo said:


> Thanks for all the help everyone.  Some great tips and info here.  My first post and admittedly was not expecting so many responses.  Great community here.  I will def continue to share and gather information from you all.



Once again welcome aboard. You’ll work this out and will help others eventually. Just have fun and be safe.


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## MRDucks2 (Mar 26, 2018)

Keep in mind, Chris, that most of us learn something with each of these questions because of the tremendous response. There are a few who may already know everything but not many. There are some who also come across more harsh than intended because of the limits of communicating by message. 

Frank - never have figured out some of the sandpaper negativity I see from time to time. I use whatever I need to get what I want. No, not a pro but even when I find something that works well, I then shoot for consistency, then see if I can get better. 

The “Skew only” folks would surely send me to pen turning hell when I break out a 4-way rasp and use it on the lathe, but it sometimes will do just what I need. Lol. 


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## jttheclockman (Mar 26, 2018)

Lots of info being thrown around here and some I am shaking my head at like the starting with 80 grit paper and 150 grit paper. Man if any pen needs to start at those grits there is a problem with turning techniques to begin with. Unless you are using the sandpaper to turn the blank down and no other turning tools should be no need to start that rough of a grit. I don't sand flat work with 80 grit paper. 

I have a question after looking at the links provided what are we looking at??  Is that a wood with blue acrylic segmented in there??  Is that a spiral design or just biased cut segments?? That will have a different effect on what you can do and what you should do. 

Chris the last photo you shown that you said you are getting better is showing me another problem developing and that is contamination of the blue in the wood grain. Is this on purpose??  I am not getting this blank. People are giving you answers to something totally different than what you are showing. We need to take a step back here. 

Here is an example of acrylic and wood being used together. No way was I sanding and polishing the acrylic and then sealing and CA the wood and then polish out again.


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## PenPal (Mar 26, 2018)

I use my skew on the flat that I regard as giving at least or better than 400 grit then go to 600 and more. Triple EEE is a wonderful product on acrylic.

Peter.


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## acturbo (Mar 26, 2018)

jttheclockman said:


> Lots of info being thrown around here and some I am shaking my head at like the starting with 80 grit paper and 150 grit paper. Man if any pen needs to start at those grits there is a problem with turning techniques to begin with. Unless you are using the sandpaper to turn the blank down and no other turning tools should be no need to start that rough of a grit. I don't sand flat work with 80 grit paper.
> 
> I have a question after looking at the links provided what are we looking at??  Is that a wood with blue acrylic segmented in there??  Is that a spiral design or just biased cut segments?? That will have a different effect on what you can do and what you should do.
> 
> ...



Howdy,

That is a standard wood pen blank that I drilled the middle of, spiral cut on the lathe and then cut in 2 segments and filled with GREEN resin(lol).  The contamination was not intentional but it was more of an experiment so I just decided to finish.  It was cast with a slim line tube in mold if that makes a difference.  

Thanks


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## studioseven (Mar 26, 2018)

Chris,
I remember my first acrylic blank.  I sanded the same as a wood blank up to 600 grit.  I was very disappointed with the result.  But then I was introduced to Micromesh.  What a difference.  I start sanding with a good quality sandpaper.  I use Mirka, expensive but well worth it, sanding up to 600 grit.  I then switch to Micromesh.  Micromesh starts at 1500 and goes all the way to 12000.  After the last grit I apply a coat of hut ultra gloss.  What a difference.  I hope there is something here you can use and can't wait to see your finished blanks.

Seven


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## Edgar (Mar 26, 2018)

For “acrylics” I start at 400 or 600 with Abranet mesh, then go to micro mesh 1500-12000.
I only wet sand, no dry sanding on plastics. 

I turn, sand & polish all at the same speed - about 2200-2500. I use carbide tools & as I get close to final size, I cant the blade about 30 deg & take extremely light cuts. If I do that part right, I can sometimes start sanding at 1500 or 1800.


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## MRDucks2 (Mar 26, 2018)

My first “acrylic” blanks were inlace acrylester. Glad I was wearing a face shield for the first blank. But once I learned how to turn them, I was very disappointed when I started turning other cast blanks. Didn’t know what happened but couldn’t get that same shine and sparkle. Finally figured it out. Have yet to turn a hybrid so I am listening. 


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## jttheclockman (Mar 26, 2018)

acturbo said:


> jttheclockman said:
> 
> 
> > Lots of info being thrown around here and some I am shaking my head at like the starting with 80 grit paper and 150 grit paper. Man if any pen needs to start at those grits there is a problem with turning techniques to begin with. Unless you are using the sandpaper to turn the blank down and no other turning tools should be no need to start that rough of a grit. I don't sand flat work with 80 grit paper.
> ...



OK Chris so this is basically a hybrid. The thing is you have mixed 2 materials and they are treated differently when finishing or they can be. As you sand the blue acrylic you are now contaminating the deep grain of the wood used, as you can see from your photos. It is going to be a bear to get that blue dust out of that grain because now if you use a wire brush you again will add scratches to the acrylic. You can sand the blank and get most scratches out of the acrylic which you seemed to do but as I mentioned you created another problem. But also there is a second problem and not sure if you are noticing it yet. But with the 2 different materials they sand at different rates. In other words the acrylic can be harder than the soft wood. This leaves ridges next to the acrylic. As you sand the wood it pulls sanding wood dust onto the acrylic this can cause the scratches you are seeing. Will explain below haw to combat this.

I will say this again with all sincerity and I showed you one of my examples, that the answer to your problem is not sanding but doing the tool work needed to get a finished look without tool marks or sanding scratches and the best tool that I know of is a skew. People here can scoff at this but it is the most important tool in the turning bag of tricks. Along came carbide tools and they too can now do the same and get you the finish you are after. You eliminate the sanding dust in the wood and the scratches in the acrylic.

Now if you do not want to listen to me and that is fine at least I will give you another alternative that may help somewhat. You need to take another layer off the blank and from the view of the profile you have plenty to work with. Do not worry about taking too much off the very ends because you can always build that up. After you get the blank back down to pristine looking (even if it has scratches in the acrylic) you now need to seal the wood. This is best done with thin CA. A few coats will do for now but maybe needed to reapply after you start sanding. You want to keep the grain solid so that it easier to clean out later by either air or just a wipe down. 

Now when you go to sand do not sand with the sandpaper in your fingers. Wrap it around a block of wood so that the sandpaper is flat at all times in relation to the blank. I know you have many round curves but make the block small enough to accommodate the curves. Start with no less than 400 grit paper and as mentioned above paper quality does matter. Poor quality paper the micro particles break off and become trapped under the paper. Good quality paper the particles break but a sharp edge on the sanding particles is always there. keep watching the wood portion and if you see the grain filling make sure you can wipe off the dust or blow it off. If it gets to the point you can not you need to add more thin CA. Try to get the acrylic to no scratch stage as quick as you can with the least amount of sanding. 

Then top coat with your normal finish technique. I like 2 to 3 coats thin and then 3 coats med. Now you are at the point where the entire blank is equal and you get scratches out as normal. 

There is alot more work to a blank like this tha a full acrylic or full wood blank.Until you get comfortable with tools and your technique improves you will go through this. 

This is my opinion and I have shared my knowledge as to the work around. Others can have different  methods so do what you may with this. Hopefully there is something in here that can help you. good luck.


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## MRDucks2 (Mar 26, 2018)

Great write up, John. Thanks. 


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## leehljp (Mar 26, 2018)

ALL of what JohnT wrote is very noteworthy. And this warrants repeating, if you don't mind John:


> "*the answer to your problem is not sanding but doing the tool work needed to get a finished look without tool marks or sanding scratches and the best tool that I know of is a skew. People here can scoff at this but it is the most important tool in the turning bag of tricks. Along came carbide tools and they too can now do the same and get you the finish you are after. You eliminate the sanding dust in the wood and the scratches in the acrylic.*



It seems like many people cannot fathom that the tool can smooth wood better than sandpaper, but it can. AND do it without contaminating segmented sections of different kinds or colors.

I learned the technique that John mentioned quite by accident some years ago when I needed to smooth a segmented blank that had silver solder pieces in the wood. Sandpaper smeared the solder like it was pencil lead. I decided to see how sharp I could get my HSS scraper tool (before carbide inserts came along). When I turned the blank with silver solder dots in it, - it came out perfect, Very smooth, not needing ANY sanding and ready for a finish to be applied.

Turned but not sanded:
http://www.penturners.org/photos/images/940/1_3wd_4seg.jpg

Finished; Finish was sanded with MM but the blank was not touched with sandpaper.
IAP Home - Photos - 30 Pieces of Silver

The wood/metal blank was a product of the tool, not sandpaper.

One more suggestion, and I often say this to those trying to achieve something new: Practice, practice practice. Don't try to make a pen, try to perfect a certain aspect until it can be repeated with confidence, then move on to another part. Then you will be proud of the pens you make. I had trouble getting a good CA finish consistently. One day about 2 months after starting, I got some cheap pine 2x4 cut off and made about a dozen blanks. I didn't try to make a pen, but focused on turning to size and then finishing. I spent several hours just finishing. Even after that I still learned much more but i learned the basics and how to repeat it. Best practice I ever did.


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## acturbo (Mar 27, 2018)

leehljp said:


> ALL of what JohnT wrote is very noteworthy. And this warrants repeating, if you don't mind John:
> 
> 
> > "*the answer to your problem is not sanding but doing the tool work needed to get a finished look without tool marks or sanding scratches and the best tool that I know of is a skew. People here can scoff at this but it is the most important tool in the turning bag of tricks. Along came carbide tools and they too can now do the same and get you the finish you are after. You eliminate the sanding dust in the wood and the scratches in the acrylic.*
> ...



Thanks again for the help guys.  I spent all night tonight just playing with my skews.  I tried a few pieces of scrap wood and tried for the smoothest finish I could get.  After that I grabbed one half of a blank that I blew out the other end of and just kept messing it up and making it smooth again.  Think I did pretty good all things considered.  This is how it looked when I was done with it.  Keep in mid I was only trying for a smooth finish and didn't care about shaping or any other aspect.


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## rd_ab_penman (Mar 28, 2018)

To get a 40X Loupe scratch free finish I sand radially then laterally with 400 grit only. Clean with a tack cloth. Buff radially then laterally with Oil Free Ultra Fine Steel Wool. Clean with tack cloth. Polish with Hut Ultra Gloss.


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## Dieseldoc (Mar 28, 2018)

acturbo said:


> leehljp said:
> 
> 
> > ALL of what JohnT wrote is very noteworthy. And this warrants repeating, if you don't mind John:
> ...



Without a doubt using the skew will give you the best finish, however learning how to use the skew correctly can be a challenge to get super smooth cuts.
Check out the master of the Skew ,Alan Lacer who has several you tube item to review from use ,to how to sharpen.
I can tell you if you can master the skew  most of your finish problems will be gone.

cheers
Charlie


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## jttheclockman (Mar 28, 2018)

Sorry but what Charlie is saying is just so true. It is really not that hard. We practice to become perfect in all aspects of making a pen so why not do the same with the very tool that can make us better in those other aspects too. Good luck and happy turning.


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## Bart_phoenix (Mar 28, 2018)

I have only been turning for about a year.  Watched another turner sand every other grit the pen length wise while turning the spindle by hand to remove the scratches. He also told me to not apply as much pressure on the higher grit. This method seems to take care of those little lines for me.


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## wouldentu2? (Mar 28, 2018)

Which grit you start with depends on how smooth it is after  turning. I usually don't start lower than 400 and use the paper to work towards a shine and not to make up for less than best turning.


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## jttheclockman (Mar 29, 2018)

wouldentu2? said:


> Which grit you start with depends on how smooth it is after  turning. I usually don't start lower than 400 and use the paper to work towards a shine and not to make up for less than best turning.



Like this line. Spot on.


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