# glass finish



## steamshovel (Dec 18, 2013)

_ have a family member who wants a glass like high gloss finish on wood. What finish do I need?_

_Thanks in advance_

_Preston_


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## PenTurnerfromMaine (Dec 18, 2013)

CA or acrylic, micromeshed and polished will give those results.


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## steve worcester (Dec 22, 2013)

CA finish properly applied would give much better results than the alternatives.


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## robutacion (Dec 22, 2013)

steve worcester said:


> CA finish properly applied would give much better results than the alternatives.



Yes, I agree...!

If you are not familiar with this type finish, lets us know, and you will get a train full of different ways to do it, to achieve pretty much the same results (exceptions do apply...!):wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George


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## belleman (Dec 23, 2013)

*several ways to apply CA finish*

There is a nice video at sawmillcreek that shows a combination applying boiled linseed oil and CA layers to finish.  Other views are to apply layers of CA and then sand through the grits to include micromesh and then apply a final plastic polish.


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## StuartCovey (Dec 23, 2013)

steve worcester said:


> CA finish properly applied would give much better results than the alternatives.



CA will give the best.


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## bgio13 (Dec 23, 2013)

Check out some of the work by Les Elm. He has a tutorial on this forum about dipping in polyurethane. For those that are CA challenged you might want to check this out as the finish on the pens done by Les are truly stunning. Hope this helps,

Bill


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## Leatherman1998 (Dec 23, 2013)

Search Capt Eddie on YouTube and look for the videos on CA finishing on a large piece. He did a good job of explaining the process of using that finish.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 3 using Forum Runner


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## Quality Pen (Feb 28, 2014)

bgio13 said:


> Check out some of the work by Les Elm. He has a tutorial on this forum about dipping in polyurethane. For those that are CA challenged you might want to check this out as the finish on the pens done by Les are truly stunning. Hope this helps,
> 
> Bill



I've never heard of this, but being the total amateur that I am I have thought about why nobody uses polyurethane for finishing the wood.

Is there any specific reason?

For what it's worth, I found this thread because I'm searching for help trying to get that high gloss truly glass finish. I get a nice finish, to be sure, but I'm aiming for glass and tried thin, thick, and both CA glues.


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## kovalcik (Feb 28, 2014)

Quality Pen; said:
			
		

> I've never heard of this, but being the total amateur that I am I have thought about why nobody uses polyurethane for finishing the wood.
> 
> Is there any specific reason?
> 
> For what it's worth, I found this thread because I'm searching for help trying to get that high gloss truly glass finish. I get a nice finish, to be sure, but I'm aiming for glass and tried thin, thick, and both CA glues.


 

I think the main reason is time. With poly, you are looking at hours/days to finish a pen as opposed to minutes with a CA finish. 

Kep practicing with your CA finish. It takes a while to get it right. Don't be afraid to vary your method to suit. I doubt you will ifnd two turners who do a CA finish exactly thesame way. IMO it is definitely the way to go for that glass smooth finish.


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## Charlie69 (Feb 28, 2014)

l[/quote]
I've never heard of this, but being the total amateur that I am I have  thought about why nobody uses polyurethane for finishing the wood.
[/quote]


kovalcik said:


> I think the main reason is time. With poly, you are looking at  hours/days to finish a pen as opposed to minutes with a CA finish.



I agree with the time issue.   Dipped Oil based poly  gives a finish that is out of this world but it takes a couple of days  to complete the process.   When I finish a pen with poly   I plug up the ends of the pen tubes with cork  and attach one end to a line that is on a old fly reel and use a simple  pulley system to submerse and draw the tube out of the poly.   Slowly  .   One click of the fly reel every 5 seconds.  The tube with corked ends will float in the poly so I fill it with lead sinkers to sink it (vertically).   After the wood is  dipped I pull out the corks and let the tubes sit in a home made drying  cabinet at 84 deg for a 3-4 hours.   The drying cabinet speeds up the  dry time and prevents any dust from fouling the poly before it's tack  free. No sanding involved so... there isn't a hint of sanding swirls in the finish.   Nice.

I've also used 2k auto clear coat on wood pens but the  mixing and respirator (necessary) made it too much of a hassle;  nice  finish though.


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## Quality Pen (Feb 28, 2014)

Charlie69 said:


> l


I've never heard of this, but being the total amateur that I am I have  thought about why nobody uses polyurethane for finishing the wood.
[/quote]


kovalcik said:


> I think the main reason is time. With poly, you are looking at  hours/days to finish a pen as opposed to minutes with a CA finish.



I agree with the time issue.   Dipped Oil based poly  gives a finish that is out of this world but it takes a couple of days  to complete the process.   When I finish a pen with poly   I plug up the ends of the pen tubes with cork  and attach one end to a line that is on a old fly reel and use a simple  pulley system to submerse and draw the tube out of the poly.   Slowly  .   One click of the fly reel every 5 seconds.  The tube with corked ends will float in the poly so I fill it with lead sinkers to sink it (vertically).   After the wood is  dipped I pull out the corks and let the tubes sit in a home made drying  cabinet at 84 deg for a 3-4 hours.   The drying cabinet speeds up the  dry time and prevents any dust from fouling the poly before it's tack  free. No sanding involved so... there isn't a hint of sanding swirls in the finish.   Nice.

I've also used 2k auto clear coat on wood pens but the  mixing and respirator (necessary) made it too much of a hassle;  nice  finish though.[/quote]

Awesome! With only 6 posts you should share more nuggets like this!

What do you do then to remove the exces poly that would have formed on the tips of the pen though?


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## lorbay (Feb 28, 2014)

Quality Pen said:


> bgio13 said:
> 
> 
> > Check out some of the work by Les Elm. He has a tutorial on this forum about dipping in polyurethane. For those that are CA challenged you might want to check this out as the finish on the pens done by Les are truly stunning. Hope this helps,
> ...


Like this. http://www.stylink.ca/photos/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2751&g2_serialNumber=1
Lin


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## Quality Pen (Feb 28, 2014)

lorbay said:


> Quality Pen said:
> 
> 
> > bgio13 said:
> ...



Assuming the actual pen is not as photoshopped as the rest of the picture then that is... in cred di ble. Would loooove to make something like that!

Just wow.


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## Charlie69 (Feb 28, 2014)

kovalcik said:


> What do you do then to remove the exces poly that would have formed on the tips of the pen though?



Coffee filters work great for dabbing up the poly on the ends of the tubes because the filters are lint free.   It's possible to not get poly on the top of the pen tube if you dip it just right in the poly.   

Btw this is a technique i borrowed from Bamboo fly rod builders who have been dipping the rods they make in varnish this way for decades.   

I like to thin the Poly with mineral spirits or turps so it leaves a nice thin coat.   Generally it takes 6-8 coats of poly for me to finish a piece of wood this way.   Fwiw a simple drying box can be made with a cardboard box and a light bulb inside to provide the heat.   Hope this helps


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## CoastalRyan (Mar 2, 2014)

CA does get the job done. However I can't stand the stuff so there are alternatives.

I used minwax spray poly on this pen. The body that is. Worked well. 

I layered it by spraying a fresh coat every hour. Approx 6 coats. Cured for 48 hours. Then I used micro mesh to sand it out and finished with a nice buff.





You can achieve a glass finish with wood turners finish as well. Its takes a little more time since you need to build the finish. Maybe 20 or so coats. 24 hours to cure, micromesh and buff.


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## steamshovel (Mar 4, 2014)

Every ones pens look great, do you wet sand with the micro mesh or dry sand? I thought about ca over tung oil, but don't know if that would work.

Preston


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## Pitoon (Mar 4, 2014)

if i had to vote....it would be on CA (buffed)

Pitoon


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## rd_ab_penman (Mar 4, 2014)

You want a "Glass" finish? 
I did the Ultra Cigar a while back using Plexiglass.

Les


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