# CA dull spots



## TeeGee (Aug 30, 2016)

Hi Team,
Every now and again I am getting dull spots on my CA finish on my pens. 
Can anyone one show me where I am going wrong
Many thanx


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## jttheclockman (Aug 30, 2016)

TeeGee said:


> Hi Team,
> Every now and again I am getting dull spots on my CA finish on my pens.
> Can anyone one show me where I am going wrong
> Many thanx




Hello Trevor and welcome to the IAP where all things go round and round Speaking of round (no pun intended) this question gets batted around many times and there are a few quick answers but it will be you who must figure it out. Moisture in the wood, moisture in the air, CA is bad, CA and accelerant not used properly or incompatibly, sanding too far when polishing and your back down to the blank again and the list goes on. There are many threads started here on this topic that discusses this. May have to do some reading but there is no one reason that is definite. Here are a few. Good luck.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f28/dull-areas-ca-finish-133240/?highlight=dull+spots+CA+finish


http://www.penturners.org/forum/f28/bad-ca-finish-er-139408/?highlight=dull+spots+CA+finish



http://www.penturners.org/forum/f28/glossy-spots-my-finish-128445/?highlight=dull+spots+CA+finish


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## JimB (Aug 30, 2016)

John hit on the possible answers for you to look into. For me, each time I got dull spots it was because I sanded through the finish and exposed some wood. For me the solution was building up more coats of CA and do less aggressive sanding.


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## fumanchu314159265 (Aug 30, 2016)

I'm a newbie, but I have had subtle-to-obvious cloudy spots show up on a number of occasions and it's clearly underneath the surface.  I'm starting to believe (but may be totally wrong) that it happens when I use alcohol to clean the wood before applying the CA.  Has anyone else noticed this pattern?

--Rob

p.s.  With a recent pen I was about to strip the CA and refinish it because of some slightly cloudy patches, but when I couldn't immediately find the problem spots again my wife took it away from me and said it was plenty good for who it was for!


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## jttheclockman (Aug 30, 2016)

fumanchu314159265 said:


> I'm a newbie, but I have had subtle-to-obvious cloudy spots show up on a number of occasions and it's clearly underneath the surface.  I'm starting to believe (but may be totally wrong) that it happens when I use alcohol to clean the wood before applying the CA.  Has anyone else noticed this pattern?
> 
> --Rob
> 
> p.s.  With a recent pen I was about to strip the CA and refinish it because of some slightly cloudy patches, but when I couldn't immediately find the problem spots again my wife took it away from me and said it was plenty good for who it was for!



It is possible because alcohol has water in it and any time you add water to the mix with CA, no good things can happen. Water is your enemy in pen making. As I mentioned in my list of possible answers to the OP.


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## farmer (Aug 30, 2016)

*Finishes*

CA finish is extremely soft compared to other finish or options .
It is not as scratch resistant  as other finishes  and in some cases not as clear .

This doesn't include learning curve to know how to use it as a finish because it wasn't designed to be a wood finish .
Its toxic and  its self life is terrible.

All in all if CA finish was a harder finish then I can see it being used .
but after working with other finishes, its hard to consider ever using it again .


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## magpens (Aug 30, 2016)

TeeGee said:


> Hi Team,
> Every now and again I am getting dull spots on my CA finish on my pens.
> Can anyone one show me where I am going wrong
> Many thanx



Don't know the answer.  I've experienced the problem, but haven't for a long time.  Seems that CA mysteriously presents and retracts the problem.

But welcome to IAP, TeeGee !!!!!


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## TeeGee (Aug 31, 2016)

Wow,thanx so much team for all your suggestions.
I will try a pen without using a solvent to clean before adding CA. 
I usually apply in excess of 6-7 coats starting with the thin and then medium. 
The dull spot is never uniform all the way round but more a 4-6 mm circle. 
Another question,is there a substitute for Cactus Juice? If available,very expensive here in South Africa. 
Thanx once again Team


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## TonyL (Aug 31, 2016)

I have also seen what looks like "cured" CA separating from the barrel's lateral surfaces - producing a cloudy area toward the barrel's end. I do not know if it has to do with pressing the components together with too much force and/or with some residual CA on the opened sides/walls of the barrel.

For a while now, I have been lightly sanding the ends prior to assembly and then using magnification to ensure there is no CA on the ends - other than 1 thin, flat coat.

This has been working for me for some time now with more consistent results (Never 100% of the time).


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## budnder (Aug 31, 2016)

I fought this demon for awhile. In my case, I was doing a BLO/CA finish and I think I was using too much BLO, or perhaps the CA coat was just too thin to stick to certain spots on the blank. The issue went away when I started sealing with a coat or two of thin CA (no BLO) first before moving on to either CA/BLO or just medium CA for the subsequent coats.


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## leehljp (Aug 31, 2016)

Does it show up immediately or later?

If Later the dull spot shows up, it probably means that you sanded through the finish and with a wax finish, you put the shine on and it wore off. Spots is indicative of off center (some call it out of round, which is technically not correct.) You are wearing through in high spots. That comes from too much sanding pressure, slightly bent mandrel, dented point on the tail stock, and possibly others.

If immediately, the fellows above gave the majority of those causes. However it can be also "sanding through on high spots" caused by the things I mentioned in the above paragraph.


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## low_48 (Aug 31, 2016)

Just for the heck of it, I typed CA dull spots in the search. 196 posts came up! Might be the record?


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## Polemos213 (Sep 4, 2016)

I've found a few reasons for a dull finish with ca glue. 1. Obvious over sanding. 2. The glue breaks down over time. I've noticed if it get too old. I get dull spots and cracking. All resins break down over time. And when you open up the bottle they start oxidizing. 3. It wasnt fully cured before then next coat was applied. 4. Spraying to close or too heavy with accelerator will give it a cloudy look. 5. To heavy of a coat. Build up your coats instead.

So, I Mark the date on my Ca glue. Thin gets thrown out at 6 months. Medium at a year. 

Hope this helps.  Just a few things I have experienced.


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