# Best Way To Finish Casein



## brez (Jun 25, 2012)

I have turned a pen from casein but I'm stumped on how to finish it. What advice/experience does anybody have to offer?

Thanks
Mike


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## PenMan1 (Jun 25, 2012)

Mike:
I've made many, many pens from Casein. I've tried most of the "conventional" pen finishes on Casein. It has been my experience that finishing Casein with ANY type of "sealing finish" causes cracking issues with Casein.

Out of the hundreds of Casein pens that I've sold, with the exception of one dropped on asphalt, only the "sealed" ones have had problems that I am aware of.

Remember that Casein is a natural product (made from milk protein). My thinking is that Casein must be allowed to "breath" and sealing the pen keeps this from happening.

When I have finished tooling the pen (and my feeling is that a pen mill should NEVER be used on Casein), I wet sand beginning at 600 and go through MM (wet) to 16K, then simply polish with Brasso or Novus III, followed by Novus II and the "cleaned up" with a quick coat of Plastx.

As far as I know, I have no issues with the many pens I've prepared with this method.


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## Rangertrek (Jul 3, 2012)

Very much agree with Andy on his finish.  MM through all the girts, then Novus and PlastX.  Not made near as many as Andy, but all have hold and no issues to date with any.


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## BW Design Works (Jul 3, 2012)

I just finished my first up and did the same with the exception of the plastx. I inistead hit the buffer for a light buff.


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## watch_art (Jul 3, 2012)

Never turned it but having read about the problems it can present in pen form I wonder why anybody still makes this stuff.  They quit making pens from it a loooooong time ago and except for custom turners nobody offers it anymore.

Why casein over celluloid or ebonite or even acrylics and PR?  What makes it any better?  I know it can be ruined if exposed to moisture for too long.

Casein Pens

And this:
Conway Stewart - The official site for Britain's finest luxury pen makers


> Casein is a protein derived from milk which following a 6-9 month pressure and curing process results in a beautiful, hard, lustrous material. This material was used extensively in pen making prior to the advent of modern resins and has been re-introduced by Conway Stewart on a range of models. Casein is a natural material and as a result has some properties that must be carefully handled. Firstly casein is water soluble - it can be wiped clean with a slightly damp cloth but if left submerged for any time it will begin to dissolve. Secondly the material contains pores which can swell and shrink when subjected to changes in heat and humidity. This can affect the fittings of the bands and so is best avoided in areas of extremes of temperature or humidity.



I don't see any real benefit to casein - especially if it's just white.


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## NewLondon88 (Jul 3, 2012)

watch_art said:


> I don't see any real benefit to casein - especially if it's just white.



Just white?  Just white???
That's like ...   saying a Fig Newton is just a cookie!

Have you handled casein? It has a feel different from polymer resins. 
and it isn't usually just white. More of an ivory. Warm, creamy color.
and it's retro-chic :tongue:


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## lwalden (Jul 3, 2012)

I've made a number of casein pens, included a number that were segmented with other materials, largely tru-stone, and have used a CA finish with what I believe to have been good results. I know several that have been carried around for a couple of years now, and seemed to have held up well. Substituted a refill in for one about a month ago, and the finish still looked to be in great shape. Maybe I've just been lucky so far, knock on wood!!


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## PenMan1 (Jul 4, 2012)

Shawn, Shawn, Shawn...... YOU of all people need to make at least one Casein pen. The stuff that you may be finding when researching Casein is the stuff that athletes eat for added umph!

"Plastic" Casein (what it was called before there was really plastic) is a totally different critter. The curing process creates wavy striations that no machine, regardless of how complex, can duplicate. The feel of Casein is like riding in a one-of-a-kind vintage luxury automobile, or the "museum" smell of a canvas that was painted centuries ago. There really IS no substitute for this material.

As for the treatment of Casein, it is like a vintage wine or the love of a wonderful woman. It must be treated with respect, but not really handled with "Kidd gloves". Just the thought that i could be writing with a pen made from the same material that someone like Charles Dickens, or Elizabeth Barrett Browning or others may have used send still sends chills up my spine everytime I pick up my Casein pen.

As far as use, Casein requires no treatment other than the same respect you would give any quality instrument. Someone here, OKLAHOMAN, I think, dispelled the rumor of Casein "dissolving in water" or "staining" some time ago.

As for "tooling" Casein, the high speed equipment that we use today was not widely available in Casein's hayday. I view tooling Casein much like "restoring" a priceless antique. Use the tools and materials of the period.

As an artist, I feel that you owe it to yourself to work with this material, at least once. IT REALLY IS a Fig Newton....or perhaps even an Oreo. The worst thing that can happen is the sense of accomplishment from making a pen from something that used to be cheese....sorta.

Respectfully submitted.


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## Rangertrek (Jul 4, 2012)

Its hard to describe this material until you hold it in you hand as a finished pen.  Wonderful feel, light weight, attention getting at shows.  I have sold all of these I have made, both to men and women.  I think the ladies like the look the most.
Just try one and let us know.


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## Ranch Warment (Jul 4, 2020)

Ive actually done a few casein experiments now, so heres what I think->
If you make a blank of the stuff,   wait for it to dry,  then it just has to go back into the wet of a bowl of strong tea for another couple of days,  when it comes out itll be more see-through and more flexible.

The process sorta turns it into floppy jelly and back again,  and when it comes back it retains some of the flop... maybe the molecules are bonding in a different way?

You could machine it after the first dry, then cure with the tea, or machine it after youve dried twice,     I'm making a small hand pump with it myself, and it needs a flexible material,  I think I should be ok with this.  Yet to finish tho.


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## leehljp (Jul 4, 2020)

lwalden said:


> I've made a number of casein pens, included a number that were segmented with other materials, largely tru-stone, and have used a CA finish with what I believe to have been good results. I know several that have been carried around for a couple of years now, and seemed to have held up well. Substituted a refill in for one about a month ago, and the finish still looked to be in great shape. Maybe I've just been lucky so far, knock on wood!!



If Lyle told me that  - I would take it to the bank!   And there are some other great posts too.

O T: Good to see you again Lyle!


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