# Best paper towel for CA finish



## tomovacs (Apr 19, 2016)

Hi Guys
Can anyone tell me the best sort of paper towel to use for a CA finish, I think I have used every make of white paper towel and keep getting the little flects of white in the CA, I have read here some where that blue workshop towel is the best, I have seen SCOT BLUE WORK SHOP TOWEL sold in halfords and notice its make in USA, any one know if this will be any good.
Thanks guys any help will be most welcome.
Tomovacs


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## jttheclockman (Apr 19, 2016)

www.penturners.org/forum/f28/ca-finish-craft-foam-applicator-133651/


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## jrecord (Apr 19, 2016)

I use polyethylene gloves and polyethylene batting. CA does not react at all to polyethylene. That is what they use for CA bottles. 
I cut a small piece of the batting and use it to apply the CA. See http://youtu.be/j6I6lQM1yls for a description of using the batting.


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## robertkulp (Apr 19, 2016)

I get the Scott Box of Rags from Sam's Club. I cut them into strips and fold them over to make a pad for application. It works very well for me.


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## Drewboy22 (Apr 19, 2016)

I use the Scott's Shop Towels.  And they work great!!


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## Arbetlam (Apr 19, 2016)

I use the craft foam, it seems to leave fewer ridges for me.


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## TonyW (Apr 19, 2016)

I recently tried the 20 coats of thin CA method as used by David from Timberbits in his YouTube video, with a fresh small piece of towelling per coat. Actually it was the two ends of 10 pieces for 20 fresh ends but close enough. This was with a light spray of activator between coats btw. I used a roll of blue towelling that I bought somewhere here in the UK, probably either Aldi or B&M, and the only problem I had was on one coat where instead of a single rub in each direction I tried two or three and the paper stuck, and so had to sand back down to virtually bare wood. It was only either the third or fourth coat I'd ever applied like this so part of the learning curve. I started again and did the whole 20 coats without mishap, left the CA to sure overnight and then wet sanded with MM to a flawless glass like finish.

Tony Wells, in Leeds.

PS, I used the thin watery CA from PoundWorld, three small 10gm plastic bottles on a card for £1, and as I said above, a flawless finish. I suspect that being so thin helped as it did spread very easily and thus had less chance to grab the paper.


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## TonyW (Apr 19, 2016)

*PPS*

PPS, I remember the blue towelling only being £1 for a jumbo roll, though it is quite thin. I therefore probably bought it from either B&M or one of the Pound shops, maybe PoundLand. It is quite smooth with less fuzz than supermarket kitchen towelling.


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## Dalecamino (Apr 19, 2016)

The BACK side of a Bounty Select-a-Size folded three times, gives you about a 1" wide padded strip. You can get 6 applications with each side. :wink:


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## farmer (Apr 19, 2016)

*Paper towel*

My ( theory ) or thought is that white paper towels ( help ) activate the CA faster.

I use the Blue Scott paper towels...


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## jcm71 (Apr 19, 2016)

Nitrile gloves(non-powdered).  Cut a finger off and put it on your forefinger. Works great.


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## rudya7 (Apr 19, 2016)

I use a small square, cut from a white cotton t-shirt, folded 2 or 3 times. With some woods, like Cocobolo, The CA reacts with the cotton and gets hot, sometimes hot enough to smoke, within 10 seconds or so of application. This forces me to move quickly and not over apply the CA. Never throw the small rag soaked with CA in the trash, it's a fire hazard. I use those small metal magnetic bowls that they give away at HF to hold the rag until its safe to dispose of.


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## Herb G (Apr 19, 2016)

You guys gotta remember, he's in the UK, not USA.
They have different stuff over there.


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## Hawkdave (Apr 20, 2016)

As ridiculous as this sounds, it really does work. I use the blow your nose on the tissue to see if it is suitable for CA application.
If you blow your nose on any tissue and it leaves white bits around your nose, then it is not suitable for CA finishing. Any tissue that passes the 'blow your nose test' makes for a suitable tissue for CA finishing.

No funny quips will be entered into. :biggrin:

Dave.


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## JimB (Apr 20, 2016)

I find using scissors to cut the paper towel rather than just ripping it apart reduces the little floating fibers a lot.


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## JimB (Apr 20, 2016)

Hawkdave said:


> As ridiculous as this sounds, it really does work. I use the blow your nose on the tissue to see if it is suitable for CA application.
> If you blow your nose on any tissue and it leaves white bits around your nose, then it is not suitable for CA finishing. Any tissue that passes the 'blow your nose test' makes for a suitable tissue for CA finishing.
> 
> No funny quips will be entered into. :biggrin:
> ...



I hope you start with a fresh tissue when doing the ca finish


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## Edgar (Apr 20, 2016)

I do exactly what Chuck (dalecamino) does & I pretty much arrived at that approach by trial & error. 

I experimented with a number of CA application techniques - craft foam, plastic baggies & both sides of all kinds of blue & white towels - the back side of white Bounty select-a-size towels is what works best for me. As you can see though, there are a number of possibilities and each has its proponents. My recommendation is to try a few techniques & see what works best for you.


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## farmer (Apr 20, 2016)

*CA*

I  used CA and lighter fluid on my last project .
The first 4 or 5 coats ,
then just medium CA blue paper towel


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## Hawkdave (Apr 20, 2016)

JimB said:


> Hawkdave said:
> 
> 
> > As ridiculous as this sounds, it really does work. I use the blow your nose on the tissue to see if it is suitable for CA application.
> ...




I knew I would get at least one.:biggrin:

Once you have done the test, you can use that tissue brand all the time.

Jim, it could be worse than sticking boogers to your pen, if you blew your nose on it after applying the CA, then you are in real trouble.:frown:

Dave.


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## efrulla (Apr 20, 2016)

I must be terribly lucky or terribly skilled (leaning toward lucky).  I use Bounty select a size but I never tear them.  I always cut them with a pair of EMS shears.  I have yet to get any of the paper towels into the CA


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## Lucky2 (Apr 20, 2016)

All I've ever used, is the blue shop towels that you can get at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure of the brand, that's why I mentioned where I bought it.
Len


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## edman2 (Apr 20, 2016)

What?? 21 responses and no one stood up for Viva!  Where are all the old timers that remember the paper towel wars of years past?  lol  Makes me feel white headed!:biggrin:


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## jttheclockman (Apr 20, 2016)

edman2 said:


> What?? 21 responses and no one stood up for Viva!  Where are all the old timers that remember the paper towel wars of years past?  lol  Makes me feel white headed!:biggrin:


 
From one of the old timers:

I use Viva for polishing. I also use walmart blue shop towels found in the auto dept. for CA and cut with scissors in 1" strips. Fold over after each coat. Could not be any simpler. I use Satellite City Hot Stuff CA. To me the best CA on the market. I apply 2 to 3 coats of thin CA. Followed by 5 to 6 coats of med CA. I wet sand with MM and then I polish with Micro-Gloss and top coat with Micro-Finish. Have been doing this for over 10 years and have no failures and no scratches and no complaints. 

How is that for summing things up. Will have to bookmark this so every time the question comes up I can refer back to it. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## leehljp (Apr 20, 2016)

edman2 said:


> What?? 21 responses and no one stood up for Viva!  Where are all the old timers that remember the paper towel wars of years past?  lol  Makes me feel white headed!:biggrin:



Wow Freddie! I just found email from you going back to 2007. 

I remember the Viva and other blue towel wars!


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## tomovacs (Apr 21, 2016)

Guys thanks very much for your replies, tried the scott blue towel last night perfect, will never use anything else.
Many thanks
Tomovacs


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## lyonsacc (Apr 21, 2016)

Apparently I follow what dalecamino and edohmann do (Bounty select a sheet).  

And I have just been reeducated as to why . . . 

I've only been able to make 10 or so pens in the past year due to one reason or another.  So I have been using the same roll of paper towels since 2014.  That being said, I have a specially requested pen that NEEDS to be finished by this coming Wednesday.  I got back in the shop last week to put a finish on this pen and couldn't find my paper towels, so I went and grabbed a roll from upstairs.  I put on the CA finish and noticed that the surface was much rougher than usual and didn't look right.  Tried to micromesh the finish to a nice shine and had little holes all the way back to the blank. So I had to sand it back down and restart the finish.  Turns out my wife switched brands sometime last year.  I made a special trip to the store yesterday to pick up 2 rolls of Bounty.


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## ladycop322 (Apr 21, 2016)

Blue Shop Towels...you can find them at auto parts stores or Costco....


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## its_virgil (Apr 21, 2016)

The paper towel wars of years past was mostly Viva vs Bounty.
The truth is Bounty ROCKS!!
Do a good turn daily!
Don


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## TonyW (Apr 22, 2016)

Just in case you can't find the blue Scott Towels again, it was Morrisons' 'Mighty Giant' All Purpose Wiper that I used, although Poundland also sell something similar called 'Moppit'. The Morrisons in particular is heavily rolled before winding onto the roll, and so is quite bit-free.

Tony Wells.


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## Dalecamino (Apr 22, 2016)

I think that war was still raging when I first joined IAP or, was winding down. I honestly don't recall for sure. I remember watching a CA finish video in which the instructor said he uses strips of batting material with masking tape wrapped around one end. So, I go driving around town looking for some batting material :redface:. Ended up finding some at a fabric store 15 miles from my house. :laugh: I spent some time making up some of these handy strips and, went thru all of them pretty quickly. They worked ok. When I was reading about the different posts about applying CA, I discovered some were using Viva, some were using the Blue towels and, some were using Bounty. Bounty?? I have 12 rolls of that stuff in my pantry :biggrin: Let's try it out!!:wink: 

I have no reason to try anything else. Thanks Don! :wink:


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## Curly (Apr 22, 2016)

Dalecamino said:


> Bounty?? I have 12 rolls of that stuff in my pantry :biggrin: Let's try it out!!:wink:
> 
> I have no reason to try anything else. Thanks Don! :wink:



Pink towels? :wink:


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## D.Oliver (Apr 22, 2016)

I'm team "Bounty", though I've used the Brawny paper towels with the lumberjack on them too and have gotten good results.  They might only work on wood pens though..........


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## Dalecamino (Apr 22, 2016)

Curly said:


> Dalecamino said:
> 
> 
> > Bounty?? I have 12 rolls of that stuff in my pantry :biggrin: Let's try it out!!:wink:
> ...


 No...that goes underneath the blank :tongue:



D.Oliver said:


> I'm team "Bounty", though I've used the Brawny paper towels with the lumberjack on them too and have gotten good results.


 Brawny smellin' :biggrin:


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## TonyW (Apr 24, 2016)

This link is to a video by Cap'n Castellin, where he uses CA to finish a bowl! Of note is that he uses WHITE paper towelling!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed4H3eBzxQo
Of more import though is that like the Timberbits video he just gives a single wipe with thin CA, building up the coats until he gets the finish he wants. I've used the Timberbits method, all 20 coats of thin CA, and used a single left to right to left wipe, just using the paper towelling to spread the CA evenly for each coat, not trying to burnish it until the end, so that the CA doesn't get chance to be heated by the friction of the towel and so start to grab it.

Morrison's blue towelling is just as effective as the Scott towelling btw, and only £2.44 for a "Giant" roll btw!

TonyW


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## FourKingsThingsLLC (Jan 31, 2019)

tomovacs said:


> Hi Guys
> Can anyone tell me the best sort of paper towel to use for a CA finish, I think I have used every make of white paper towel and keep getting the little flects of white in the CA, I have read here some where that blue workshop towel is the best, I have seen SCOT BLUE WORK SHOP TOWEL sold in halfords and notice its make in USA, any one know if this will be any good.
> Thanks guys any help will be most welcome.
> Tomovacs


I had a great discussion about this last night with the folks from Starbond. They are sending me a bottle of their CA to try out, as I have been using CA from both Penn State Industries and Craft USA. I first started trying out CA using shop cloth and paper towels, as I had sen videos show. However, I have found greater success and less frustration using the little baggies that the pen parts come in. Those tiny little baggies are made of polyethylene, just like Ziploc bags are (which you can also use, and I have - sandwich bags are small and easy to either manipulate or cut down to smaller pieces). I simply use the food service polyethylene gloves to protect my hands from excess, then slip the little baggie over my finger and drip the CA either directly onto the wood or directly onto the baggie and use light pressure to spread the CA across the surface evenly. Hope that helps.


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## TonyL (Jan 31, 2019)

Whatever my wife buys (on sale) or I "stick" in my auto dispenser. I cannot discern a difference, but others can. If I was getting lint, I would change brands. Is it possible that you are allowing the pt to make contact with the CA too long and the CA is starting to cure?


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## Woodchipper (Jan 31, 2019)

I use whatever is on sale at Aldi's or Food City. I have used two or three brands and don't see any difference. I use the half sheets, cut it in half, fold it into thirds and put CA on each corner. Four corners= four coats. That way I can count the coats without taking off my shoes. I marked the hex nut on the mandrel with a Sharpie- had a habit of manually turning the blank too many times and getting a streaked coat. Two turns and I'm done. Works for me. If you want a lint-free paper, use coffee filters. Used them for custom fishing rods. Oh yes, I use HF nitrile gloves.


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## jttheclockman (Jan 31, 2019)

An old thread revived. But the results are the same. Just methods that work for you. Not that they are right or wrong but work for you. I still use the blue shop towels and it works for me and have done a few pens using this. Glad you found something that works for you. Good luck and see you in the next thread where you have a problem getting a good CA finish. We all been there and done that so do not forget to wear those yellow socks.:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## Sataro (Jan 31, 2019)

Scott’s blue paper towels for me. I must be lazy though. I read these different methods of cutting the paper towels into squares. I just fold the sheet till it is about one inch wide strip & then I can get about 8-10 coats of thin ca before I get to the end of the paper strip.


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## Dehn0045 (Jan 31, 2019)

I was going to try the craft foam, but didn't really know what I was looking for and ended up getting open cell polyurethane foam sheets.  I tried it and really like it.  The open cell does soak up a little CA, but not near as much as paper towels.  I like to use thin CA, the foam doesn't react and really increases my working time.  I cut in 1" x 1" x 1/4" squares and get 4 applications out of each square.  I was going to try craft foam, but like this stuff so much I don't see a reason to try anything else.

https://www.hobbylobby.com/Fabric-S...llow-Forms/Poly-Foam-Pads---12"-x-12"/p/36735


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## EdM (Feb 9, 2019)

I'm very new to CA finishing, but have been having reasonably good results with both the white raggs and the blue shop paper towels. 

I remember hearing in someone's finishing youtube that the cellulose in some paper towels causes the CA to cure faster than what is desirable for our applications.

I have been having some issues removing the micro radial grooves in CA, even though I've been applying micro mesh pads as directed. My wooden finishes have been coming out much better, where I use EEE and Shellawax, or HUT polishes.

Any help would be appreciated on this particular issue.  Perhaps I just need more experience working with CA ?

Ed


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## jttheclockman (Feb 9, 2019)

EdM said:


> I'm very new to CA finishing, but have been having reasonably good results with both the white raggs and the blue shop paper towels.
> 
> I remember hearing in someone's finishing youtube that the cellulose in some paper towels causes the CA to cure faster than what is desirable for our applications.
> 
> ...



The scratches that are radial are caused from sanding and sanding alone. if they were caused from the tool you would have seen them right away. What is your pattern for sanding. you should never have to start with anything less than 600 grit or I will even give you 400 grit. But less than that you need to work on your tool work. When you start sanding there are no short cuts. You need to sand both radial and lengthwise with each grit used. You need to clean the blank with clean paper towel and do this all the way up your MM routine. I always use water as a carrier to help lubricate any sanding dust. That includes using wet dry paper and never woodworkers sandpaper on acrylics.


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## leehljp (Feb 9, 2019)

EdM said:


> I'm very new to CA finishing, but have been having reasonably good results with both the white raggs and the blue shop paper towels.
> 
> I remember hearing in someone's finishing youtube that the cellulose in some paper towels causes the CA to cure faster than what is desirable for our applications.
> 
> ...




Micro radial grooves are a result of too course of sand paper and not sanding them out. This is pens, not furniture wood. There are still those that believe 280, 320 sandpaper, (which is considered mid to high grit in flat wood) - believe that these grits are good for pens. People don't inspect the wood on finished woodwork like they do on a pen. Many of your finer pen makers start with 400 or 600 as JT mentioned above.. It doesn't take too much practice to learn to do that. 

Woodworkers in flat work rarely go above 400; in pens I never start below 400. Pens and flat work are different.


You are right about PT acting like a mild curing agent on most CA. That discussion is probably somewhere  as far back in our files 12 - 14 years ago..


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## bsshog40 (Feb 9, 2019)

I have seen radial hairlines in a ca finish. Usually caused by too thick of coat of ca or rough application, ie.. too course of paper towel. If caught early, they can be polished out.


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## sbwertz (Feb 11, 2019)

I second the Bounty.


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## Shock me (Feb 11, 2019)

Out of curiosity- has anybody who has tried using the little plastic baggies that pen parts come in been unhappy and gone back to using paper towels? I switched a while back and love the fact that I use way less glue and have a better feel for how the finish is being applied.


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