Ca and the paper towel....

[sdb777]

May seem foolish, but here goes anyway!

What paper towel are you using to apply your CA with?


Let me tell you which one not to use! VIVA by Kleenex
This stuff may hold up in the kitchen for cleaning up a mess, but you end up with all kinds of 'fibers' stuck on the blank while applying CA!

What other brands are also troublesome?





Scott (need some truckstop paper) B

[Doug B]

I had a lot of trouble with one brand I tried once, but I cannot remember which it was. I use Bounty select-a-size which allows you to tear off a half of a normal sized sheet at a time.

Not a silly question at all - there are some guys over at IAP that had heated arguments over what paper towel works best

I tried Bounty and it works for me.

[Joe Lyddon]

Feb 7, 2010 7:36:59 GMT -6 sdb777 said:

May seem foolish, but here goes anyway!

What paper towel are you using to apply your CA with?

Let me tell you which one not to use! VIVA by Kleenex
This stuff may hold up in the kitchen for cleaning up a mess, but you end up with all kinds of 'fibers' stuck on the blank while applying CA!

What other brands are also troublesome?

Scott (need some truckstop paper) B

That is a good question...

I've been using regular paper towels...

I have come very close to having paper glued to my fingers because the CA goes right through the paper!

[Doug B]

Joe, that is the best reason to use medium CA instead of thin CA for finishing using the paper towel method. I use thin CA also, but mostly as a sanding sealer and/or a first penetrating coat. When using thin CA, hold the bottle above the object applying it to dribbling it on a little at a time and moving very quickly from one end to the other and catching the excess and smoothing it out with the paper towel. Thin CA will absolutely soak right through 4 + layers of paper towel and painfully bond you finger to the paper DAMHIKT!

Wait a minute...you don't have a lathe do you Joe? Or you holding out on a stealth gloat, huh?

I'm not sure what you are applying the CA to, but I'd probably still recommend using the medium...I don't think I've ever had that soak through a paper towel folded in fourths.

[Joe Lyddon]

I use the Thick stuff the most... then maybe Medium... once in a long while, I'll use Thin.

You'd be surprised how much of that Thick stuff can penetrate a paper towel!

... I glue this to that... whenever the case arrives... ;D ;D

I'm not even looking at Lathes... I don't have room for anything more... ;D

[Doug B]

Lathes are like jello because there's always room for jello

[Joe Lyddon]

;D ;D

[sachbvn]

Scott,

Not to discredit what you said - but I use EXCLUSIVELY Viva paper towels!!! I've never tried Bounty towels, maybe there are different types of Bounty towels, but to me - they seemed too rough. PLUS anything with pleats has the possibility to cause some streaking.

My honest thought is that if you are getting fibers on your pen - it's something to do with your technique, not the towel. I don't have any issue with fibers getting on the pen. My guess - you may be holding the towel to the blank too long, OR not enough CA on the towel to lubricate it while you move it side to side. Now - I will say, even with the thing CA coat, I have been putting it directly on the paper towel - and then wiping it back and forth quickly while the lathe is spinning. Doug squirts the thin CA from above the spinning blank catching and smoothing it out with the paper towel from below.

I do sometimes have issues with the thin getting all over my hands - I may work towards a method more like Doug's for putting the thin stuff on, but right now - if I'm careful, I can usually get the thin stuff put on w/o issue.

Keep working on your method - change different things about it, one by one, until you figure out what is causing the problem. If you are getting fibers from the BLO step - I'd say you don't have enough BLO on the paper towel.

Good luck!
Zac

[sdb777]

Okay... Seems my method is different.

I usually put the CA on the blank, spin the lathe by hand while wiping back-n-forth, turn the lathe on and even it out.
I did notice that the Med. CA is quick! And can't really be put on in this method without a large bump(dries quickly in one spot) that needs sanding(wet) before continueing on to the next layer.
I'll try putting the CA on the towel and use the lathe to wipe it on.


My thinking was the back-n-forth thing would increase the grain filling to start off with, you know...better seal for the wood.




I honestly thought the paper towels just had too much 'fluff' and was tearing off too easily. But now I have a 12pack of Bounty(the cheap stuff)! And I'll leave the Viva by Kleenex for the kitchen(wife was having issues with me using all the paper towels anyway).



Scott (next tip is forthcoming) B

[sawduster]

The LOML buys the plane white Bounty paper towels which I steal a roll now then as needed. Never noticed any streaking with the little dimples or what ever in them when applying CA, but I mostly use the thin stuff which level pretty good on its own at low lathe speeds.

I use the little plastic ziplock bags that some of the pen parts come in over my birdie finger to keep the CA from sticking to my finger. Only time the paper towel sticks to that is if I don't dump it before it starts curing and heats up so it melts the bag a little bit. Apparently, those are made from the kind of plastic to which CA does not bond.

When I used to use paper towels to apply wiping varnish to projects, I had to buy my own paper towels for the shop. That stuff would be affect by dimples or pleats of the paper towel, so I had to buy the super cheap store brand towels. Those worked well.

[sachbvn]

I'm not sure what brand CA you use - in general - thin should set much faster than medium or thick CA.

By what you described, I think you have too much paper towel to blank contact with CA involved. By the time you apply CA to the blank, spinning by hand, turn the lathe on and then wipe back and forth - I really think you are getting your fiber results due to the amount of contact time the paper towel has with the CA and blank.

Try some different things out - eventually you'll "get it" and it will all click, when it does - you'll only want to use that finish!

Zac

[sawduster]

Yeah, what Zac said. While you have a few seconds before the stuff starts curing (depending on ambient temperature) I generally wipe from end to end and then back, then go to the other half of the blank and repeat then let it start curing. Total time for both blanks in contact with the wood is maybe 3 or 4 seconds. I have the lathe running at its lowest speed while applying CA. Some folks turn the blank by hand, which works for them but the trick is to get the CA on as quickly as you can, then get off of it. You need to let one coat be dry to the touch before applying another and I've found that if I let it spin for 20 to 30 seconds before hitting it with accelerator I don't get the problems sometimes encountered when you spray on the accelerator immediately.

[sachbvn]

I do not use accelerator, but I make dang sure to let it spin for a while and fully dry.... half cured CA with coats on top of it sounds like a friggin' disaster and a half. I do use the BLO which is supposed to help cure the CA.

Funny thing - so many methods, but for the main part.....we come out with the same product. Sure...there of course is measurable qualities in CA finishing, but I don't know that a 50 step method yields noticeably better results vs. a 12 step method.

Keep tinkering - we all have to do what works for us, I tell you what though - Jerry - I LOVE LOVE LOVE that little plastic baggie on the finger idea! I feel so wasteful throwing those dang things away each time, now I shall keep a few and try it out! (I'm cheap as hell about gloves too!) I have cheap food handler gloves that I get by the case for free from a brother - I also have latex gloves that I pay for....believe me, there is a DEFINITE difference for when I use which type of gloves! Only NICE finishes get the good gloves!

Zac

[sawduster]

I used to use the gloves one finger at a time. ;D Beat that for cheap.

[carlcivi]

I use strictly thin c/a, 8 coats, no blo unless, i want to give a blank some color. I use Bounty select a size. I apply the c/a to the spinning blank at the slowest speeds as i spread with a folded towel.
I stop the lathe from spinning immediately. Never did c/a come through the paper towel. You don`t want to play with the blank you just want to get that build up of c/a on it. I wait till the next day to mm the finish. It may be wrong, but i get a good finish. Carl
Oh yeah, i use a fresh section of paper towel with each coat.

[sdb777]

That's the stuff I got....Bounty with the half pref sheets.

Already seeing better results. No little fuzzy things be pulled off the towel(that was a heartache to go through all that and end up with a little white fuzzy in the glossy CA).


That's for everyone's input, and yes. I'm still experimenting with how many coats, BLO, paste wax, amount of buffing, etc,etc....



Scott (oily woods give me troubles) B

[sachbvn]

Unless my pens have fibers in the CA finish that I'm totally missing, I do not get them - even withthe Viva towels. If the Bounty towels work for you I'm glad! Pretty awesome finish isn't it?


Zac

[sachbvn]

Unless my pens have fibers in the CA finish that I'm totally missing, I do not get them - even withthe Viva towels. If the Bounty towels work for you I'm glad! Pretty awesome finish isn't it?


Zac

[sdb777]

It's either a finish you 'nail' or 'wail' at!!

I'm still mostly wailing about the quality I'm getting, but with a 8oz bottle of Meduim CA, about 5oz of Thin CA, and half a gallon of BLO....I've got plenty to experiment with!



Scott (gonna re-do some Black Palm today) B

[Ruffnek]

Scott,

If you are getting fibers stuck to the CA finish, you are "working" the finish too long. You can also get ridges in the finish because the CA on the paper towel starts to harden.

Whatever viscosity or method you use, when you apply the CA, wipe it on from end to end one time and then leave it be until it hardens.

FWIW, I use those blue shop towels from HD. I'll cut them up into app. 3" squares to use when making pens. One or two sheets goes a long way.

I wear nitrile exam gloves (also blue) when applying CA or any type finish. They are as form-fitting as latex but are much more durable and impervious to most finishes.

One more note. I read a post on another forum a good while back where a turner had been using CA and BLO on bits of paper towels as a finish. He was throwing the used pieces in a metal trash can in the shop. The paper towel bits caught on fire from either the heat of the curing CA glue, BLO or both.

So, treat those discarded paper towel pieces just like an oil-soaked rag because they too can spontaneously combust.