Durable pen finishes?

[Charlie Harley]

I'm new to pen turning, having learned how to do it only three weeks ago at a club meeting. After the meeting I bought a few kits at Woodcraft along with a bottle of friction finish. I went home and turned three pens. They turned out great and got lots of compliments from coworkers.

And I’ve used them a lot at work. Unfortunately, during this past week’s heat and humidity and the sweat on my hands, the finish has become sticky. The sticky-ness goes away mostly when I put the pen down for a while, but using it again brings back the yucky texture.

Is there something I did wrong with the finish?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Is there a finish that stands up better to continuous use?

All help is much appreciated.

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

Do a google search on "CA Pen Finish". You'll find lots of information on what is currently generally considered to be the quickest most durable pen finish by pen turners.

Be forewarned. It is quick, but it isn't easy or foolproof. Practice on scrap blanks before trying it on your prized one of a kind exotic pen blank.

Some people swear by (I swear at) lacquer. It takes a lot longer but it is supposed to be durable.

My experience with friction polish is that the shine wears away with use and the pen develops its own soft lustre from oils in the skin. It leaves the pen with a distinct "wood" feel that is lost with a film finish like CA or lacquer. Some people really like the satin lustre of friction polish others go for the high gloss of a film finish.

I've never had friction polish get sticky. I wonder if you got it hot enough when you were applying it? Maybe too much applied? Maybe it's too old and the shellac isn't fully hardening? Spilled a beer or other alcohol on it? (Friction polish is basically shellac and wax)

Ed

 

[penmaker]

Take a look here for everything you want to know about pens.......

http://www.penturners.org/forum/portal.asp

 

[ahoiberg]

i'd echo both of the previous statements. check out penturners, use the search tool and you'll find everything you ever wanted to know (plus more) on pen finishing. you can find many tutorials there on CA and CA/BLO (boiled linseed oil) finishing that helped me in my early pen finishing days.

i don't like friction polish because of exactly what you described. i use pretty much exclusively CA finish on my pens and they hold up really well. enduro is another that should be given consideration. lacquer is one i've not tried but as mentioned before, a lot of penturners really dig it.

sign up at penturners.org, you'll be glad you did.