Keep CA off your hands

[Leslie Walper]

How can I keep the CA glue off my hands? When using it for a pen finish it seems to burn through or soak through everything I've tried. The one thing that seems to hold up to it is duct tape. Keep the acetone handy to get my fingers apart.

 

[Steve Doerr]

Leslie, I think that is the $64,000 question. (Am I showing my age🙄) When I'm applying CA to pens, the best thing I've found is to use one of the small plastic bags that the pen components come in. I apply the CA with a paper towel and use one finger to hold the towel against the spinning pen blank. On that finger I will place one of the plastic bags. Yes, it sometimes sticks to the plastic and puts a hole in it but all you have to do is rotate the bag or replace it. It sure beats having the paper towel sticking to my finger.
HTH,
Steve

 

[gary rock]

Leslie-

When ever I use super glue for a finish, I wear Nitrile gloves. The glue doesn't soak through the material on to your fingers. When I'm through I throw them away.

Gary

 

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

as Gary said - nitrile (not latex) gloves work best for me.

I also use craft foam to apply CA glue - about a 1" square piece. it's easier to control the CA using foam.

 

[Mark Wollschlager]

I have had success using a dry barrier cream called PR88.
CA glue, solvent based finishes and dyes do not stick and can be washed off.
It is water soluble, so it is not useful for all occasions.
Sweaty summer days are not so good, but fall and winter are good times to use it.
http://www.pr88gamp.com/

 

[Leslie Walper]

Thanks all! I've tried the little bags, but the CA seems to burn right through it. The bags in the new kits seem to be a bit thinner, or maybe of a different material than in the older ones. Anyhow, that PR88 sounds like a "might try" item -- and the Nitrile gloves.

I've actually found that the duct tape, whatever that plastic is, is quite resistant to CA -- just fold over a bit of it (about 3-4 inches, sticky sides together) makes a pretty good spreading paddle and it's big enough to keep the glue off the fingers (if you're careful).

 

[Bill Boehme]

Use folded paper towels. Don't put too much CA on the paper towel. Make one wipe -- just one. Toss the towel and prepare another paper towel for the next wipe. Keep your fingers well away from the CA (easy to say -- hard to do). And, as previously said, use nitrile gloves.

I know one turner who says to put Johnson's paste wax on your hands and the CA won't stick. I have not tried that myself.

 

[Steve Worcester]

I just fold the paper towel over more. Some of it is looking at the videos out there and experimenting with what works best for you.
On occasion I get some on my fingers and sometimes a bit of the towel sticks. I use regular paper towels , but folded to about 6-8 thicknesses.