CA finish question

When finishing a set of scales with CA how do you get a smooth finish?
Mine is looking like 10 miles of bad dirt road

Bob

Here comes my SHORT answer- apply a few (3-5 coats) and then lightly sand with 400 or so grit until smoother, then repeat. I find that sanding while under a stream of water helps once the scales are completely sealed in. It is hard to do without sanding through to the wood now and then. Once you have enough of a finish built up and can sand smooth without going through the CA, then sand progressively higher until you get a gloss. Then polish them with MAAS. It's kind of tougher than it sounds lol.

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Originally Posted by Philadelph

Here comes my SHORT answer- apply a few (3-5 coats) and then lightly sand with 400 or so grit until smoother, then repeat. I find that sanding while under a stream of water helps once the scales are completely sealed in. It is hard to do without sanding through to the wood now and then. Once you have enough of a finish built up and can sand smooth without going through the CA, then sand progressively higher until you get a gloss. Then polish them with MAAS. It's kind of tougher than it sounds lol.

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Also, keep the coats THIN. If you put too much on, it tends to build up into gooey globs. Experiement with different consistencies of glue, from thin to medium. Some work better than others.

Josh

I go for at least a dozen coats in the following process.

3-4 coats, let fully cure, sand down high spots and roughness with 400 grit. Repeat this another 3 times. Finish with 2 coats, sand smooth to the touch, let fully cure, 1 coat, then sand completely smooth up to at least 1000 grit and finish with a microabrasive polish (MAAS, simichrome, etc.). You should now have a glass-like finish.

The more coats you add at once before letting fully cure, the rougher the finish will be. This is why I end with 1 coat, so it cures fairly smooth and I don't need to sand through half the finish.

What do you apply it with? The one I just finished I used my finger covered with a plastic bag. I think there is a total of 10 or 12 coats sanded between each two.
Is there a better way to apply the CA?

Bob

I use those surgical gloves and cut the fingers out, this way I can get five applications with one glove. I then place the rubber finger over my finger. Before putting on the rubber finger I super glue a pointed stick on the inside of the scales and then stick those into a piece of styrofoam this holds the two scales so that I can apply the CA. I then put on the rubber finger and then run a bead of CA down the scale. I take my finger with the rubber finger on it and smooth out the CA on the scales. This works really well and makes it very smooth. When thru I take off the rubber finger and throw it away.

All of the above is in Bill Ellis's CD on restoring razors.