Thread: I HATE CA!!!

I tell you what - I've done wood working my entire life, and I've never seen a finish such a pain in the a$$ to work with. Unevenness, lots of sanding, and the worst, instantly gluing the latex glove to the scales.

Two identical applications, two completely different outcomes. One application and the CA smooths out well, I have working time, everything going great. The exact same applicx glation, the moment my glove hits the stream of CA, it is instantly bonded to the scale.

Sanding...well, there's an interesting art - sand it one time, and it smooths out nicely (when I'm not sanding latex glove off the scale), sand the next time, I have white patches that don't seem to go away.

I think I'm going to be using Tung Oil or Conservator's wax in the future, because even though the scales may come out shinny and waterproof, it really can't be worth the effort.

...or, I'm perfectly willing to hear that I'm obviously doing something wrong?

Mark

The f'ing stuff is sensitive to temperature and humidity.
It doesn't like oily woods very much and you don't want to oversand your surface or it tends to sand right off.

That and if you put it on too thick it makes a mess and if you put it on too thin you end up sanding it all off.

I have a hate hate relationship with CA but I haven't given up on it yet.

-Bob

CA seems to take the patience of Job and abilities beyond the mortal man

Might I suggest a wipe on Poly, the difference is the time it takes, a good wipe on Poly finish takes 24-36 hours, then another 24 hours to set, however the application part is way easier.....
If you have the time to let it sit for 2 hours then apply another coat, sit for 2 hours etc: etc: the Poly is a great finish, CA is just faster!!!!
JMHO
And I just read that you have worked wood so you probably already know all this.........

Welcome to the club. We have T-shirts.

I gave up on CA a while ago for all the reasons stated. The white blobs are spots where the glue is gummy for whatever reason.

I don't find CA to be fast at all. It used to take me several days of applying coats, sanding out mistakes, reapplying to spots where I'd sanded through... What a nightmare.

Josh

Welcome to the club. We have T-shirts.
Where????

I don't find CA to be fast at all. It used to take me several days of applying coats, sanding out mistakes, reapplying to spots where I'd sanded through... What a nightmare.

Ummmmm I meant faster in theory

Thanks Glen - I wasn't sure if wipe on Poly would work...I've been letting the CA dry about an hour between coats, and it's taken 4 days thus far to get this far...I think I'll keep the CA to glue things back together, while using Poly to finish scales. Just a quick question, how many coats of Poly do you put on?

Josh, I want the T-Shirt!!! I want into the club! Forget the Boker Brotherhood, I want then CA Catastrophe!

Mark

I live in Florida, and my "workshop" is next to a lake. Needless to say, it is quite humid. I run a dehumidifier in the room with the door closed for about two hours before I start working. They are pretty cheap and help with CA application. While I have not yet made razor scales(coming soon), I use CA for other applications. Doing this helps out with the application, and keeps the white from forming, for the most part. Hope this helps.

Mark:
I do 10 nice even thin coats, then after that I start looking for the finish coat, that one last coat that just is so much better than all the others.... usually between 12-20 depending on the grain of the wood.....

Hehe, when I saw the title of this thread I thought it was about California

But I agree, CA is nasty... I doesn't agree with me at all...

Yeah, pain the ass. But I just love the look and feel of a good smooth CA finish

Having done several dozen CA finishes, I think I have my technique down