Thank you everyone we have a winner!

Zagiflyer

Zagiflyer

Mr. 15
Silver Member
I just wanted to thank all the people who responded to my previous thread "finish for a beginner/hobbyist?" I got some good responses and several great PM's on the subject.

I gave up on the Minwax polyurethane and polyacrylic because neither would buff out very well. I'm gaining excellent proficiency at sanding screwed up finishes off cues. I finally got smart and made some "test dowels" out of scrap maple and started testing finishes. I tried good old spray lacquer from a rattle-can and that actually produces a nice finish with very little effort but I don't think it would be all that durable. All in all though, the lacquer is pretty nice but I still don't like all the fumes in my basement. I have 2 Sailor (Racine, WI) cues with very nice lacquer finishes that have held up well for 10+ years. Next I tried a fairly thick application of System Three Clear Coat Epoxy. Took a long time to dry but it smoothed out well with wet-sanding. So far, after one buffing session I haven't been able to get it to gloss up well enough in all areas, there are some dull spots. The jury is still out on this one, I will try repeated buffing sessions over a couple days and see what happens. I think this might work better if I had a way to get the temperature up to 90+ degrees to cure the thick epoxy layer faster and more fully.

Next I tried a thin coat of System Three Clear Coat with 20 coats of thin CA (Super Glue) over the top. I've been using CA glues in various forms for 20+ years to build Radio control planes with. I know the stuff is strong because when planes crash that are built with this stuff the wood is torn apart but the glue joints are still intact. I was a little skeptical about using it as a finish but I'm not anymore. I rubbed the stuff on with paper towel as Chris Hightower describes in his book and other people PM'ed me about. After 20 coats it sure didn't look like much and I thought it wasn't going to work out. I wet-sanded with 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit paper and buffed it out with some Turtle Wax cheapo automotive polishing compound. Wow, after about 5 minutes of work I couldn't believe it! I was left with a rock-hard, glassy smooth, bright and shiny finish. I just looked at it for awhile and couldn't believe that it turned out that good. If I can get a cue to work as well as the test piece I will be thrilled. Next I'll try the CA without the epoxy underneath and see what happens and maybe test some of the thicker CA variants as filler coats prior to the thin stuff and see what happens.........now if I can just get my fingers unglued :)

Thanks again everyone. I really enjoy the "mechanical" part of cue making (O.K cue ABUSING at this point) so far but I was bummed out about the finishing part. Hopefully I've found just the thing for someone like myself who will do one cue at a time and for who setting up a spray booth isn't really practical. It takes some time to do this and it ties up the lathe but the results are really nice so far. I might try to locate an affordable, variable speed wood lathe that I can put a headstock chuck, Jacobs chuck and dust collector on to use for sanding, finishing and wrapping to save wear and tear on the CueSmith Deluxe and keep it free for machining. Looks like Grizzly has a decent one with totally variable speed and both ends set up to accept whatever I want to put on them.

Ken Nelson
 
Zagiflyer said:
.........now if I can just get my fingers unglued :)

Ken Nelson
Click to expand...

Hey Ken I have wraped my first 2 fingers in plastic wrap

and used 3-m spray to tack the paper towel to a piece of wax paper

both help with this problem
 
Zagiflyer said:
... Next I tried a fairly thick application of System Three Clear Coat Epoxy. Took a long time to dry but it smoothed out well with wet-sanding. So far, after one buffing session I haven't been able to get it to gloss up well enough in all areas, there are some dull spots. The jury is still out on this one, I will try repeated buffing sessions over a couple days and see what happens. I think this might work better if I had a way to get the temperature up to 90+ degrees to cure the thick epoxy layer faster and more fully.
Click to expand...

Hey Ken, I may have a cheeeeep solution for you. A buddy of mine is a custom golf club maker, and uses high strength epoxy that sets in 4 hours at room temp (24 hours to cure fully). This makes assembled clubs a bit sensitive for the first few hours, and increases his 'work-in-progress' inventory, so we built a 'curing box'. Now at 35 C (about 90F) the epoxy sets in 20 minutes or so. What we used to generate the heat is a string of Christmas lights ! These are typically 25 light strings, with each bulb giving off 7 watts of heat. We experimented with using 4, 5, 6, 7, etc lights on to obtain the desired internal temperature. That's the nice thing about this method (other than being cheeeeep), you get excellent control and distribution of the heat. You can arrange a specific number of bulbs over a 30 " line and get a nice gentle heater happening.

Good luck with your finishes ...

Dave
 
Ken here is a test piece using a ca I just did without a epoxy base on a jp blank. this is only a couple of thin coats and super quick buffing. It would depend on the wood I would think as too how much gets sucked up in the pores. There is a product for that problem though.

I guess I still hold the title on the minwax :p :D , don't worry It is in no way worth the effort IMO, don't think I will be doing many like that in the future, It was just something I tried, became a challenge, and I would'nt give up on until I pulled it off LOL. Just another hard learned lesson. other finishes seem like a breeze compared to it, so it served it's purpose, and taught me a few new tricks.
Greg
 

Attachments

  • catestjointcap4.JPG
    catestjointcap4.JPG
    19.3 KB · Views: 416
I'm also using superglue to finish some JP's (for a JP nonetheless.)
Just remember one thing.
Make sure it has dried all the way before you start "going to work" on it.
Just an observation :p :D
 
LOL, that was a hit It and get hit job there :D , just 2 quick coats 320 then straight to 600 and alittle compound for a tester to try the finish out. the cap is a blank and still needs turned down more , and shaped anyway, so I used it real quick. It is part of a three piece set I had sitting on the back of the bench, that I need to turn down and finish.
Heck, that coat was so thin that the other side of the cap does not even have any on It :p :D I took a picture of the side that did. It will all be cut out anyway.
I guess it should be mentioned that If one should sand too soon, they could also end up with some fingers stuck together :eek:
 
Thanks again everybody.

Thanks again for the info. I like CA glue and I'm experimenting with the thicker and slower stuff now, it works well too and you have more time. BTW, that's a great looking joint protector.

Ken N.
 
Is this super glue we are talking about? If so, does it come in bigger bottles, or do you use those small 2oz bottles? do you use a certain brand?
It sounds like it is a fast drying and economical finish.
Thanks
 
Yes, regular CA (cyanoacrylate) or "super glue." I buy the 2 ounce bottles from a hobby shop. Most larger hobby shops buy their glues from a large supplier and they put the name of their store on it. These are the plastic bottles not the tiny little tubes you get at craft stores and such. There are the instant formulas that are really thin and the gap filling formulas which are a little thicker. Either one seems to work. If you can't find it anywhere else try www.towerhobbies.com they sell a lot of stuff and their glue will be "fresh" which actually does make a difference with this glue. They also sell an oderless variant of the glue for a little more money. Get some debonder too because you will glue your fingers together or glue your fingers to the paper towel at some point. Good luck.
 
newo9277 said:
Is this super glue we are talking about? If so, does it come in bigger bottles, or do you use those small 2oz bottles? do you use a certain brand?
It sounds like it is a fast drying and economical finish.
Thanks
Click to expand...

my local hobby shop sells 8 oz bottles for $19.99
although it is a great hobby shop , your local availability and prices
may vary
 
How much glue does it take to put a finish on one cue?
do you put it on wile you spin it on the lathe?
Thanks
 
newo9277 said:
How much glue does it take to put a finish on one cue?
do you put it on wile you spin it on the lathe?
Thanks
Click to expand...
I have some questions too.
I got a bottle of QuickTite Super Glue Brush On, it is only 0.18 oz. Is this stuff any good and does it come in big bottles?
How much time between coats? Is a sanding required between coats?
I am going to make my wife a set of joint protectors today. Will this little bit do two JP's?
There is locally available, Pour On two part epoxy bar finish. Is it any good? Do you have to use it up quickly after the bottles are first opened?


Thanks,
Tracy
 
All I can say is what I have tried. I run the lathe at the slowest setting I have which is about 350 and it works. If you go much faster it might fling some of the glue around. I use a folded up paper towel and just get a small part of it wet and run it up and down the cue, you don't need the individual coats to be thick, just get it on evenly. People who know a lot more than I do told me to wait 5 minutes between coats even though the glue dries instantly. I tried to do it faster between coats and the glue tended to get gloppy (a scientific term). I don't think the glue dries instantly when it is just sitting on the surface of something so stick with the 5 minutes between coats and it goes on nice. They make an accelerator for the glues that I used to use on model planes but I don't know how well this will work when using the glue for finishing, I actually think slower drying is better because the glue has time to level out and it stays clear. I don't know about individual brands of CA glues. I would stick with a fresh bottle of something you buy in a hobby shop with a decent nozzle on the bottle not the "Krazy Glue" you buy at Walgreens or wherever. I haven't tried bar top epoxy, it's probably fairly thick and I don't know if it would yellow.

The best thing to do is make some test pieces and experiment with different techniques and products rather than risk messing up something that you have a lot of time into.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top