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By Steven Russell
One of the more enduring quests by pen turners is the pursuit of the perfect pen finish, one that offers exceptional durability and visual clarity, with a deep wet look. Although this is a tall order for any finish to deliver, careful selection of the pen blank material and advanced abrasive and finishing protocols can create a near perfect pen finish. Plastic and stabilized wooden blanks offer and excellent option for pen turners seeking to create a durable high gloss finish on their pens.
Basic Challenge
One of the most challenging aspects of creating a durable, glossy pen finish is the typical environment pens are subjected to when in use. In and out of pockets and purses, desk drawers and other potentially abrasive environments, coupled with the natural oils and sweat from our hands, makes it tough for many finishes to provide a lasting finish. In addition, some hardwoods are considerably less dense than others are, which may allow pens made from softer hardwoods to become easily damaged.
Dense native woods and most exotics are a better choice in many cases for a highly durable pen barrel. However, softer hardwoods can be used with equal success, if the raw blank has first been stabilized with thin acrylics, or epoxies. These so called ‘stabilized’ pen blanks are a superb choice for wooden pens, offering greater hardness and durability of the barrel surface vs. using non-stabilized (natural) timbers.
Alternative Material Pen Blanks
Alternative materials like plastics, acrylics, stabilized exotic and native woods, horn, antler, fossilised Ivory, cast acrylics and similar materials can easily produce a glossy lustre when used for pen barrels. Some materials, both natural and manmade can be polished to a higher lustre than others can. For example, plastics can be easily polished to 12000-grit, producing a visually wet look in the barrel surface.
However, natural timbers do not produce the same degree of lustre, even when taken to the same level on the bare wood surface. Stabilized pen blanks produce a higher lustre than the same timber without any stabilization. The reason for this is that the acrylics, or epoxies used in the stabilization process, take a higher polish than the raw wood, thus creating an overall higher visual lustre.
Advanced Abrasive and Finishing Protocols
In addition to the careful selection of the barrel material, the application of advanced abrasive and finishing protocols can go a long way toward providing durable and glossy pen finishes. If you want a truly glossy lustre on your pen barrels, you have to prepare the surface properly before application of any finish. Proper surface preparation, including sanding and polishing of the barrel surface prior to applying the desired finish will allow the chosen finish to magnify a visually perfected lustrous surface, resulting in a much higher perceived gloss level on the barrel surface.
High performance abrasives are available that will produce a 12000-grit surface. At this ultra high level, the human eye cannot see the surface scratch pattern, resulting in an exceptionally high gloss level on the surface. Careful selection of the finish can also affect the overall lustre and longevity of the finish. Some finishes are naturally more durable than others are.
Waxes are among the easiest of finishes to apply, but may not last long in normal use. Shellac friction finishes offer better overall durability than waxes. Lacquers offer still greater durability, as do Cyanoacrylate Esters (CA or Super Glue) and binary Epoxies. Some of these finishes are challenging to apply, but produce an extremely durable finish for your efforts.
Basic Protocol for Plastic Pen Blanks
If possible, use sterate coated abrasives, or wet-dry abrasives to prevent loading of the abrasive surface. To obtain the highest lustre and clarity of the plastic barrel surface, you have two options:
— Sand with traditional or wet-dry abrasives to 1200-grit. Then, buff the barrel surface with a plastic polishing compound on the lathe. A cloth buffing wheel loaded with a fine plastic polishing compound can also be used to raise the lustre to the desired level.
— Sand with standard micro mesh abrasives, which can be used either wet or dry and are available in nine grits from 1500 to 12000. The visual surface when polished to 12000-grit is nothing short of spectacular, making the plastic look so glossy that it appears wet.
One additional advantage of using plastics for your barrels is that the plastic surface can be polished to a high luster, without the need for any surface finish. Since there is no surface finish on the pen barrel, nothing can wear off with time, as you would find with a traditionally finished wooden pen.
A high quality conservation grade microcrystalline wax should be applied to provide extra protection for the glossy barrel surface. Microwaxes offer excellent resistance to moisture, acids, alcohols, and moderate heat and will not show fingerprints on the high gloss surface.
Basic Protocol for Stabilized Wood Blanks
If you prefer to use wood for your barrels, choose a stabilized pen blank if possible for the greatest durability and luster of the surface. To produce a high luster on a stabilized pen blank, follow these steps:
— Sand the barrels to 600-grit metric. Apply a lacquer sanding sealer to the surface and friction dry. Remove any dust and apply a cutting wax (wax with a fine abrasive) to the surface, whilst spinning on the lathe at high revs, Move slowly back and forth to allow the compound to polish the barrels surface.
— Reapply the cutting wax until the desired gloss level is achieved. Remove any excess with a small piece of kitchen paper and buff to a brilliant shine.
— Apply the desired finish next. (Listed in order of overall durability) Friction Shellacs, Lacquers, Cyanoacrylate Esters and binary Epoxies can be used for the finish. Depending on the specific finish used, a final buffing, or deluxing of the surface with a cutting wax may be required to raise the luster to the desired level.
— Apply a conservation grade microcrystalline wax to the surface with the lathe off and lightly buff to a gloss with revs set to high with a small piece of clean kitchen paper towel.
If you invest just a little more time sanding and polishing your pen barrels using the above protocols, you will be rewarded with a highly glossy barrel finish that will withstand years of use.
About the Author: Steven Russell is a professional studio woodturner, demonstrator and writer. He has written numerous articles for international woodturning magazines and frequently demonstrates woodturning across the U.S. His website is located at
woodturningvideosplus.com
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isnare.com
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