benefits of BLO

[spinks]

Hi all, delving deeper into the world of pen turning I am starting to get some good results with CA finish with a good wax buffing afterwards but alot of places I have read up on recommend BLO followed by CA.....what are the benefits of the initial coat of BLO?? Also, I am going to get myself a bottle of HUT crystal coat (I have heard its good stuff!!) but would that get me a good gloss finish over BLO/CA??

Thanks in advance for your help (I did search the database but, while alot of people say BLO/CA no one has given the actual benefits/science behind BLO)


Ooooh, ooooh one last thing....if I use BLO does the smell go away in time as I HATE the smell of it with a passion


Cheers again!!!

 

[Lons]

if I use BLO does the smell go away in time as I HATE the smell of it with a passion

Needs a shower and deodorant! I initially read it as BO - honest :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[marcros]

The blo brings the grain out or "pops" it as you will sometimes hear said. Works particularly well on some timbers. The smell does go away, on furniture at least. I don't dislike it so haven't paid much attention. I always thin it with a splash of real turpentine so that helps the smell a bit.

Other oils would work but they all smell similar to me, some worse. I did get some Danish oil that was lemon scented from smith and Rodger. It smelt very "fake lemon" but wasn't too bad.

 

[nev]

smell should'nt be an issue as you will be covering the blo with the ca.

 

[spinks]

Thanks all!

 

[Graham Orm]

Dissapointed, I thought this thread was about drugs.

 

[duncanh]

At his recent demo at out club Walter Hall (pen turner from NE who often writes for the mag) said that he never uses oil, just CA. His finishes seemed pretty good

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Grayorm....I was wondering when that reference would be made

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

I stopped using BLO on pens & just use neat CA with an accelerator. I find the oil darkens the timber slightly, something that's not always desired. I use 3 or 4 coats of CA now, followed by a polish with Autoglym then a coat of my home cooked paste wax and buff it up at the highest lathe speed.

 

[joethedrummer]

Grayorm....I was wondering when that reference would be made

Bob ,,made me chuckle,,

 

[Walter Hall]

At his recent demo at out club Walter Hall (pen turner from NE who often writes for the mag) said that he never uses oil, just CA. His finishes seemed pretty good

As Duncan says, I never use BLO primarily because in my opinion it adds nothing to the process and secondly because the combination of BLO and CA produces toxic fumes. the CA is bad enough so why make it worse.

Anything wet will make the grain appear to "pop" as some people describe it. I find the grain makes no sound at all whatever I use and the CA itself enhances the figure so I just usually apply a coat of sanding sealer but, as Duncan will attest (because the tin of sanding sealer I took to his club had set solid), CA on its own produces a fine finish.

A word of caution when using CA. Don't use a respirator as the filters are not effective against the fumes and will in fact draw them into the visor (and hence your lungs) rather than protecting you. I use an extractor to draw the fumes away from the lathe and exhaust them outside the workshop.

Edit: Hut Crystalcoat is a friction polish. Should be used on its own not over CA. That would be like applying french polish over the top of a cellulose lacquer or polyurethane varnish. Pointless and probably counter productive. A coat of microcrystalline wax over the CA will however help prevent fingerprint marking of the finish.

Walter

 

[nicguthrie]

The main reason for using BLO and CA in layers (other than the BLO wetting the grain and showing it up) is that the BLO acts as an accelerator for the CA. It is kind of strange, dries it near instantly, in fact, if you add the CA on top of the oily patch on your cloth, you can see the contact point go white immediately, as it sets there. WHen folks talk about a BLO/CA finish it's normally layers like this rather than a single BLO coat followed by multiple CA layers.

I've usually just used straight CA when I've gotten the best results. I can see the benefits of the combination, but I've never gotten quite as good a result from it. From what I've read, that seems not to be all that unusual, as most people seem to have more trouble getting a real gleam when it's combined. However, with the oil layers, it does tend to look a little more natural and perhaps feel a little warmer to the touch, like a wax or oil finish rather than a pure plastic coat.

Hut Crystal Coat is indeed a friction polish, based on shellac. It's a good finish in it's own right, but not intended as a polish despite the name, and not nearly as tough as the CA finish. I prefer the Ubeaut products personally, Shellawax as the friction polish and their proprietary polish called EEE ultra shine. A polish like this or a car paint polish like autoglym is great for taking the surface to a final gloss, though you can just use wet micromesh up to the full 12000 grit.

As Walter says, if you are using a respirator it will just pull the fumes in unless you make sure it has an activated carbon type fume protection filter (often found just above P3 rated with fume/gas protection too). I use a Microclene 760 with the carbon fume filter on it, parked right behind my lathe, and can barely smell the finish even straight after it's applied.

All the best with the pen turning, I may not be the most experienced and I'm certainly nowhere near Walter's standard, but I'm well read and have a science background, so holler if you want any deeper details!

Nic.

 

[Walter Hall]

Yep, I can see the accelerator thing. but why BLO. Water will accelerate CA, so will coke or tea or donkey p!$$.

And why do you need to accelerate it? What's the rush? It dries fast enough anyway. Especially when you don't want it to.

If you get the best results using straight CA why mess about with additives of any kind?

Nobody rubs horse $h!t onto car bodies before spraying them with cellulose or acrylic. What is it with woodturners?

 

[nicguthrie]

As I said, I prefer straight CA layers myself, having tried both, as I find it easier to get a better shine from 4 or 5 CA layers polished up nicely, but the topic author asked why folks do it, so I was answering!

I found a tutorial guide thing from a fella that inferred that he was the instigator of the idea, and the reason he gave for wanting the accelerating effect was that, as you've probably seen, sometimes the CA can form ridges as it dries in air, if the cloth you've used is not soft enough, or has too much detail to the surface or whatever. With the BLO on the cloth, you can literally polish the CA till it's dry, rubbing along it's length while it spins, and end up with little to no sanding and polishing to do once it's cured.

I guess it was invented mostly for production turners wanting to churn out handfuls of pens in a short time for selling at boot sales or something.

Nic.

 

[Dalboy]

A word of caution when using CA. Don't use a respirator as the filters are not effective against the fumes and will in fact draw them into the visor (and hence your lungs) rather than protecting you. I use an extractor to draw the fumes away from the lathe and exhaust them outside the workshop.
Walter

I also use a set up like this when I apply CA onto pens and agree it works better than any respirator unless you have one that is specifically designed for fumes

 

[Robbo3]

Edit: Hut Crystalcoat is a friction polish. Should be used on its own not over CA. That would be like applying french polish over the top of a cellulose lacquer or polyurethane varnish. Pointless and probably counter productive. A coat of microcrystalline wax over the CA will however help prevent fingerprint marking of the finish.

Mark Raby, one of the foremost experts on finishing, applies friction polish over the top of melamine lacquer

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbjyVuHcLQ

Just saying.

 

[Walter Hall]

As I said, I prefer straight CA layers myself, having tried both, as I find it easier to get a better shine from 4 or 5 CA layers polished up nicely, but the topic author asked why folks do it, so I was answering! .

Wasn't getting at you Nic, just questioning the logic of the process.

Mark Raby, one of the foremost experts on finishing, applies friction polish over the top of melamine lacquer

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbjyVuHcLQ

Just saying.

So he does, I wonder why. it seems to me a bit like applying French Polish over a hard lacquer. I shall e-mail him and ask.

 

[chipmunk]

Mark Raby, one of the foremost experts on finishing, applies friction polish over the top of melamine lacquer

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbjyVuHcLQ

Just saying.

So he does, I wonder why. it seems to me a bit like applying French Polish over a hard lacquer. I shall e-mail him and ask.

The cynic in me points to the fact that he works for a finish manufacturer - Mylands - Why get penmakers to buy one product when you can get them to buy two, or three or four?

After all pens are small and don't use much of any finish unless you make a load of them.

Jon

 

[winemaker]

What about raw linseed oil does any one use it :?: I have read it's good to use.

 

[John. B]

having perused Dalboy's pic's, I am of the opinion, not much work goes on in that terribly neat and tidy workshop!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink: :wink:
John. b