Finishing Mycarta

S

Salolan

Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
730
I have used home made mycarta some in the past. When doing the final shaping and hand sanding, I have always washed out the material with WD-40 between grits and then finished with multiple coats of CA. This method has worked for me, it just tends to darken the colors considerably and I'm looking for alternatives. I am currently working on a few knives with mycarta handles. A denim, a linen and a paper. I am really liking the colors as is on the denim and the paper and was curious to other methods than I have used in the past. I had thought about using compressed air to wash out between grits or maybe even alchohol??? Also, is there more of a "dry" finish that can be used that doesn't leave the darker wet look?

I'll try and get some pics up later today if that would help.

Thank you in advance,
Chris
 
Every time I've used mycarta (I like to call it "bathtub micarta" :)), I end up having to fill small voids with CA. Here's the way I typically do it:

- File/rasp/sand to final shape
- Flood with thin CA and let dry
- Sand down to get rid of most surface CA residue
- Flood again with a thicker CA and let it dry
- Sand down again to get rid of most surface CA residue
- Apply final finish to desired effect - TruOil for more sheen, buffed RenWax for a more satin look.

TedP
 
#1 what is the difference between "mycarta" and regular denim micarta? #2 what is "CA"
phillipsted said:
Every time I've used mycarta (I like to call it "bathtub micarta" :)), I end up having to fill small voids with CA. Here's the way I typically do it:

- File/rasp/sand to final shape
- Flood with thin CA and let dry
- Sand down to get rid of most surface CA residue
- Flood again with a thicker CA and let it dry
- Sand down again to get rid of most surface CA residue
- Apply final finish to desired effect - TruOil for more sheen, buffed RenWax for a more satin look.

TedP
Click to expand...
 
Mycarta is the name that folks give to home made laminates that people make by soaking cloth and paper in epoxy resin and curing under pressure. Blue jean mycarta is an example of this type of material - to my knowledge, all blue jean mycarta is hand made using various types of epoxy or vinyl resins.

Micarta™, on the other hand, is a trademarked name for a phenolic resin-based material pioneered by Westinghouse and now owned by Norplex-Micarta Corporation. It has been manufactured since early last century and has been referred to as "the steel of the plastics industry". True Micarta is not epoxy based - it is phenolic-resin based and typically comes in grades made with paper (X grade), linen (L/LE grade), or canvas (C/CE grade).

CA is shorthand for cyanoacrylate glue - also referred to as "super glue".

TedP
 
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