Glue finish?

Fletch Helical

Fletch Helical

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Sep 29, 2009
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How do you do them and what/when is the reason to do them? I see some people who do them refer to them either a CA glue finish others a super glue....but CA glue is just another name for super glue right? :o.
 
Fletch Helical said:
How do you do them and what/when is the reason to do them? I see some people who do them refer to them either a CA glue finish others a super glue....but CA glue is just another name for super glue right? :o.
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yep it is the same thing. I do it on any wood handle I do. stabilized or not. It gives it a nice satin sheen when buffed lightly with 4ought steel wool.

Jason
 
Is there any special technique to it? Do I just buy some superglue, squeeze it out and paint it on the handle?
 
CA is cyanoacrylate - Super Glue is another name for it, but CA will always be CA, SuperGlue will always be a brand name.
 
I'm still working on my methodology, but CA finishes are rather labor intensive to me and I get cleaner results with teak oil. That said, sometimes they're necessary and I spread on 3 or 4 coats evenly with a latex gloved finger and let dry. Sand until smooth with 220 or so and repeat, hopefully once, probably twice. Once you have it nice and thick and even, you can sand up to 800 or so and buff with green rouge, GENTLY because the buffer will melt it and set you back some steps. I hate doing CA finishes, but they sure do make grain pop on highly figured woods.
 
Instead of CA, why not just spay it with polyurethane?
 
oh Bill! SHHHHHHHHHHH! you said the "p" word :eek:

Poly CAN be used although most feel it's rather pedestrian and ugly. nuthing beats the warmth and sheen of a well done oil process. CA is the next best thing to a oil finish.

basically you glob it on and brush it out... buff with 0000 steel wool. rinse lather repeat till it's perfect.

Jason
 
It's a lot of work for a sub standard finish. If I wanted a shiny coating on wood I would use polyurethane or lacquer. I prefer polished wood with oil or waxed finish.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Instead of CA, why not just spay it with polyurethane?
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General consensus is it won't hold up. I've only tried it once, and the general consensus was correct (imagine that) it didn't hold up. If it were your knife , fine you can recoat it, but IMO a customer deserves better than that...
Matt Doyle
 
But Super Glue won't hold up better than other applied finishes. I just don't understand why anyone would use it as a finish. BTW, those CA fumes are cyanide fumes!
 
Bill I could not for the life of me figure out why I got a nose bleed the other night. I was fixing a small crack in the wood with super glue and working reallly close to it and had a few big wiffs and then the trickle of blood and then a gusher. When I need to get a high gloss I use true oil gun stock finish or tung oil .Give it one or 2 coats and buff with brown wax and wipe and it comes out pretty darn nice. I have tried that coating the handle in super glue and its not really as nice in my opinion and like bill says wont last like a good oil. kellyw
 
Super glue is a penetrating and stabilizing finish, not a coating. It soaks deep into the wood, and seals every pore and pit. On woods like buckeye burl, it is the only way to get a truly stunning handle finish. Done right, there is no real build up of the finish, it is in the wood, not on it.The wood becomes plasticized with the resin, not coated with it. When sanded to a high grit and polished the wood surface will shine like glass. Here is a build article that explains how Bruce Bump does it.
http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=2771

If you have your professionally wood stabilized, the results are very similar. Even with stabilized wood, the final sealing with super glue helps fill the many large pores and voids on woods like buckeye burl, redwood burl, box elder burl, and many others.

Stacy
 
Go to your local hobby store for CA. It comes in several thicknesses. From super thick to water consistency (super thin). That is what you want to use on the handles so it spreads effortlessly.
 
Whiel we are discussing CA, any opinions on whether it would be good for a kitchen knife in terms of water resistance? If not CA, then what?

Thanks
 
Fletch Helical said:
How do you do them and what/when is the reason to do them? I see some people who do them refer to them either a CA glue finish others a super glue....but CA glue is just another name for super glue right? :o.
Click to expand...

Go with the advice from Stacy and Bruce. Theirs comes from experience, not just opinion.
 
My remarks are not "just opinion." I use quite a bit of CA in my shop. I also understand using CA to fill voids and to penetrate materials, as I do these things. What I don't understand is actually leaving a sanded coating of CA on handles. Many applied wood finishes would be better for a coated finish.
 
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