How to finish home-made canvas micarta? Cianoacrylate?

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Mikel_24

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Hi there,
Long ago I started making canvas micarta. So far I have made slabs out of blue canvas and green canvas (with a few white canvas strips to make it look as it had liners). When I did my first handle I tried to polish it as much as possible with sandpaper (from 100 to 2000) and after that I used a rag and went at it like crazy. It didn't look at all as the canvas micarta I saw in the pictures of the tutorial I followed. It really looked shiny in those ones! I even tried to use some green polishing compound on the rag but it didn't help at all. It just stained the handle (I had to sand it off a bit).

Now I am about to finish three knives with the green canvas micarta and I guess it won't get any better without some help from you.

The handles look great when wet but once they dry off the looks are gone. I guess I need to seal the pores somehow (I wonder if they are any given the nature of the material). I read somwhere that some makers use cianoacrilate for home-made micarta as well as for woods but I don't know how.

Can anybody explain me how to do such a thing? Do I just apply it with a gloved finger and let it dry? Do I have to sand it? Buff it?

Thanks in advance,
Mikel

PD: I don't have a buffer (neither a grinder I could turn into a buffer) but I could get some kind of buffing attachment for my drill. Do I neen any kind of polishing paste?
 
The texture in such handles is welcome in some applications (non-slipping hard working knifes).

Few years ago there was a thread somewhere about CA techniques - it was mutiple layers with fine sanding in between till it builds-up nuff and is shiny nuff for you. You can try it on a piece of your DIY micarta and see if you like it.

See if you local dollar stores carry dirt cheap CA.
 
Thanks rashid11,
I will try to find some cheap CA. If I end up using a brand glue to do so... it is going to be the most expensive home made micarta handle ever!
Mikel
 
You have discovered the difference between home made "Mycarta" and commercial Micarta. The phenolic resin they use is a different animal from polyester or epoxy resin most home brew material uses. You can seal the outside with cyanoacrylic (supper glue), sand with a fine grit ,repeat....many times to build up a coating and seal of glue, but the durability of such finished in handles that get heavy use is short. Go to the dollar store or Harbor Freight and buy the cheapest five-packs of super glue they have. You will need a lot. If you are going to do this often, purchase the cyanoacrylate glue in large bottles from a knife supply or hobby supply company.
Stacy
 
Last edited:
bladsmth said:
You have discovered the difference between home made "Mycarta" and commercial Micarta.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the info Stacy. Sure it comes handy. I will let you all know as soon as I finish it. The worse thing that may happen is that I need to sand it all off, so is no big deal.

Check the picture of the finished knife in THIS tutorial. I hope to get it to look like this...

Mikel
 
Well I have the same deal. I just handled a mule in black canvas micarta (the good kind, not homemade). I sanded to 600 so far and it has a chalky look to it when it dries. The micarta slabs were super shiny when they started so Im thinking the buffing is the step to make it shine- it probably melts up the resins and smooths things out?
 
I have found that with the home made stuff you have to be sure and sand very completely at every grit. If you see any rough/fuzzy areas left, keep on sanding using sharp paper. Go to the next grit and repeat being sure to get all the fuzzy fibers smooth. I go to 1500 grit and then buff and it gets pretty shiny. Hope it works out.

-Mike
 
svslider
Buffing will polish the commercial stuff. If the handle has the right texture that you want but looks chalky wipe down or soak it with some mineral oil.

Allen
 
I have finished the canvas micarta with teak oil, you could use about any oil. it helps keep that wet look and darkens the end of the fibers making for a more uniform look.
 
I've had trouble with the CA coming out blotchy on the home made stuff. Oil looks nice, I like to use some sort of drying oil like Danish oil to make the finish last longer.
 
A lot will depend on how much resin, epoxy or otherwise, was left in the finial product. More resin means a easier and more glossy finish most times. If you can not get rid of the fuzzy. Then super glue or another coat of clear epoxy will do the trick. I would suggest trying to find out what exactly was used resin wise before you start adding a lot of oils and whatnot. A clear acrylic spray can also be used and can hold up fairly well depending on use.
 
Has anybody tried vaccum bagging their home-made?

I work with fibreglass on a daily basis and have already dreamed up some vacuum and vacuum-infusion type deals. Might work towards solving the fuzzies and non-polishability factor.
 
I make Mycarta using the fiberglass resin from Wal-Mart for user type knives. Some of it turns out great and I am able to buff it. Some turns out to be what I call dry mycarta and it's kinda fuzzy when sanding because the resin didn't soak into all the fibers. On dry mycarta, I shape it, sand to 320 grit and then seal it with the water thin super glue found at hobby stores. The water thin super glue penetrates every fiber in a hurry. Wait 10 minutes and sand with the next finer grit. Repeat until you like the finish and buff. The thin super glue won't fill in any texture but it does seal all the fiber and allows them to be finished without the fuzz.

Here's a pic of some dry mycarta on a knife I was making for myself. It was not one of my better attempts at mycarta and it was fuzzy.


ghunter002.jpg


I was able to buff the handle after using the thin super glue as I sanded it down.
002.jpg


The knife has gotten a lot of use since I made it and the mycarta handle is holding up fine. I don't take very good care of this knife and the handle looks better then the rest of it.
pigzipper004.jpg
 
Real Micarta is made using some pretty high pressures, IIRC. With that said, conventional boatbuilding wisdom says that epoxy is going to give you a better and stronger product than polyester, vinylester, etc resins. Tat is why it cost a lot more. My understadning is that one of the advantages of vacuum bagging is that you end up using less resin in the long run to get full impregnation. if you want shiny epoxy based stuff, you can always do like the boat guys do and gel coat it.
 
Joe is very correct. Epoxy and good epoxy at that is the way to go for making this stuff. More so if you plan on using for anything other then a personal knife. Guess that is just my opinion on the matter but feel strongly about it to be honest. The chemical resistance that you get from most epoxies over polyester and vinyl ester alone is worth it. Then when you add heat, impact resistance. Epoxy is the way to go. You can use a vacuum system for sure but for the most part it is not needed to make go stuff.
 
Mark Nelson said:
Joe is very correct. Epoxy and good epoxy at that is the way to go for making this stuff. More so if you plan on using for anything other then a personal knife. Guess that is just my opinion on the matter but feel strongly about it to be honest. The chemical resistance that you get from most epoxies over polyester and vinyl ester alone is worth it. Then when you add heat, impact resistance. Epoxy is the way to go. You can use a vacuum system for sure but for the most part it is not needed to make go stuff.
Click to expand...
Excellent points. When you talk about GOOD epoxy, you are talking about stuff like West System or Brownells Accraglass, not the 1-1 mix ratio stuff you get at HD. I switched over to 5-1 ratio West about a year ago and never looked back. The good thing about West is that they have different compounds for different tasks. You can find an epoxy that is specifically designed to give a good, non-yellow finish. You are going to pay a premium, but considering what suppliers are getting for stuff like linen Micarta these days, it will be slightly less painful.
 
I have only used my homemade mycarta and the best way I have found to get it shiny is, to sand it down as high as you can 1000 for me. Then I steel wool it course to fine then coat it a couple of times with a clear finish. What that does is stiffing up those little fuzzies you just can't seem to get rid of then I go back with steel wool till its shiny
 
I have made some but for what it costs to make I buy it from Pop's for a great price.
 
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