ShellaWax

[PChristy]

After I tell a good friend, TracyP, that I really like to use ShellaWax - "Houston I have a problem" a few of my stoppers - I noticed yesterday - have some bad finish on them - one looks like it has flaked off and the other looks like it didn't even take the SW in a certain spot - They where not that way before I took them out Saturday to the festival - It was raining and a few got wet - well actually all of them got wet but we managed to dry all of them off - I am guessing - Does anyone else use this finish? Have you had problems with it later after application? Does it need to cure for awhile so that something like this will not happen? Thanks

[NCTurner]

"The finish that will wear the longest is the one that puts the hardest film with the most abrasion resistance on the surface. Plastics such as acrylics, CA glue, epoxies, melamines, etc. are the most durable. They are also the hardest and and the most subject to impact damage or cracking due to wood movement. They can be the most difficult to apply, the most difficult to repair, and they have a wear pattern that results in fine surface scratches that dull the finish with time."

http://www.woodturnerruss.com/FS-4.html

[FredP]

Originally Posted by NCTurner

"The finish that will wear the longest is the one that puts the hardest film with the most abrasion resistance on the surface. Plastics such as acrylics, CA glue, epoxies, melamines, etc. are the most durable. They are also the hardest and and the most subject to impact damage or cracking due to wood movement. They can be the most difficult to apply, the most difficult to repair, and they have a wear pattern that results in fine surface scratches that dull the finish with time."

http://www.woodturnerruss.com/FS-4.html

absolutely. the problem with fixing a finished pen is taking it apart without damaging the tubes or components. not sure about stoppers. I have tools to do this but the friction fit has less friction every time you take it apart. I've had one crack so far but I'm sure it was the wood. snakewood it was and prolly wet to boot. it was fine for 2 months then cracked. amazingly enough the finish did not crack all to pieces. it just split along with the wood. I've kept it as a reminder. when in doubt about the blank...... NUKE IT.
Damage? this ones easy......don't drop em!