Let me start out by saying that I am not an expert.
Finishing pens is the weakest part of what I do.
I have however read a lot about finishing and have a friend who I consider is a master at finishing pens.That is not to say he would not be a master at finishing anything else, he only makes pens and has been doing it for about as long as I have 3 yrs.
I have a great interest in the woodworking aspect of making pens his strong point is the knowledge of a variety of woods and finishes.
Dc Bluesman(Lou Metcalf) is one of the few people I have heard about who know how to do a Japanese lacquer technique called urishi.
In this method of finishing a lacquer is applied with a birch stick and the lacquer itself is cured in a container much like a reptile cage.High heat and humidity.The process takes 6 months.
After each coat the birch stick is burned and the coat of finish is rubbed out with the ashes.
That little bit of information is meant to give you the idea of his patience.I have none, but am learning.
Another Master I have an e-mail acquaintance with is Russ Fairfield.
He has been very supportive of my work is making blanks and modifications to "kits".
Before you make another pen I Suggest you read everything he has to say about finishing pens or anything els he has written about woodworking.
Get a cup of you favorite beverage and relax and read these two sites.
http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/russindex.shtml
and
http://www.woodturner-russ.com/Pen10.html
Because you have already delved into this abyss you will find some of the information "redundant" but Russ has a way of explaining technical things in a layman's fashion.
I hesitate to address some of your questions because you are going to read a lot of what I have to say on Russes site.That's because I have learned a lot about finishing from him along with Lou Metcalf.
The secret to a good finish is how the pen is sanded.
You made this statement:
As smooth as we think these pens are, I can imagine that there are small dips and highs on them.
If you have prepped the surface properly there shouldn't be any visible to the naked eye.
A good finish acts like a magnifying glass and accentuated imperfections.
Those who stop sanding at 400 or 6oo grit and apply a finish thinking it will "hide" any sanding lines are fooling themselves.
The purpose of sanding is to level the surface and remove imperfections.
the reason we use different grits is to change the scratch pattern of one grit with a scratch pattern of a finer grit.Eventually the scratches cannot be seen with a naked eye.At this point we are polishing or burnishing the surface.
My Micromesh is in the sheets. I have always like to hold it.at least part of the time...like I was shoeshining when the wood was spinning on the lathe. I am betting this is a common method for people who have the sheets. I am wondering however, if this is causing the CA to wear off in areas.
That method will create a lot of heat.
though it is quite possible you are removing too much CA it is more likely you are melting the MM.
What does your MM look like?
DO you have spots that are missing the abrasive leaving just the backing?
If so some where you have run into the situation that the latex from the MM remained on the pen blank.
Can you either tell me a little more about the process that you use Unaxol or lead me to a link with more about it?
Sure no problem.
http://www.mobydicksupplies.com/
Give them a call. I inquired about this stuff and they sent me some to try because they had never heard of anyone using it as a pen finish.
I have been a customer ever since.
Are you spraying this on or brushing it?
I started out trying to spray it but found it was too easy to apply with a paper towel.
Let me Digress.
I had been using Deft Lacquer in spray cans but was unhappy with the over spray, waste and cost of rattle cans.I started using a HF airbrush to apply my Deft.results were good but when I read about Unaxol I decided to give it a try.At the same time Lou Metcalf also tried it as a wipe on finish.
His results were a lot better than my airbrush method so I tried the high build wipe on.
I haven't looked back since.
Can you sand it and polish it with the micro-mesh?
Most certainly.
I have found it so fool proof that I sand in the dark in the morning by hand with the blanks on the mandrel while I have my coffee and cigarettes(breakfast)
There are several different versions of the sanding sealer. What version are you using?
Presently I am trying the satin though I prefer a high gloss.
The satin is polishing up well with MM though.
Give them a call and use what they suggest.
I think I am using m038 d sealer.
Are you using any of the support products or just the sanding sealer?
Just the sealer.You might want to get some reducer but I haven't needed it since I Stopped trying to spray it on.
I have not found a reason to use the hardener.
It needs to be added to the top coat and acts like an epoxy in that it has a pot life of 24 hours.The finish is plenty hard enough and I have not found a reason to use it.
About how many coats do you find is typical?
With my glue ups, there is no
typical.
You can however put on a coat an hour lightly sanding with MM between coats.
When you get the appearance you want, Stop.
How does Unaxol do when it is used as a finish over CA?
Why in Gods name would you want to screw around with something that works better than CA?
If you want to experiment knock your socks off.I started using Unaxol because I wanted something superior to CA, easier to apply, less expensive and repeatable on all woods.
Try a CA finish on ebony, cocobolo,and bocote in one afternoon.
CA also does not finish over metals either.
I also have not been able to stop thinking about the felt and fabric turned pens.
I would love to know more about this process. How much more difficult is it than turning wood?
I think I want to try this material in the near future.
I suggest you try turning a purchased acrylic or PR blank first.
Though my felt and denim pens are less expensive they do require time.
Some feel that the savings in time out weigh the expense of the blank.
The felt pens do require the successful use of a CA finish because it not only makes the blank along with the felt it is also the finish.
There are things like voids to deal with.
Surface preparation is the main thing.
How much more difficult is it than turning wood?
I suspect there are many who turn acrylic pens because there is no "finishing involved.
For me I like the challenge of making my own blanks.
Anyone can buy a hunk of plastic and make a pen that looks like any ones else's plastic pen turned in their shop.The world has too many plastic pens as it is.
There is however a shortage of cloth pens.:eusa_danc
