How to Get a Great Finish on your Pen Project
The nice thing about finishing on the lathe is that sanding and finishing is easy since the wood is spinning at a high rate of speed. The first step to a great finish on your pen project is sanding. Be careful with lighter woods when sanding because they may tend to burn.
If your turning chisels are sharp, you may be able to start sanding at higher grits if you have a nice smooth surface on your pen barrel. Generally, you will start at 120 grit (220 or 320 if you’ve done a good job with your chisels). Progress to finer grits to at least 400 grit. Many experienced turners will sand progressively to 1200 and finer. After the final sanding step, use 000 steel wool, PSI’s EEE (tripoli) polish, and/or burnish with a paper towel to achieve the best results.
We offer several options for the final finishing steps. For lacquer finishes, use PSI’s Semi-Gloss or Super-Gloss. This lacquer is applied while your work is spinning on the lathe. For a very high gloss lacquer finish, use our Hi-Gloss Project Finish. This finish is achieved by dipping your pen barrel into the lacquer and letting it dry overnight. Shellawax is a remarkable “friction” polish that dries instantly and produces a natural brilliant shine in seconds. Many turners apply Hut Perfect pen polishes as a final step since it is wax based and gives a final shine and a protective coating to your pen.
