Pen finishing Question

[Doug Abbott]

I make a few pens, and have used Hut Chrystal Coat as the finish. Looks great at first but dulls to nothing in just a few hours use on most woods. Even appears to dull the shiney metal pen parts. Is there a wax to use over it, am I doing something wrong, or is it just not a great product?

[Joe Suelter]

I had the same problem at first, but then I started waxing over the HUT with a bar of carnuba, then buffing out while still on the lathe. This works for me, perhaps somebody else knows why. I was finding that I was applying a tad too much HUT also, thinking that "more is better", but instead it just feels sticky, and clumpy.

[Dick Parr]

I have only used Hut one time and wasn't to impressed with the finish. Since then I have been using Mylands friction polish and am very happy with the finish and how it stands up.

[Rob Littleton]

I use Hut Chrystal Coat after cleaning with BLO. Then, with the lathe running on a LOW speed (but not completely LOW), I hold a rag under the pen, touching it, and pour the chrystal coat on the pen/in the towel. Let it go for a while up and down, when it gets a little warm, i move off and use the HUT wax stick ( the red one). Buff that out and it looks great.

I also (just for kicks) sometimes put a coat of Johnson wax over the top of all that.

My pens are a shiny as my head :-(

[Ken Salisbury]

I make a few pens, and have used Hut Chrystal Coat as the finish. Looks great at first but dulls to nothing in just a few hours use on most woods. Even appears to dull the shiney metal pen parts. Is there a wax to use over it, am I doing something wrong, or is it just not a great product?

The trick to getting a good finish with HCC is "heat". I place a paper towel behind and under the blank with several drops of HCC and apply along the length of the blank, squezzing hard so that heat is generated. I use 2 coats and then apply Huts PPP (white stick) lightly again in a manner to generate heat with a paper towel followed by using a soft rag for final polishing. WORKS FOR ME ! ! !

[Kent Cori]

I used the Hut Crystal polish at first but have since switched to Mylands which seems to produce a slightly glossier finish. I clean the turned blank with denatured alcohol and apply one coat of BLO on most woods. Next, I apply 3 coats of Mylands using a paper shop towel wit a dime sized spot and generating enough heat to make it uncomfortably hot through four layers of shop towel. I buff it with a clean corner of the towel after each coat. I then complete the pen with two coats of a microcrystaline wax such as Arborwax or Renaisance wax and buff it with a piece of cotton tee shirt material.