Making a pen is a more technical process than much of what we do with polymer clay, so there are a lot of places where things can go wrong, particularly when you combine different materials and equipment.
This article is much more complete thanks to the second half of this article on Toni Street’s website that discusses troubleshooting common problems. I’ve written it with my own troubleshooting, but my troubleshooting was definitely helped by what I learned initially from her.
CA glue cracks a few hours after you finish
This happened when I made my first pen using a poor quality CA accelerator or glue. Read the article on CA glue basics for more help.
It can also happen if you generate too much heat in the curing process: for me this was buffing too aggressively.
Toni notes that it could be due to the glue curing too fast. See her page for more tips on that. This hasn’t been an issue for me yet.
CA is white or cloudy in spots
Your pen wasn’t dry, or you used too much accelerator or sprayed it too closely to the pen blank. This can reportedly also happen in very humid climates due to the excess water in the air.
Cracks form weeks/months later
Toni notes that this is usually due to using a non-flex CA. See the article on CA glue basics for more help.
Part of your pen isn’t shiny despite you applying CA everywhere
You sanded below your CA finish and exposed the polymer clay below it. This has happened to me when I tried to sand two barrels at once by going back and forth across both of them: I over-sanded the ends of the barrels in the middle and under-sanded the ones at the far ends, resulting in bare plastic in the middle.
The good news is the solution is simple: just start over applying more CA. You do not need to re-sand all the CA off, just make sure you thoroughly clean and dry the barrels so there’s no dust, water, or oil on them before starting again.
Your CA is very bumpy
You applied too much CA too quickly and it clumped — this will not get better with more CA, you have to sand it back down before you continue.
Check every coat or two when applying it to catch this problem early before it gets worse. You can sand in the middle of your coats and continue applying CA afterwards, just make sure it’s dust- and water-free before continuing.
Your bushings are stuck to your pen after applying CA
If it’s just a thin coat of CA between the bushing and the pen, just twist them apart. If it’s a lot of CA, you applied too much CA or your pen blank was over the bushing height before you began applying the CA, and you need to sand it down more before adding the CA.
Your CA finish cracked when you pressed your pen together
You didn’t sand off excess CA after removing it from the bushings. See the article on finishing a pen with CA glue.
Your CA finish has pits in it/won’t get smooth
You didn’t apply enough CA to fill in the pits in your original clay finish. Consider sanding more and/or applying more or thicker CA. Medium CA will do a better job filling in pits, which is why I always end with at least 1-2 coats.
Like any other activity, pen makers have their own specialized terminology that can be confusing when you first start.
Bands
The piece of metal that goes between two parts of the pen — e.g., where a twist pen twists.
You can get specialized bands engraved with various designs that fit specific pen kits; make sure you get one that fits your pen kit.
Barrel trimmer
Used to trim down a blank to exact size after cutting it. Not necessary for making polymer clay pens.
Blanks
Blanks are blocks of wood or acrylic that pen turners spin on a lathe and use woodworking tools to cut down to size. Sometimes polymer clay artists call their finished barrels “blanks” as well, especially if they’re selling just the barrels instead of the finished pens.
Bushings
Bushings are small metal tubes that you use on each end of your barrel to show what height you want the end of the barrel to be. If you want, the barrel can be different heights between them, but for a smooth pen feel, each end should match the bushing for that end.
Some kits have different bushings for each end, so pay attention to your kit’s directions and make sure you create your barrel correctly and then orient it correctly when assembling the pen.
Different pens have different kits, so pay attention to what you need for which kit and consider storing your bushings in bags that identify which kit(s) they are used with.
CA Accelerator
Accelerator is sprayed on to your CA after each layer if you want it to set faster.
CA Glue
Cyanoacrylate Glue makes a very durable finish for pens, including polymer clay pens. While superglue is technically a brand of CA glue, it is not a good choice for finishing pens.
Cap
The top of a pen.
Chisels
Used by pen turners for reducing a blank to appropriate size. Not used when making polymer clay pens unless you are turning them (which most people don’t.)
Clips
The clip is the part of the pen that attaches it to your pocket or notebook. Many pen kits that include clips can be assembled without the clip if you prefer a clip-less pen.
You can also buy specialized clips with various designs and engravings for different pen kits, just make sure you get one made for your pen kit.
Drill bits, chucks, etc.
Used by pen turners for drilling out a blank. Not necessary when making polymer clay pens.
Woodturners use lathes to turn their pens. Since we do not have to turn our pens, you can skip buying a lathe and either sand by hand or use something like a drill or Foredom.
Mandrel
A mandrel is just a rod you use to assemble the pen.
When you are turning a wooden pen, or finishing any pen (including polymer clay), you want a threaded mandrel so you can use nuts to tighten your barrels against the bushings so they don’t spin when you try to turn them or sand them.
You can assemble your own mandrel or buy one.
Pen Kit
A pen kit contains the hardware necessary to assemble a pen. It will have the ink, the tip, the appropriate mechanism (twist or click), and some brass barrels you will put clay around.
It will not include bushings, you will need to buy those separately if you want them.
Pen Press
A specialized piece of equipment that makes it easier to assemble a pen kit. You can also use a vice, though they can be harder to keep the pen kit in proper alignment, and if you don’t already have one they can cost almost as much as buying a pen press.
Pen Tube Insertion Tool
Not required for polymer clay pens, it’s used by pen turners who are drilling out blanks and need to insert the tube into the drilled blank.
Refills
Pen kits are usually designed like normal pens you purchase are and you can replace the ink when it is used up. Make sure you look up your kit and take a note of what refills it takes.
Tip
The point of a pen that the ink cartridge comes out of so you can write with it.
Tubes
Pen kits come with brass tubes that you will apply polymer clay to, to create the decorated barrels for your final kit. Different kits use different length tubes and sometimes a kit with two tubes has two different sizes or diameters for those tubes.
You can also just buy tubes on their own without the kits, which is cheaper and a good option if you want to experiment more or sell polymer clay “blanks” rather than finished pens.
If you haven’t yet applied CA glue, you can always peel your clay off a tube and re-use the tube if you didn’t like the pen you made, even after baking. If it doesn’t come off the tube by picking at it with your fingers, you can use a blade to slice into the clay and peel it off.
If you have already applied glue you could sand it down enough to be able to peel off the clay, but tubes are cheap enough (and can be bought on their own, without the pen kits) that that may not be worth the time and effort.
Much of the information online about pen turning is confusing because it’s difficult to sort out what actually applies to making polymer clay pens and what doesn’t.
Do I need a lathe?
No. I have posts here about how to use a drill to finish pens, and you can even just sand them by hand if you want. They are linked off my page on Making Pens with Polymer Clay.
Do I need to buy blanks?
No, you will form your clay right on the brass tubes that come with a pen kit. All you need to do is buy a kit (search “pen kits” in your favorite search engine to find many sources for buying them.)
If you just want to practice, or want to make “blanks” (barrels) to sell, you can buy tubes separately.
Do I need to drill out the center?Superglue the tube to the clay?
No, that’s because woodturners get solid blocks of wood or acrylic that they need to drill out and then superglue (aka CA glue) the tube in. Since we form our “blanks” right on brass barrels, there’s no need to drill them out.
Do I need to buy wood turning tools like a chisel?
No, not unless you are planning on building a solid clay blank and turning it like it were wood. Most polymer clay pens are formed close to their final shape and size, and you can use your standard sanding tools to sand them down and smooth them.
Do I need a mandrel? Bushings?
No, you can make your own mandrel and while bushings are helpful, they’re not required. See my article on the minimum equipment necessary to make a pen for information on how to create your own tools from cheap hardware store components.
Do I need specialized sanding or polishing equipment?
No, you can use what you already use for polymer clay. Just realize that, like jewelry, polymer clay pens will be handled up close so you need to sand and polish them very well and, unlike jewelry, it’s very hard to use resin on them.
You may want to read my article on optional tools that make penmaking easier and higher quality, which discusses some specific sanding and polishing options.
Do I need a pen kit?
Eventually you may like one, but you can start using disposable Bics (or potentially even other brands, just check that the barrel (without the ink cartridge) can stand up to your oven at your clay’s temperature for your normal baking time. Bic Clic Stic, Bic Soft Feel Retractable, and Bic Round Stic are all pens I have heard will work, though it’s always worth double-checking yourself in case the manufacturer changed the formula.
You will need to pull the pens apart, cover the barrel (remove the ink cartridge!), bake, sand/finish, and then put the pen back together.
Do I need a pen press?
Technically no, though if you bought one piece of specialized equipment, I’d recommend it be a simple pen press. There’s more information in my article on the minimum equipment necessary to make a pen.
Do I need to use some specialized finish like CA glue (superglue)?
Definitely not! Melanie Rollens is a fabulous cane and pen maker and doesn’t finish with anything other than sanding and buffing.
That said, I personally prefer a CA finish, and have written a bunch of articles linked off my page on Making Pens with Polymer Clay to try to de-mystify the process for polymer clay artists.
It’s definitely not required, but I’ve found it a useful reference and for $0.99 it’s a nice way to thank them for keeping the database up to date as well.
They will be updating the database again soon, according to their website, so while you may find some missing kits (I haven’t yet, but I’m using pretty standard kits) an update is supposedly coming.
Cutters
I used these PolyClay Tube Cutters from Penn State on every pen I make and find them well worth the $7 I paid for the set.
There are different sizes that will allow you to quickly and easily cut clay to fit (with no overlap) around the most popular pen barrel sizes: 7mm, 8mm, 3/8 in., 27/64 in. and 10mm.
They’re extra long, so they work with a variety of tube lengths, and you can easily trim the ends off your barrel after wrapping it.
When I’m doing a kaleidoscope I don’t use them, since I want it to tile perfectly (then I use my graph paper templates), but since I often like to work on a base layer of clay, they’re perfect for getting an easy base layer in place rolled out on the very thinnest level on my pasta machine.
PolyClay Mandrel
Also from Penn State, this PolyClay-specific mandrel makes it very easy for me to sand, finish, and polish my barrels on my drill. You can make one yourself (I give suggestions in my article on the minimum equipment necessary for penmaking), but I didn’t know that at the time.
I haven’t regretted the purchase though: the slightly flattened end nuts, long threaded rod, and knurled connecting nuts make it a breeze to use on my drill and I reach for it every time rather than my home made setups.
At $15 it’s not the cheapest thing out there, but for me it’s been worthwhile.
Round Cane Slicing Jig
I do not use this personally, because I don’t make pens like this, but many do, so I’m mentioning it as an option. If you’ve used it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments on this post!
Penn State also produces a PolyClay Cane Slicing Jig to make it easier to hand-slice round canes without distortion. If you already have one of the fancier slicers you may not be interested, or if you don’t do round canes often (like me), but at $10 it might be a useful purchase for the right person.
Thomas Scientific Blades
Switching to these Thomas Scientific Tissue Blades made a big difference for me in cutting my canes. They are thin but not overly flexible, and my slices have gotten much more even and thin.
LindasArtSpot sells them in 5, 10, and 25 packs. You may also be able to find them other places, but this is the source I know and where I got mine. They aren’t cheap — these are not the generic “tissue blades” you will find searching, they’re a specific brand I’ve found is significantly better than others I’ve tried — but I now use nothing else to slice my canes for my pens.
Wool buffing wheel
If you aren’t using a plastic polish and/or CA glue, this is a significantly better buffing wheel than any other one I have used: Buffing Shank with Wool Polishing Head 1”
It doesn’t leave nearly as many micro scratches behind, and as long as you buff thoroughly, it’s the best surface I’ve been able to get on clay using a buffing wheel.
Novus Polish
Novus Plastic Clean and Shine works great if you’re working on a drill or lathe, and has less of a chance of damaging your CA finish with the heat from a buffing wheel. The abrasive is suspended in a liquid, which helps heat disappation.
They also offer “Novus Polish Mate”, but having tried it, even though it’s cheap, I agree with the reviewers on amazon: it’s basically paper towels. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are having issues with paper towels.
CA Glue
I was very hesitant to start using CA glue but I’m so glad I did. I love the finish and the confidence to hand my pens over to people to use long term. One experienced polymer clay maker reported that she’s had a CA-coated pen in her backpack for almost a decade and the clay+CA surface is just as good as it was on the day she made it — the pen hardware has gotten more beaten up than the clay surface.
I wrote a lot of articles on how to use CA, since it’s an unfamiliar topic to experienced clay artists. They’re all listed on my index page for my articles on Making Polymer Clay Covered Pens.
Abranet
I confess: I am not a perfect slicer. And I slice too thick. Even with the blades above. Given that I make a lot of slimlines, this means I end up sanding…a lot.
I’ve come to love my Abranet mesh paper for sanding my pens. It’s much more durable than any other sandpaper I’ve used, and holds up well to even long sanding sessions as I get a barrel down to size.
(Note that you will find much cheaper mesh sandpapers available, but read the reviews carefully. Part of why Abranet is so popular is it sands well and lasts a long time, and other mesh sandpapers often don’t have the same qualities.)
Micro Mesh Sanding Pads
I used to use polishing papers, but about a year ago I switched to micromesh sanding pads and am very happy I did. (There’s also what appear to be very similar sanding sheets, though I haven’t used them.)
The set I bought didn’t include this dispenser, and you can probably find some that doesn’t, but I suspect the dispenser is actually really useful — one of the problems I always have is fumbling for the right color and keeping them straight, and I really like the construction of the one here.
Note that when you look at any micromesh pads you will see confused people writing negative reviews about how the pads are labeled wrong — they aren’t, they’re using a different labeling system.
Just remember that the sanding pads use a different grit system. The 1500 grit sanding pad is equivalent to a 400-600 grit sandpaper. Therefore, there’s no point in using your Abranet or sanding paper up to 800 or 1200 and then switching back to the lowest grit micromesh — you’re just undoing a bunch of work.
Pen Press
If you are using a vice today (or a rubber hammer), you may want to consider investing in a pen press. The best answer is a real pen press — and there’s one for sale on Amazon right now that is $38, which is very competitive with vice prices (and there’s one at Penn State for $50.) You may be able to find one cheaper somewhere else as well.
An alternative is the Assembly/Disassembly Pen Press from Penn State, which is the the one I have and can personally vouch for it working very well. I like having the option to dissemble a pen I’ve messed up, even if I don’t use it often.
There are many techniques for applying CA glue and I’ve tried most of them. I will show you how to do the one I’ve found to be most consistently effective.
If you haven’t already read my article on the prep work for applying CA glue to polymer clay pens, start there. The rest of this article assumes you already have a drill or lathe, mandrel of some sort, bushings prepared, and appropriate safety equipment.
This article assumes you have already sanded your pen barrel down. If it is not at or ideally slightly below the bushings, you will have issues with the CA.
Accelerator is best when sprayed 12-18” away from your work, which causes a problem for many polymer clay folks because we work in small spaces. The technique I discuss below solves for that.
The importance of bushing height
If you apply too much CA glue and go too far above the bushings, all the problems I’m about to discuss get harder to deal with — so pay close attention to bushing height, and consider sanding a bit below the bushings (or at least very very close to flush) so you limit how much CA is on the bushings.
Do not expect anything you do to fully prevent the CA glue from sticking to the metal: what it will do is make it easier to peel off at the end of your finishing session. If the CA is very thick this might be tough.
But even worse than having trouble getting the CA off the bushings is having trouble getting the bushings off your pen barrel. They usually stick a bit, but if you have a lot of CA above the height of the bushings, it’s more likely it is that the CA will break or fracture on the pen barrel when you separate the bushings.
In a later section in this article I show how to separate the pen from the bushings.
Preparing your pen barrel
Always make sure your pen barrel is dry, dust free, and sanded to ~800 grit. Toni recommends 800-1500, but so far I haven’t had any visible scratches at the end when I stop at 600-800.
You can use some 99% alcohol or denatured alcohol to clean the blank to make sure there’s no dust or oil left on it before proceeding.
If you haven’t already read my article on sanding pen barrels, take a look, it has some good tips.
How to apply the CA glue
There are many ways to do this. This is the one I’ve found gives me the most consistent and effective results. It also avoids getting accelerator all over my clay work surface.
If you prefer to explore other ways to apply CA, you can take a look at the videos I saved to my YouTube Pen Making play list, or simply search YouTube for more CA glue wood turning videos.
This is the video I learned from and is worth watching:
This method works by applying the accelerator with a paper towel or wax paper with accelerator on it before applying the CA, rather than applying the CA first and then spraying the accelerator on
March 2020 update: I found this was causing ridges in my glue from it curing too fast, and have switched to applying the accelerator afterwards, and it’s working much better. That said, this is the first method I used that really helped me “get it” in terms of effectively applying CA, so I’m still leaving my write-up.
The advantages of this method are:
You don’t need to get 12-18 inches back to spray accelerator on your barrels, which means you avoid spraying it all over your craft room
The glue dries quickly so your total work time is lower
The disadvantages are:
The CA glue is curing as you are applying it, so it will generate heat
The CA cures quickly, so you need to make sure you are alternating sides to start with the CA, so one side doesn’t get all the CA on it
Always start with thin to fill in the small scratches you can’t see before moving on to medium to get a thicker coat.
I do 4-6 coats of thin CA and then 1-2 of medium, but that’s very dependent on how well-sanded your barrel is to start (more scratches means you need more thin CA) and how close you are to your bushings (you don’t want to go too high above the bushings with the CA, as noted earlier.) Some do many more coats of thin, some many more of medium.
Regardless of how you apply your CA, keep these things in mind
If you are doing two barrels at once, apply to each barrel separately, refreshing your glue each time
Be careful about going back and forth too many times — you’ll learn to notice when it starts feeling tacky and stop. But before you learn, you’ll likely mess up your CA — it’s okay, just sand it down and start over
Always alternate which side you “start” from when applying CA, or you will get too much of a build-up of CA on one side
You’ll see a lot of woodworkers applying the thin CA directly to the barrel — I don’t do that because it requires two hands. I prefer to put it on a paper towel or wax paper
Always start with thin CA and do at least a few coats
If you are getting bumps in your CA you are trying to apply too much at once — do less each time and more coats total, I usually only do 2-3 drops each time
Fix bumps in your CA by sanding them off, going up to 400 grit, and then applying more CA
If you are getting white spots after spraying on accelerator, you’re using too much or spraying it too close
The point of applying CA smoothly andlearning how to avoid bumps is that you don’t have to do extremely low grits later to get the CA smooth. Too much CA sanding produces excess heat, which can cloud the CA, and also risks over-sanding to get through all the grits and removing all that CA you took the time to apply.
It’s worth practicing your CA application, paying attention after each coat or two to check to see if you introduced too many bumps because they will just keep getting worse if you don’t sand them back down.
Getting your bushings off your barrels
Even non-stick bushings will stick to your barrels via the CA glue. The point of non-stick bushings, and of the paste wax for regular bushings, is to make it easier to separate the bushing from the barrel, not to prevent them from sticking at all.
When removing your bushings from your barrel, remember that CA glue has very high tensile strength, but is much easier to break by shearing.
So don’t despair if you can’t pull your bushings straight off your pen — try to twist them or, if that doesn’t work, wiggle it back and forth in a sheared direction. You can also use a thin chisel to score the intersection between the barrels and the bushings to encourage it to let go without cracking on the barrel.
Your goal is to get the CA to let loose from the bushing but stay firmly attached to your pen without cracking.
If for some reason you do destroy your CA finish, you can always sand it down and re-apply it. I’ve done that three times on the same barrel when I was learning how to apply CA effectively.
If you are using regular (i.e. not non-stick) bushings, you may find it helpful to do a bunch of sanding first before trying to remove your bushings, as that will also sand down the CA glue on the bushings and make it thinner and easier to remove.
The advantage to non-stick bushings, even with odorless CA glue
I’ve been using non-stick bushings even with the odorless glue (I put some paste wax on them to help it come off, though I don’t know for sure how much it’s helping because I don’t want to risk trying it and not being able to get the glue off my bushings) because they have a key advantage:
Non-stick bushings are narrower than even slimline barrels, so there is a gap between their end and the end of your barrel.
I’ve found this has made it a lot easier to separate my bushings from my barrels before sanding and without cracking the CA on my barrels.
Here’s a pair of pictures illustrating the difference between how non-stick bushings have a bit of a gap between the barrel and the bushing, versus the slimline bushings which rest right against the barrel (there’s a few coats of CA on the barrels in the bottom picture, which is why they don’t look perfectly smooth.)
You will likely have a bit of CA sticking off the edge of the barrel from the bushings. It’s very critical that you sand this off, or you will likely crack the CA off your barrel when you press the pen together.
Just put some sandpaper of any low-ish grit flat on the table and sand each end of each barrel in a circle until the CA is flush with the brass barrel. (You can also do this process now, or earlier, to make sure the polymer is flush with the brass barrel.)
Don’t sand the end of the barrel on a surface with any give to it (like a towel), as that will cause the sandpaper to curl up over the edges of the barrel and sand those further down as well.
I use ~120-180 grit but honestly, anything low works. I just happen to have a lot of that grit.
Sanding the CA
By applying the CA, you added some height to your pen, and you will want to get it back down to closer to the bushing height.
If you used non-stick bushings, remove them and put your regular bushings back on.
If you used regular bushings, pull the CA off them.
I prefer to use abranet and micromesh for sanding CA, but you can use any sanding or polishing materials.
Note that all the sanding below is wet sanding.
First, you want to sand each barrel thoroughly: I use 600-800 grit abranet mesh for this. “Thoroughly” means you see almost no shiny spots (which are places where the CA is lower, and therefore not sanded yet.) The fewer shiny spots, the smoother and glossier your final surface will be. This is the most critical step.
If you are feeling the need to go down to 120 or 220 grit sandpaper, You probably have too many bumps in your CA and need to adjust your technique.
Next, go through your levels of micromesh or sandpaper at 800+ and then finishing paper. Just like when you sanded the pen barrel, always sand length-wise after each grit (read my article on sanding pen barrels for more information; much applies to the CA sanding as well.)
Don’t sand too much — or maybe do
Remember it is completely possible to actually sand all the CA off your barrel — which may be exactly what you want to do if you messed up.
You can always start over with CA again, even if there’s a bit of CA left on an over-sanded barrel. It’ll work just like applying a second coat of CA did before.
If you find a flat spot, or a spot with too little CA, you can always add more.
Polishing
Novus plastic clean and shine (#1) gives a beautiful finish after all the sanding is done. It’s inexpensive and worth using.
Just squirt some on something like a low or lint-free paper towel or cotton cloth or whatever, and rub it back and forth while your pen barrels spin for 10-20 seconds.
Don’t apply so much that it flies off the barrel and decorates your clay room — you can always add more if you want to do more polishing.
Buffing?
While you certainly can buff, like you’re used to with other polymer clay projects, it has two disadvantages:
Pen blanks aren’t the easiest to hold while buffing and can more easily slip out of your hands (though buffing them on the mandrel helps, you will need to use your fingers to stop them from spinning too much), but more importantly
Buffing creates heat, and heat that high can cause CA glue to get cloudy
Given the low price of products like Novus, and long shelf life, my recommendation would be a plastic polish instead, despite it being a bit messier and another product to buy.
You need to apply CA with a lathe or other spin-creating tool (see my articles on cordless and lock-on drills for lathe alternatives). And since your barrels will be spinning, you will need a threaded rod and nuts to keep them held firmly and moving around with the drill.
If you don’t have something like a PolyClay Mandrel or some knurled round coupling nuts or similar threaded low-profile nuts, I’d recommend using extra bushings to separate the nuts from where you will be applying CA glue, as you want your hand to be able to move smoothly from end to end.
Choosing your CA glue and accelerator
The random glue you have in your drawer or just bought from Hobby Lobby will probably cause cracking problems for you and be frustrating. Start by choosing a CA glue that will work well with pens: CA Glue Basics
Bushings
As a polymer clay pen-maker, you need bushings for a few reasons:
They help you sand and finish your pen barrels to the correct height to work with the rest of the pen
They keep your pen barrels separated from each other, when you have two (which is very useful when applying CA glue)
They keep your pen barrels separate from your drill so you don’t get CA glue on more expensive components
They keep your pen barrels separate the nuts you’re using to tighten everything on your mandrel, so you can move your hands freely back and forth while applying the CA.
Woodturners need multiple sets of bushings, due to their stronger cutting tools, but as a poly clay artist you will likely need only one set for each type of pen kit unless you are using extra bushings for separating barrels when baking or on your mandrel.
If you are using CA glue, I think it’s useful to have an extra set or two of slimline bushings to keep space between your barrels and your drill and nuts.
Preparing your bushings
If you are using regular CA glue, then the best bushings are non-stick bushings (which I believe are made from HDPE). You can order them off Amazon or get them from wherever you are getting your pen supplies.
You will likely need only one set of four.
If you are using odorless, it’s a bit trickier, since it sticks to HDPE. In that case I use a trick I learned from Toni Street’s page on finishing pens: Rub some paste wax on the bushings first, though it took some experimenting to figure out a good technique.
I apply the paste wax liberally to each of the bushings and the coupling nuts, including the ends, give it a chance to dry, and then buff it out.
Prepare your workspace
CA glue will stick to anything it touches, and if it’s natural fibers, it will emit heat and potentially a lung-irritating smoke.
I keep some acetone around (e.g. nail polish remover with acetone) for clean up, but mostly try to avoid having to clean up.
I use wax paper (e.g. deli sheets) sliced into small squares to apply the CA glue rather than paper towel, which can react with the CA glue and create heat/smoke/fire (though you will see lots of woodturners using paper towels, and I’ve used them too. Just be aware of the risk if you do.)
I use polyethylene to protect surfaces: whether it’s a polyethylene disposable glove that I put used wax paper on, or a polyethylene sheet on my lap to protect my jeans, it’s worth a bit of work up front.
One little-discussed risk around CA glue is the fact that it will cause an exothermic reaction (heat/fire) when it comes into contact with natural materials like cotton, leather, wool, etc. — which includes things like your jeans, T-shirt, paper towels, etc.
The reaction can be fast, and depending on the amount, you could burn yourself or release a smoke that will irritate your lungs.
Please be very careful if you are working in a T-shirt or jeans — the safety data sheets for CA glues will tell you not to wear them while using CA.
I found this the hard way when applying CA with a paper towel, not thinking about what it was made from: I had put some accelerator on my pen body and started to apply the CA and my fingertips got suddenly very hot.
Luckily I did not get burned, and I solved my problem by slipping on a pair of gardening gloves which provided just enough insulation for my fingers given the small amounts of CA I was using — but it caught me by surprise, and I was glad it wasn’t worse.
None of the information here is certified or warrantied in any way. I am a hobbiest and sharing the best information I’ve learned, but I may be 100% wrong on everything and your safety is always your responsibility and you should verify and confirm information for yourself. Where possible I have included links to serve as a starting point for research for you.
The strength of CA glue is that it will bond to anything — which is also its challenge. But there is a short list of things it doesn’t stick to — and most of them aren’t easy to find for surface protection.
In general, particularly when you are using an activator, CA will be happy to find things to stick to.
Polyethylene
While this isn’t listed in the most popular article for “what does CA glue not stick to”, if you search on how to glue polyethylene, it’s often being discussed at the same time as polypropylene as something that is hard to glue.
My recommendation for performance, price, and availability would be to look for polyethylene gloves, either disposable or not depending on what you prefer.
I ended up getting these polyethylene gloves because they are thin, cheap, disposable, and it’s not an issue if some CA ends up adhering to them: Disposable Clear Plastic Gloves.
Alternatively, you can use something like painter’s tape (aka masking tape) to tape over your fingers to protect them (especially if you are using paper towels.)
If you are using paper towels, consider slightly thicker gloves (e.g. I have a set of polyethylene gardening gloves) if you are using my preferred method of applying the CA glue, because I found the heat uncomfortable on my finger otherwise.
The important part is having something to protect yourself and any surfaces that it may touch that you care about.
Are you aware that you could get burned if CA glue fell on your jeans and why paper towels could be a problem with CA glue? Read my article on CA Glue Safety: Natural Materials.
For the curious, here’s what I’ve learned about other plastics and additional research I did after reading the Starbond article.
None of the information here is certified or warrantied in any way. I am a hobbiest and sharing the best information I’ve learned, but I may be 100% wrong on everything and your safety is always your responsibility and you should verify and confirm information for yourself. Where possible I have included links to serve as a starting point for research for you.
Acetal Homopolymer/Copolymer (Delrin and Celcon)
I have been unable to tell if this includes both Delrin and Celcon, the two types of acetal plastics, or just Delrin. I suspect “both” since this article from 3M talks about how both are hard to glue, and this article talks about how they are very similar for most uses. The 3M article also notes how to use CA glues to bond them with the addition of a primer.
I haven’t actually tested this, because it’s not a coating used on gloves, but if you were looking for a surface to work with glue on, an acetal sheet may be a great choice (though if you use odorless you may run into problems.)
Polypropylene
I was unable to find any polypropylene coated gloves other than these, and they aren’t useful because they are a loose cotton weave and the glue would easily get on your fingers between the holes.
PTFE (e.g. Teflon)
The only gloves I was able to find that were PTFE-coated are expensive, bulky ones like these cryogenic gloves.
HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene)
HDPE has polyethylene at its base, but is a high density version, which I presume is why it’s more resistant to CA glue than regular polyethylene.
Plastic wrap is LDPE (low density polyethylene), making it an interesting option for protecting larger surface areas though I haven’t tried it yet.
CA glue can irritate your eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, because the fumes are a vaporized form of the CA itself and they react instantly with the moisture in your body just like they do with moisture on a surface or from a CA accelerant. About 1 in 20 people will also eventually become sensitized to CA fumes after repeated exposure and develop flu-like symptoms hours or days later. And finally, for some people, the fumes will trigger their asthma.
But lots of woodworkers work fairly freely with CA and just rely on their shop ventilation. You will need to evaluate yourself, your room setup, and your personal choices and risks to decide how much protection you want to follow and how much risk you’re comfortable with.
All manufacturers will provide the SDS (Safety Data Sheet — here’s an example from BSI) so you can read through and decide.
None of the information here is certified or warrantied in any way. I am a hobbiest and sharing the best information I’ve learned, but I may be 100% wrong on everything and your safety is always your responsibility and you should verify and confirm information for yourself. Where possible I have included links to serve as a starting point for research for you.
Work in a well-ventilated area (at a minimum a fan blowing fumes away from you) and if you’re using a mask, you’ll want a P100 respirator with organic vapor cartridges, not just a little N95 disposable mask.
Whatever mask you choose, know that they’re only as good as the fit and the seal. If air is getting in around the edges, that’s unfiltered air.,
A friend who is a woodworker says he often used an aquarium charcoal filter fastened to the back back of a fan sucking air away from his work area, but I don’t have any other information on how useful or effective that is.
Odorless CAand Fumes
Odorless CA smells less, and the companies advertise it as being less irritating than non-odorless CA.
However, if you read the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) for Supergold, it still notes “Exposure to vapors above the established exposure limit may result in respiratory irritation, which may lead to difficulty in breathing and tightness in the chest.” The established exposure limit is 0.2ppm averaged over 8 hours for all CA brands that I’ve been able to find, and they still recommend a NIOSH-approved respirator with a organic vapor cartridge (e.g. something like this.)
What this means in layman’s terms is: odorless CA is highly likely to be easier on your lungs. But it’s possible it may irritate your lungs anyways, so if you are concerned, you may want to follow the safety precautions for normal CA as well.
Personally I’ve chosen to use odorless CA glue (though it’s more challenging with bushings) with a respirator and fan, but I know many people feel they’re fine just with good ventilation and normal CA glue.
CA Accelerator and Fumes
I found it very challenging to find any safety information on CA accelerators online, so had to go to the manufacturers directly and read the data sheets.
(Updating this section now)
Follow the same safety precautions you do with CA glue and be aware that, like non-odorless CA glue, you may develop an allergy with repeated exposure if you aren’t careful.
Pen makers can use “CA” glue to finish their pen barrels, and works regardless of whether your pen barrels are wood, acrylic, or polymer clay. It even works fine with many standard polymer clay surface treatments.
CA glue is sometimes called Superglue or Crazyglue, but those are both specific brand names. “CA” comes from “Cyanoacrylate” (Wikipedia) — and no, there is no cyanide in it despite the “cyan” in the name. It’s an acrylic resin.
They form their bond when exposed to moisture, which means they bond very well and quickly to human skin, and also means that their bonding time is faster in humid air and slower in dry air. So if you live in a climate that swings between very dry and very wet, you will need to adjust your technique, and if you live in an exceptionally dry or humid area, be aware that you may end up with more or less time to work than what you see in videos.
Take proper cautions around fumes, avoid having your skin glued together, and be careful of exothermic reactions, but remember that CA glues are agreed upon to generally be safe by the UK and US.
The next few posts after this one go into more detail on CA glue safety.
Shelf life
CA glue does not have a long shelf life. Opened it lasts for about a month (though Mercury says their bottles have caps that let them last longer) and unopened only about a year. Most people will want to buy the smallest bottle they can, as you don’t use very much on each pen.
If you do end up buying in bulk, you can put it in the refrigerator to increase the shelf life from 12 to ~15 months, but make sure it warms up throughly before you open it: condensation inside the bottle would start the bond and could ruin the bottle.
Brands of CA
Not all CA is created equally for pens. If you have had issues in the past with cracking or cloudy CA, it may have been how you were applying it but may also have been the brand.
Per the excellent information on Toni’s site, one of the key things to look for is a CA glue with “flex”, to reduce the chance that you will get cracks or spidering during stress. One example is PMMA (poly methyl methacrylate).
I chose to buy Bob Smith Industries CA glue due to the recommendation on Toni’s site: “Other brands such as super-gold by BSI use other ingredients which works even better.” I got the Supergold thin and Supergold+ Medium because I wanted odorless CA (see below.)
I’ve also heard good things about Mercury from some other polymer clay pen makers.
Odorless CA costs about twice as much, but (quoting from the Bob Smith Industries page on Supergold) “eliminates the irritating fumes from the evaporating monomer that make repeated use of CA unpleasant at times.” (But: see my article on CA Glue Safety: Fumes before assuming that Odorless CA or accelerator are perfectly safe.)
CA Accelerator
Because you’re just spreading CA on a surface, rather than pressing two pieces together, and then putting on multiple coats, you may find CA Accelerator useful. However, as I learned on Toni’s site, the ingredients in accelerators can cause some of the cracking/clouding problems.
Specifically, the page says, you want to avoid accelerators with acetone in them, and look for ones like Naptha and Heptane. If you aren’t sure, you need to find the manufacturer’s website, they will have the MSDS/SDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) there and you can read what’s in them. For example, here is the relevant part of the BSI accelerator’s SDS:
She recommends the following brands, but I suggest you click through to the page to see if there have been any new ones added, and to see the ones she is recommending against as well.
My preference is ones like the BSI InstaSet, because they aren’t an aerosol, but are a pump action. I explain why in my article on applying CA to the pen body.
Applying CA glue
While I have a longer article on this as well, the short and sweet is:
Your surface must be completely dry (so don’t pre-treat with something like modpodge)
You should have already sanded your blank to at least 800 grit, as any big scratches will be amplified by the glossy surface (just like what happens when you try to use resin on a scratched piece)
Getting CA off your bushings is a pain; if you have regular CA you can use plastic bushings that don’t bond to CA, but if you’re using odorless you will need to use paste wax on the bushings
For more information, see my article on applying CA to the pen body.
Safety: Fumes
If you are new to CA, I’d recommend reading my post on CA Glue Safety: Fumes for more detail on handling CA glue (including odorless) and accelerator safely.
If you didn’t know you can get a chemical burn from CA glue and your jeans, you may want to read my article on CA Glue Safety: Natural Materials
I am very grateful toTony Ransfield Street (Etsy) and Ed Street for posting a primer on using CA Glue when making polymer clay pens. While I’ve expanded on it here with what I’ve learned, theirs was the first really good information I was able to find and I appreciate their generosity.
None of the information here is certified or warrantied in any way. I am a hobbiest and sharing the best information I’ve learned, but I may be 100% wrong on everything and your safety is always your responsibility and you should verify and confirm information for yourself. Where possible I have included links to serve as a starting point for research for you.
