Aarrgh..I have been building 3 or 4 rods a year for about 5 years. I still can not get a good job of finishing the wraps yet. When I first started I used some thin stuff from Manhattan tackle and Courtland. I did okay with it. I tried flex-coat and it was tough. I fell for the hupola about how easy LS was to use so I tried to settle on it an really learn how to use it, only to have them change the formualtion 4 times. I get really lumpy results with it anyway.

So now I am full committed to flex-coat. But I can not get it to come out right. I preheat it in warm water. I mix in 3 cc (of each) batches. I pour it out on to foil and blow on it. All the bubbles go away. I use either a flex coat brush or a quality white natural fiber brush. I get some good wraps and some bad ones. I have tried heating it with a butane lighter and with an alcohl lamp. The rod is level. Room temperature about 70. But on some wraps it orange peels or wont spread or it looks like it foams or has dirt in it. Anything but a flat, smooth sheen on the wrap. Right now I have a 3 piece rod turning and the larger ferrule looks pretty good and the smaller one looks like it has areas where the finsih foamed or something.

Help??

Get rid of your brushes. All they do is cause air bubbles and foam. I use an artist's pallet spatula and cut up plastic cards to rremove excess and smooth. Remove all the finish you can on first coat.

If you heat your finish, you can boil it. Stay away from the heat if at all possible. And, a brush should only be used for applying the epoxy, not actually brushing it. Apply the epoxy to the wrap (shouldn't take more than 5 to 10 seconds) and then leave it alone. It knows what to do.

Helping people with finishing problems is very, very hard to do on message boards. Usually the problem is very simple but can't always be uncovered unless the person can be watched as he or she applies the epoxy. And such is not possible on a forum like this.

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I use Glass Coat I do thin it. But I also find that the hotter it is the faster a finish will set up. I would cool the area down. The cooler it is, the longer the finish takes to set up, this also lets it flow better, because it stays wet longer. Heck if my place gets to warm, I open the door to make it cooler. Sounds like your's is setting to fast?

I agree with Tom on heat. I do not use hair dryers because you can blow dust in to the finish. When I do use heat I use a butane torch. I place my hand in front of the (blue) flame untile I can just feel the heat with out burning myself. This is the distance you want the flam from your work. Always keep the flame moving do not let it stay in one place over a secound or you well generate to much heat and boil the finish. Also do not try this with just a thin coat. You well notice a small glob of finish at the bottom of the wrap as it turns remove this excess with a spatula. By looking at the bottom of the wrap as it is turning you can also see how leavel it is and remove the excess or add a little to fill in the gaps.
Good Wraps Bob

Bill... After you apply the epoxy to the wraps, try using a blow dryer or heat gun to "flow" the epoxy. Hold the blow dryer 18" away from the wrap and run it for two minutes per wrap while the rod is turning. I also use the blow dryer to pre-warm the epoxy after I fill the syringes. Just fill them and run the blow dryer over them for two minutes. It won't boil, it will just warm up a bit. If your epoxy starts to gel on the foil before you finish that last wrap, zap the mixture with the blow dryer for a minute and you will get another minute or two of pot life. I am getting superb results with Flex Coat. Remember to take your time, measure very carefully, and stir carefully per the Flex Coat instructions. The bubbles or "foam" can be tricked out by using the blow dryer on the wraps at a closer range. Try this approach on a test wrap and Email me with your results. Best, Vance

Check out this thread from some months ago.

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In a nutshell use two coats, a thin wetting coat 1st, then a thicker coat 2nd 24 hours later to build up the finish thickness over the thread. Finish is finish and unless it is as thin as water it is going to hold air bubbles. Spatulas are good, I use the "acid" type of brush to apply finish with goo results.

If you use a propane torch to flame the finish (to pop bubbles) make sure you do not get the finish too hot or it will boil on you. Hold you hand behind the area you're flaming and run the propane flame past the work area - if your hand gets too hot then its too much heat on the finish, speed the passes up to lessen the amount of heat. Don't use a hair dryer, too much air and too much lint result.



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Bill,
Im sure your problems are small. First the wrapping thread you are using, if your using thread that is not ncp them be for befor I would but two coats of color preserver on it let it dry be between coats.

Next before you apply any epoxy let every thing warm up so every thing is at the same temp,24 hr. this will let any preserver dry.

Next only heat with hot water the "a"part of the epoxy and only mix 2cc at one time, the more you mix the faster it will set-up.with the rod in the dryer and turning . Myself I start at the tip with a small amount of epoxy on the brush apply it to your rap,brushing it along the rap not around it, also remenber to apply it to the end of the raps
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Now about the heat, do not use a hair dryer on epoxp this is a no,no.
with the epoxy we use, it take 8hr. to set-up. the only type of heat to use is a propane or an alcohol burner. When using eather one of these tools keep the flame 3 to 5 inch under the area you want to level out, make sure you keep it moving, remenberto much heat will thin out the coating, so take your time, there on reason to rush a neet rapping job.
tom gratton / rainbow rods

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Apply the epoxy to the
> wrap (shouldn't take more than 5 to 10 seconds)
> and then leave it alone. It knows what to do.


Does this mean that you dont level the epoxy with the brush or spatula and trust that it will level itself as it turns and dries?

If you pour some epoxy out onto a countertop, watch what happens. It doesn't raise up and form hills and mounds. It evens out and levels, just like water. It can't do otherwise. Try to form some lumps and watch what happens - the epoxy will just keep leveling itself back out.

All epoxy finises are self leveling. The only way you can keep them from leveling is by putting on so much that it sags and droops on the bottom of the wrap. The rotating action then spreads these droops and sags all around the wrap.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I will keep trying. Tom raises a good point. I pour my epoxy out onto a little foil "boat" and work from there. I always get a perfectly level, smooth finish on the leftover, with no bubbles in it. Sometimes I look at the ferrules, then at that perfect leftover in the foil, and get sorta mad. On some of the warps I just touch the epoxy to it and it flows right around perfect. On others it seems like I work forever and it just gets worse and worse.

I am applying by letting the rod rotate and holding the brush against the moving wrap. I turn at 9 rpm. It seems to take forever on the longer wraps. I know I read that Tom holds the rod in his hand while applying finish. Maybe I am just too slow? Yet the guides that I last generally come out better than the ones in the middle of the application time. Maybe I am not always as level as I thought. Tom's statement would seem to describe what goes on with some of my finishes.

I think you were right the first time. I loved the old Manhattan product, but Klass Kote epoxy paint is very close to it. I am working out the perfect undercoat. K-K will take 2 applications with no undercoat, but turns the thread very dark with no CP.

No, I don't hold the rod in my hand/s when applying epoxy. I don't think that would work very well. I finish with the rod right in the lathe, but I don't use any sort of motorized turning device for application nor drying.

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I use Glass Coat. I thin it with lacquer thinner. No bubbles. Good set time. When I use a hair drier, it is on low, and the area where the rod is gets a spray of water from and old spray bottle to make sure there is no dust. It should be clean in the first place. One coat on each guide. Wate. Then another while turning slow. I also level the rod with a small level