It's official. I hate working with epoxy. I can't get it to finish the way I want. I get all over the place (okay, last night I learned not to drink and epoxy--bad combination). I can't get rid of bubbles. I can't get it on level. I've tried several methods and nothing seems to work for me.

Sean. You will doubtless get much advise on how to use epoxy. As an alternative, consider varnish as an undercoat/CP and 2 coats of Klass Kote epoxy paint over the top. This gives a very smooth, bubble free finish. 2 coats of Klass Kote without an undercoat gives the best finish I have seen to date, but it preserves very little color. With varnish as the undercoat I can still detect a little ripple under artificial light, so I am currently expermenting with other undercoats like Gudebrod 822 to get the perfect finish.

Sean,
What brand of epoxy are you using? Maybe someone can give to a hand but will have to know what type you are using.

You need to see someone apply epoxy correctly (although you're going to be shocked at that fact they do almost nothing). Most epoxy problems are hard to fix by message board communication alone. You need to see it done.

You can see it done in Charlotte, or you can use the Directory here on this site to locate someone in your area that might be willing to walk you through it.

........

You can also see Artie Herbert apply epoxy at the link below.
He shows you how it's done, and makes it look simple.

[www.mudhole.com]

Larry

You know when I finally quit having problems with epoxy? When I quit worrying about it so much.

I used to fuss and fuss over it. Then one day I got to watch one of the pros at a major manufacturer apply epoxy. Zip, zip, zip and it was done. I later saw the finished product and it was flawless.

When I got home I went right to my shop and tried it exactly the way I remembered seeing him doing it, and haven't looked back since.

There were three steps to the way he applied epoxy. (1) apply, (2) spread evenly, (3) remove excess.

The first trick was to have the rod spinning fast. Not fast enough to throw the epoxy off, but still pretty fast. Then he just started gloping the epoxy on from left to right, and I mean lot's of it.

Then keeping the brush on top of the blank (this kept the brush from removing the excess epoxy) he worked the brush back to the beginning of the wrap (right to left), just slow enough to make sure there were no bare spots.

After he got back to the beginning of the wrap, he moved the brush down to the side of the blank, applied enough pressure to remove excess epoxy, and began quickly working smoothly back in the other direction. On this step he applied quite a bit of pressure on the brush, removing most of the epoxy. All that was left was a film of epoxy just thick enough to level well, but thin enough to release bubbles.

That was it. It took less than 30 seconds and worked perfectly. He also said that my dryer should turn as slowly as possible without allowing the epoxy to sag. He said that the centrifugal force of faster dryers won’t let the epoxy level well and will retain ripples. The last tip he gave me was that if I didn’t like fish eyes, then don’t wait more than 14 hours between coats and don’t mess with light formula epoxies.

I know most others have their own methods and products that work for them. But if anyone is having a problem, give this a try or two. It definitely worked for me.

Anyway, I thought this might help.
Dave

I totaly understand how you feel. for me epoxy was the toughest especially when doing a but wrap etc. I have actually gone to using all klass Kote because it was so thin and for me easier to work with. I just got done with 2 rods after several month lay off and was still able to get good results. I just brush it on thinly, make sure the rod is level and let it turn. It does take 2 or 3 coats but for me that is ok i don't build in large quantities as it is.

Gregg

Hey Sean,
I understand the frustration with the bubbles and the way I get rid of them is throught a couple of simple steps: 1. After I mix up a batch of epoxy I then get a cup (coffee cup works well) of Hot tap water, hold the cup of epoxy in the coffee cup being careful not to get any water in it and then stir the epoxy again. The warming of the epoxy allows the bubble to surface and pop.

2. After applying to the rod, if you still have bubbles then I will use an alcohol lamp to flame out the remaining bubbles. Be careful not to hold the flame to close or to long against the wrap as it will liquify the epoxy off the wraps.

Don't know if this is right or wrong but it has worked well for me!

Tom

I'm using FlexCoat hi-build.

Sean,

A little advise from an old man. Practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more. Belive me if you will do this you will get there. You just have to develope a technique and do it the same way every time and before long you will be doing nice finish work.

You should have been building in the days before the wonderful epoxies that we now have were available. I finished rods for several years with the old Gudebrod Rod Varnish. Talk about a pain, it sometime took as many as 10/12 coats, and took forever to dry. Believe me when I say, you never had it so good.

Remember practice.

Later,
Gerald Mc

In cold weather I heat the saucer (just warm to the touch) that I wrap with foil. I mix the epoxy, then pour it onto the foil to extend the working time. The bubbles go away, I apply it from the butt to the tip, using a lot, then I remove the excess from, again, the butt to the tip, then I 'Leave It Alone'. Do not fiddle with it, let it cure. Merry Christmas. Ralph

I work from tip to butt. This way the epoxy is the thinnest when working on the small diameter tip section.

I use Glass Coat. Mix in a cup add thinners to thin and give longer set time. Put one wet coat on from tip to but. No CP. 10 min another coat go have a beer. After clean up