Do you all mix acetone with the first coat of thread varnish as a primer?
Will denatured alcohol work?
Can I buy any acetone from any hardware store?

You can buy acetone at a hardware store, but don't. You will rarely, if ever, need it for any rodbuilding task, and it is noxious stuff. Use denatured alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, although I do not cut my thread finish.

Don't use acetone at all, very dangerous stuff. Do a search here on acetone and you'll find all the reasons why you should avoid the stuff.

When you say "varnish" do you mean real varnish or do you mean epoxy? I've never thinned my epoxy, not even FC high build. Make sure the epoxy is between 70 and 80 degrees. I did have some troubles when the room I work in was too cold, but if the room is 70-80 degrees, I never have trouble with it flowing properly. I can put on a coat thin enough that you can still feel the thread ridges and the thread, normally without CP , is completely saturated.

So I don't need to thin the first coat? should I just use Flex Coat Rod Varnish as directed?


Yes. I mean the epoxy finish.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2005 11:27AM by Bruce A. Tomaselli.

Just follow the direction that Flex Coat provides, making sure that the stuff is warm enough. Also, to help eliminate bubbles, after you mix it thorughly, pour about a quarter of it on a piece of aluminum foil. This lets it spread out and the bubbles will release more easily. You can also breath on it through a straw to help relese the bubbles.

Don't use acetone to thin out expoxy. Instead, consider using Flexcoat's Lite Epoxy as a base. After the initial coat cures either build up with several coats of lite or switch to their regular epoxy, applying as many coats as necessary to get the build you want. Usually one to two coats of the regulat stuff is adequate. Three or more is overkill.

Acetone while noxious and highly flamable is also very useful for cleaning up brushes and excess if used to glue reels seats, foam or cork grips. after applying the epoxy. If and when you need to use it wear protective gloves, make absolutely sure the area you're working in is well ventilated and stay away from open flames or lit cigarettes.

Yes Bruce you can use acetone to thin Flex Coat. In fact, Flex Coat provides directions for same. You cannot use denatured alcohol for thinning. You can buy acetone in most hardware stores, Walmart and K Mart paint departments.

Acetone in not "very dangerous stuff". Yes, it is highly flammable, but you should not have ignition sources, e.g., open flames in your shop! Alcohol lamps are more dangerous than acetone! Acetone's primary health concern in skin and eye contact. It is an irritant. The OSHA permissible exposure limit is 1000 ppm. That's a lot of acetone vapor in the air folks! And that exposure limit is for an 8-hour time-weighted average! I know, this is my profession. Safety specialist for 28 years.

Acetone is an excellent brush cleaner for epoxy finishes. The small amounts used for clean up and few cc's that will be used for thinning should not cause a freak-out. Use just don't want to store a gallon of this stuff in glass jugs in your shop, home or apartment.

There was an excellent article in Volume 2 Number 2 of the Rodmaker Magazine called “The Wonderful World of Epoxies”. Ralph O’Quinn, the author, did an excellent job of presenting the history of the use of acetone as an epoxy thinner.

If you don’t have a copy, back issues can be purchased at [rodmakermagazine.com]

I highly recommend this one.