I was in the process of applying the third and final thin coat of Aftcote finish epoxy this evening. As I normally do, I start by applying epoxy underneath my guide rings while hand turning. I then turn the drying motor and apply the balance of the epoxy. Into the second guide I notice the epoxy starts to fish eye big time. I start to panic, and decide to chuck the brush and mix a new batch. I wipe off the guides and start over. Instantly it starts again. Chuck another brush and try again. Same problem. Oddly, the finish under the guides did not fish eye?! I decide before it's too late to take alcohol dampened coffe filters and gently remove the epoxy and to a smooth transition for a future coat. I was able to do this with little or no major damage, although there were some fibers from the filters now flying around under my drying cover. What happened? This is the third and final of 3 light coats. The rod remains under a drying cover during application and drying of epoxy. Each coat has been applied 24 hours or less of the original coat. The rod is not exposed to anything foreign. I used the same brushes, mixing cups, and tinfoil I use on all my rods and have never had an issue. Any ideas? Thinking how to get the final coat to stick? Possible allow another day to cure, brush the surface with scotch brite or steel wool, clean w/ alcohol, and try again? Any thoughts?

I can only think of two possibilities. One is that slick surfaces tend to repel additional coatings. This is why I don't like doing multiple thin coats. If you don't get the next coat applied soon enough, the first can repel the second. But I wouldn't think this would happen in less than 24 hours. Do you use a drying box to speed up the cure?

The only other thing is that somehow some silicone got onto your surfaces. Silicone is in everything. Food, perfume, lubricants and other stuff and it can travel many hundreds of feet. I once had a finish go bad and found out that my neighbor two doors down was putting armor all on his car tires. That's all it took.

William, I always apply thin coats. I usually use Flex Coat Lite but changed to Aftcote for it's flexibility. I have applied another coat of epoxy to rods that have been fished several seasons and simply needed a quick fix by applying another layer of finish. Quick shot with steel wool, clean w/ alcohol, and apply. Never was an issue. I use a drying box/cover to aid in achieving a constant temp over 70 degrees as well as keeping dust and air born stuff from falling in my wet epoxy. My rod room is in the basement and seperated from the rest of the finished basement by a door. No windows or other way for something like Armor all to get in, to the best of my knowledge?! Nothing I can think of changed from any other time I apply finish???!!!!

Well, I didn't get much of a response on this thread, but wanted to follow through with it in the event someone searched the topic at a later date. After talking with Bill Vivona, I decided prior to scratching the preceeding coat, I would clean the wraps well yet quickly with alcohol. I let it sit for 48 hours, and then re-applied another coat. Same brushes, mixing cup, tin foil, etc... I had only two guides give me trouble, and quickly went over them a second time without issue. Despite a few fuzzies from the coffee filters used to clean the guides, the third and final coat went on smooth. I can't figure out what the original problem was, but by cleaning it with alcohol quickly and letting it sit for another day to cure, it obviously allowed me to finish the project.