I just recently bought some flexcoat lite build formula. I've heard a lot of good stuff about it but (there always has to be a but) someone told me it will turn yellow. He said not to buy it but I did anyway's because I wanted the lite formula. So was it money well spent or not. Will it yellow?
Kenny Sapp

Hi Kenny,
All finishes yellow...except aliphaitc urethanes. Use the Flex Coat, it is IMO still one of the best, if not the best finish on the market. One of these days I am going to post pictures of ALL of the different hardeners for the different finishes on this site WITHOUT the label. The ones that are the yellowest, are NOT the ones you would think! All of my finishes sit in a closet in complete darkness 365 days a year...and they all still yellow to some degree.

Andy Dear
Lamar Manf.

Even LS Supreme, the clearest of the epoxies, will amber somewhat. It certainly does in the bottle.

Flex Coat also does this and sometimes to a great degree, but unless you are using very light threads (white is murder) you just won't ever really notice it. Flex Coat is an excellent finish and still the best seller by a wide margin.

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Kenny I have rods that I had built 20 years ago using Flex Coat that still look great. I didn't know that Flex Coat "yellowed" until I came to this board about a year ago. Think about that for a minute.

Rapt Tite posted photos of a rod built in white thread with different finishes and yes, with white thread after time, a difference can be seen. With any other color, I haven't been convinced that it makes a difference.

The yellowing of Flex Coat is, I feel, a product of marketing and internet "knowlege". Do you want a clear wrap months from now that has faded, or a good looking wrap years from now that may be a shade darker?.

Personally I go with long term.

The problem with all polymers including the epoxies that we apply to rods is that when they polymerize the molecules link together in long chains. That is where they get their strength. But the UV or high energy light waves or particles (whichever theory you apply) from the sun break down these molecular bonds. In other words, all epoxies will first yellow and then given enough time in sun light will break down completely. Some are supposed to have UV filters to prevent or at least inhibit this but I am suspicious that any additive can filter out the high energy portions of the radiation from the sun.

Flex Coat will yellow in total darkness. There is much more to it than just UV exposure, although I think Emory's suspicions about supposed UV filters or inhibitors are well founded.

As Mick pointed out, such yellowing isn't really noticeable unless we're talking about very light colored threads. Put it over blue, green, red, etc., and you'd be hard pressed to ever really tell the difference.

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Are we talking about yellowing while it is still in the plastic containers or after it has been on the rod? As for yellowing in the container, yes it will do that after a period of time. If you use a small amount over a period of time, I would suggest buying the smaller bottles of it. Flex Coat to me, is the best finish out there on the market today.

Kit Harrison

I don't think this really matters, Kit. I've got some really old (mid '80's) finish that I bought a couple of gallons of and it's not yellow or amber, it's brown! But after mixing and putting a thin coat on the rod, it's just fine. It darkens both in the bottle and on the rods. Been using it like that for years, now. My thread wraps don't seem to fade like some newer-purchased finishes that I've seen used recently???
Putter

Andy,
Isn't it hard to apply finish in comlete darkness?