I have been reading the posts about the different brands of Finish, and have a couple Questions.

Is aftcoat really that much better than Flex-coat high build?

do you need a drying box? Heated? Does it penatrate better since it takes longer to set?

Two Thin coats?

Thanx in Advance : Barry

As far as needing a drying box? all depends on how warm the room is I guess....If your room temps are average like most of us 65-70 degrees its gonna take forever to setup.
I have a box and the temp now gets up to 86-88 degrees and the aftcote is set in about 8-9hrs where as FC is done in 6hrs. What I really like about the Aftcote is the flexibility! As far as whether it penetrates better? I cant answer that for sure. Generally I use two thin coats and sometimes a third touch up but you can get it done in two.

Barry, I just tried Aftcoat for the first time. I have used flexcoat for years. I tried the high build but found that I was still putting on two coats so I stuck with the regular. I've also used the U-40 and found the same thing. While I was happy with the Flexcoat, I really like the Aftcoat finish. It seems to be a smoother end result. I still put two coats on and my rod room is normally around 70 degrees. I don't have any problems at that temp. Like a lot of this craft, I think it comes down to a personal prefernce.

Jeff Hunter

I only wish I could get a rod done in two coats. I'm talking about heavier saltwater rods. I'm doing four rods right now for a charter captain. Using Aftcote I'm putting on 4 coats and still seeing a thread here & there atop the guide feet. So far I've put a coat of LS high build on top to solve the problem.

I try to do thin coats to get a more level finish, but then it seems to take many coats to fully cover the threads. I do like the Aftcote so far though. It is very flexible. It does take much longer than LS to set, but I've cut that time almost in half by drying in a heated room ( I don't have a drying box ).

I've got two of these four rods left to finish. I'm thinking about doing one coat of Aftcote and finishing with LS high as an experiment. Might cut my finishing time in half.

I've noticed the Aftcote releases bubbles better than LS. I don't get as many in the mixing stage either.

Jay