After seeing Ken Preston's demo at Charlotte which he "changed" the color of the rod and also coated with glitter, I decided to try it. I encounter the following questions/comments/problems.

1. Glitter. Ken you used the Spectra Fx which is very expensive and impressive. ($90..00/2 oz.) I, like Mike Barkley said, "too expensive" for my blood. Since I am in to this as a hobby and cannot recover the cost I have found some glitters for $099/oz. These are called "ultra fine" . From my observations these are not as small particle size as the Spectra Fx. They do form "bumps" after drying. The "jig" pigment works wonderful (no bumps). The pigment is not a problem. Yes, I now have them drying and the rod is impressive. I just want to smooth thing out.

2. Am I creating problems if I add another coat of Permagloss over the "bumpy" glitter in an effort to "smooth" it out?

3. I thought about using epoxy but when I questioned Ralph O'Quinn about hardness, He told me that Permagloss is harder than epoxy. (after drying at equal thickness) Epoxy would smooth out better but not be as tough. I contacted my coating "expert " and he told me "high viscosity-high surface tension will be smotther. (epoxy)

4. What about sanding the few areas that the permagloss is thicker with say 320 to 400 grit sandpaper? Then recoating with thin premagloss (epoxy).

Thanks for any help and comment.
Ed Smith

Ed
I use plasti-kote auto colors. They have a nice metalic auto colors. Two "" dust "" coats and then a clear.
Check out this link [www.plasti-kote.com]

Hi Ed -
Hey - I warned you folks about the cost of FX... and I also told you that jig head powder paints will also work - heck we even ran that
little test on Sunday. The FX is a super fine (talcum powder paint additive - effectively it's made for what you're trying to accomplish). Alsa Corporation also has other paint additives that are not as expensive as Spectra FX - check their web site ( www.alsacorp.com ) and there is another company in Canada called ReadySetGlo ( www.readysetglo) that makes nice glow in the dark powder additives that I've been playing with in Putter and Mike's marbleizing that turns out "different looking". I'm sure Ralph is correct about PermaGlos drying 'harder' than epoxy - but as you've found it is a bit (a lot?) harder to work with than epoxy due to the rapid cure time (faster the damper / more humid the surroundings). So I see it as a "trade off" faster / harder finish vs more working time and smoother overall color changes. In BOTH cases the rod blank should be "prepped" by scuffing with Scotch Brite or 600 or finer grit emery cloth and then wiped with alcohol to remove dust and/or oil/silicon contaminates. That will provide more surface area and better "cling". Another thing to keep in mind is that you want a thin coating. Using epoxy - if the finish isn't thin and well cured (couple/three days is best) thread can bury itself or bind in the epoxy and cause difficulty in pulling tie-off loops under thread smoothing out (burnishing) the wraps. Sometimes even the simpest looking things simply take experimentation and practice. On a related note for ultra-fine pigments/additives you can try a custom auto body repair shop - who might be willing to sell you a very small amount of color shift additive (as are used on "ghost flames" ).
One thing that I've found (since returning from Charlotte) - and we noted there - once Permaglos starts to set up - Do NOT mess with it because you will wind up with one terrible finish full of lumps and streaks.
Using glitter - even the "ultra fine" from craft stores is that glitter - since it's not a pigment will 'clump' in both epoxy and PermaGlos so what I do is "puff it on" the finish before it cures. Set up a backdrop to catch any that goes beyond the target area - put a small amount in the palm of your hand and gently puff across your palm to "dust" the rod. I've tried mixing it in epxoy and PermaGlos and I've tried sprinkling it on from above pinched between finger tips - so far nothing I've tried works as well as "puffing" or "dusting".
A second coat of PermaGlos (post fine sanding should work ok for you - if you don't sand it smooth I think all you will wind up with is a larger "bump" in the finish

Pasadena, Maryland

Ken
I'm glade you posted this. The last time I said any thing about using " thinned out " epoxy as a blank coating I got it good!. I have used Glass Coat thinned it out with lacquer thinners. The Mid-Temp type. Easy to apply. But like you say it has to be left to dry well. At least 2-3 days.
I also feel like a big dummy cause I got another can of Minwax Spar urethane. The first time I bought some, I opened it up, seen the dark color, and never used it. Stuff is not bad. Then again I leave it for 2 days to make sure it is hard and my finger nail does not make a mark in it. have not tried to tint it yet?

{Inlace Metal Dust} could be fun to play with and a bit cheaper ! [www.woodturnerscatalog.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2005 12:39PM by Jay Dubay.

Ken et al.,

Thanks for the comments. I tryed this on an an unsanded "second" blank that I had picked up. I sanded it to 180 grit. The problem was in the butt which I plan to cut off.. I did not have to worry if it were a "disaster". I did not encounter a "clumping" problem. I am glad to know that the Fx is a talc. I have found particle size of the "glitter" is important and needs to be very fine. I plan to check out some of these other sites. These "glow" pigments are interesting. I have some of the fluoresencent jig head paints that glow in the dark. I my try to use them when I marble the next rod. I have added this to rod tips so I can detect movement. They work well for night fishing.

Many thanks to all.

Ed

Ke, Ed,
I never thought of using the "ready-set-glo" powder for marbleing!!. That stuff is excellant and depending on the color is very longlasting. I use it on spoons and blades.
One more thing to try!!
Mike

MIke -
The only "problem" I've had when marbleing with ReadySetGlo is mixing "hot" and "cool" colors. The red glows so bright that the cooler blue and aqua just get overpowered - but that's only at first. What happens over time is really kind of cool. The red tends to fade before the cooler blue and aqua colors. What results after 15-20 minutes is the red begins to fade and the bue sort of "takes over". The last one I did I put 10" on the tip of a 10' 6" Rainshadow blank that I changed the color on to pearly white with flourescent red for the tip. This is one really sweet rod - nice checkerboard burl cork inlay fore and aft of an American Tackle graphite body / aluminium hood reel seat ; red "X" in black hypalon for the rear grip; Mix of the new American Tackle Titan guides (Vee frames for the first three / 'low rider' casting guides toward the tip) in a semi-Concept set up. I've tried to take photos of this rod - but they just don't do justice to the color change to pearl from matte grey blank now with green micro flake glitter and the red glow tip. I also hand scripted the owner's name in red/gold Lumiere brand paint outlined in black on a field of transparent green - green YLI reflections thread with simultaneous black/silver overwraps.
One other "problem" with the red ReadySetGlo is that is looks salmon color in daylight - the customer almost walked away from the rod -- then I turned the lights out --- SOLD

Ken,

That sounds like a heck of a rod! I'd love to see it! You'll have to do another one to bring to Charlotte next year LOL! (I'm already saving for the trip)

Mike

The other thing that precludes posting photos is that I don't want to overload the photo-board with the same rod (which Tom requested not be done). Also I'm not as computer literate as I'd like to be to do collage of photos - which would save the space and I could try to take side-by-side photos of the tip in light and in the dark to show the bright red glow effect. I'll ask the owner if he'd mind me bringing it to Charlotte.