I just finished wraping a rod with red ncp thread everything looked good.Iapplied what i was hopping to be the one and only coat of flex coat high build everything looked good last night.I just got home from work and looked at it there are small bumps all over the place but they are the most heavy right over the guide feet. What causes this?I did not use color perserver.

My guess: bubbles in the finish that didn't break or the tips of fuzzies sticking up from the threads. I have gone to wiping the excess undercoat off with a palatte knife to lay down the fuzzies and the use of a bubble free finish for the top coat.

HI SAM,
Some things I know about air bubbles, tight wraps, burnish , if threads are tight a burnished flat, there will be less area for trapped air. AS the FLEX COAT bottle says "Color preserver & Thread Sealer" , the important part is SEALER, coats threads , no air left traped in thread, epoxy goes on smoother , no air rising out of thread. Is your mixed epoxy getting airated when mixed ? After wraping alittle heat from a hair dryer set low warms epoxy, expands any small bubbles , thins epoxy some thins it so air can escape.

Dave von Doehren
PRRODS......If man built it , man can fix it.and if man built it man can break it !

My guess is fuzzy thread. Check your thread tensioner to see that it's not got any rough areas that could be fuzzing up your thread as it passes through there.

I am really wondering why "one coat" of Hi Build is so important. I really feel that it is much better to apply a first coat very thin which will allow the thread to soak and displace air. I like to see the thread pattern on the first coat as it soaks up. The Flex Coat literature describes that most commercial builders thin the first coat to insure that this occurs. I am certainly not advocating thinning finish, which I do not do, but I am real particular about the first coat being one to displace air. If I do have a stick up it is easily trimmed with a sharp razor blade before the second coat is applied.

Gon Fishn

Bill is right.
I do thin my finish and it make for a better look. The thinner finish lets the bubbles get out of the finish befor it sets !! Works great and no problems !! Think about it - try to get air bubbles out of some thing like honey or pancake syrup

Thank you very much for your input i did think it was probabaly air but why would the number of bumbs be greater over thr guide foot?

Sam,
If there are more bumps on top of the guide foot your problem is not air bubbles. There would be fewer bubbles on top of the guide foot if the problem was air bubbles because the epoxy is thinner on top of the guide foot. I suspect that Henry is correct and you have a problem with fuzzy thread. I would check the tensioner as Henry suggests and then look very closely at the spool. I have, once in a great while, received a spool of thread that had the fuzzies. If you look closely at the wrap with a magnifying glass you sould be able to see the tiny ends of the thread sticking up.
If you will carefully go over the guide wrap with fine Scotch Brite, then clean the wraps with a little alcohol and then apply another coat of epoxy it should fix the problem if it is the fuzzies.

There may be more bubbles over the guide foot due to the air trapped in the tunnel area under the foot. Air bubbles in this area typically will look more like a volcano that a few slight stickups. If you are laying down a thick coat all of it has trouble working its way through the finish. If it is the fuzzies maybe you need to take a look at spool tensioner instead of thread tensioner. I posted a picture of an easy conversion on a lath a few days ago.

Gon Fishn

A magnifying glass will probably tell you what it is. Bubbles show up well under one, and you can see the fibers in the thread sticking out of the epoxy if the lumps are from fuzzies.

Thanks guys i will check all these things next time around. I lightly filed all bumbs and did a second coat now it looks fine.

Sam,
One more thought. If it is the fuzzies it may not be your tensioner that is the problem. You can get the fuzzies by being a bit too agressive when packing the wraps, rubbing too hard or using a packing tool that is too sharp.

Try Crystal Coat next time.

Crystal Coat isn't going to solve the problem. If anything it would only be worse with such a terribly thin paint like varnish. I also think your problem is coming from thread fuzzies. Check your tension apparatus for burrs.