I have never mastered the art of finishing wraps!

Currently I am trying the approach of using flexcoat lite and applying it in multiple coats. I fill up the guide feet with the first coat and trim all the tag ends, etc. then apply a second or third coad.

My problem is that on the larger wraps down near the butt this approach just does not work. It seems that the 2nd and 3 rd coats don't level over the first and sometimes don't look like they "wet" the undercoat. After 2 more coats I have lumps and hollows with about 1/16 " contours.

Overall, is this a bad approach? I actually got smoother results with thicker coats of regular flex coat. Is that a better way to go? Maybe over a undercoat of lite to penetrate the wraps?

I used to use courtland and manhattan custom tackle finishes this way with no problem. Is the flex coat markedly different? Is there a thin finish that I can put on in multiple coats and get a flat, smooth surface?

You can do it with Permagloss, but the final look will not be quite like that of epoxy. However, it is thin and you can build depth by adding more and more coats.

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Are you letting each coat dry at least overnight. Speed of the turner, to hot a room and maybe you are moving to slow.

Take care of the thread before you coat

Put some thread on a scrap blank and try different ways.

I use 2 coats of flex coat lite on all of my rods. The key to getting a level finish in the inscription area is to apply it lengthwise. Thin coats can be achieved by using enough finish to saturate "wet" the previous coat and then using a dry brush to remove any excess. If you try to put on a thin coat to begin with, you will get dry spots and will not get the coverage that you are looking for. Again, the key is to use enough finish to get good coverage, but remove any excess with a dry brush.

HTH,

Lou

I use to struggle too with getting level wraps on thin coats of Flex Coat Lite but some of the help from others on this site plus T. Kirkman's suggestion really helped me a lot. When I get to the larger wraps and especially the long logo areas, I brush it on a bit heavy lengthways. The biggest tip from Tom was to turn it by hand 1/4 of a turn at a time and allow the epxoy to "sag" a bit to the underside of the blank. Then I "wick" or pull off the excess from the underside with a clean brush or spatula. After hand turning until it looks level, then and only then do I let it turn on the rod dryer. And I went back to the less intense alcohol burner instead of a heat gun. This may not work for everybody but it sure improved MY work!

How do you use the heat? Do you need to heat it with a burner to make it level, or just to release bubbles that are trapped.

Tom clearly stated that he does not use heat on flexcoat. Everybody else seems to. Why?

Again, using information that I've read on this site and then used, if you pour your finish onto a piece of foil (and blow on it if necessary) the bubbles will release by themselves. A spatula is better but I still use a brush and saturate it first with finish to eliminate air pockets trapped in it and then I lower the finish down onto the wrap and let it roll around into the wrap turning the blank by hand instead of brushing or painting it on while the blank is spinning on the dryer - I think that causes a lot of bubbles. I don't really use the heat to eliminate bubbles since I don't really introduce them into the wraps anymore but still use a little heat if I think the wrap needs to level out just a bit. I suppose when I can put finish on without any heat at all, I'll consider I have perfected the process.

P.S. I've used Permagloss two times - my first and my last , I didn't like it.

After the finish has been applied and has turned for a little bit, I hold a plastic playing card lightly against the finish while it is turning. This will give you a nice flat, level surface and remove excess. The cards can be cut to the size of the wrap and works well. 52 great spatulas for less than a buck on sale

Mike