I was wondering, I have not build a rod in a couple of months and noticed that
the bottom of the bottle had crystalized. Is this normal, I have heard of this happening in the colder months. Should I discard and get new ones or, would I be safe using as is.


Thanks
Fernando Torres

Here is an actual email conversation I had with Flex Coat support on this issue, this is the last email in the series and has both mine and their comments. To follow the topic you need to read it from bottom to top, I know that makes it harder to read but I didn't want to alter it at all.



You are correct, after dissolving the crystallization it would be wise to let the resin cool a bit before measuring and mixing to use.

Flex Coat

----- Original Message -----
From: Scott VanGuilder
To: questions@flexcoat.com
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 7:32 PM
Subject: Re: Flex Coat High Build problems


I already dumped the bottles in question, but I will give that a try if I get a batch that is like that again.

But doesn't heating the resin reduce the pot life when it is mixed? Everytime that I have tried heating the resin to make if flow easier it set up much quicker and when we are talking 7 to 11 guides and a 7 inch but wrap that is not a lot of time to get all covered smoothed out and still have it thin enough to get the bubbles to release.
----- Original Message -----
From: questions@flexcoat.com
To: Scott VanGuilder
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 2:34 PM
Subject: Re: Flex Coat High Build problems


It is not unusual for the resin of a two part epoxy to crystallize solid from the bottom up or have "huge chunks", as you put it. If this has happened it has not "Gone Bad", just crystallized. Slowly warm the resin bottle with hot water, not boiling water, until the crystallization has dissolved. Once the resin is water clear, and flows like water, again then measure and mix as we recommend on our web site and all should be fine.



Flex Coat Questions and Product Support

----- Original Message -----
From: Scott VanGuilder
To: questions@flexcoat.com
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 10:03 PM
Subject: Flex Coat High Build problems


This is the 2nd time that I have bought the 4 oz bottles of Flex Coat high build epoxy and gotten poor quality product. The first time the bottle of resin had crystal like formations on the bottom. I tried to use the product and it gave me some many problems that I threw out 3/4 full bottles of the stuff. I ordered some smaller bottles and that seemed to be fine, so I ordered the 4 oz bottles again and this time the resin has huge chunks of semi hard pieces of resin. I tried to use it because I have someone waiting for their rod and wound up picking pieces of it off of my wraps. Now I have a rod partially finished and I have to re-order epoxy to finish it and the recipient of the rod has to wait until I get in a new batch.

I have built rods off and on for the last 20 years and I have always used Flex Coat. These bad batches of your product wastes a lot of my time trying to fix bad finishes and or waiting to re-order new finish. I am beginning to wonder if I need to change that and go with a different product.

Not sure what I expect you to do, just wanted to let you know that I have recieved some questionable bottles of you epoxy.

Scott VanGuilder.

I have a set of 4oz. bottles that I had in a box that sat near my fireplace over a winter and the resin has a "strip" of hard "skin" down the center, as they were laying on their side. I've heated them, cooled them, etc. and it is still there. It's almost as if a tiny amount of hardener migrated through the bottles into the resin and "cured" the top surface. I've been using this set on my own rods and experiments and it seems to be just fine, but I have been using new FC for customers. This is the first I've ever seen it do this so at first I was concerned. I don't like to waste material either. One of these days I'm going to try and pull that hard piece out and take a look at it, and maybe send it to flex coat and see if it is in fact, cured material. Regardless, I no longer store hardener and resin near each other.

I buy my Flex Coat in gallon lots. I have had this problem often but sitting it in Hot tap water has always cured it and I have fortunately never had to dump any. I guess I am just lucky. Something else I do is when I fill my working bottles I squeese the half gallon jugs before putting the cap on. Maybe that helps. I dont know it just works for me.

I had to throw away a flex coat kit this year. It was crystalized in the bottle and both bottles were leaking. I did not try to re-dissolve it. It looked pretty far gone and the bottles were awful messy. It was stored inside at room temperature for the time I had it and it looked okay when I bought it. But when I got it out to use it the shrink warp around it and the labels were partially dissolved from something leaking.

I have not had as good results mixing the new flexcoat kits I bought that come already in the big syringes. I got very slow hardening for 2 tries. I have gone back to using the bottles and the little syringes. I think flex coat needs to do a quality control check on their packaging.

Over the past 6 months, I have used some FC that I bought about 7-8 years ago. The resin had some crystals in the bottom. I warmed it on my boiler, and then s-l-o-w-l-y brought it back to room temp. Had no problems with pot life, curing or anything else for that matter.

The old stuff is gone now, and I will be using new F-C on my next rod.

There is and has been a problem with Flex Coat epoxy seeping through the bottles. It has to do with the shape of the molecules in the formula and the type plastic the bottles they use are made from. No kidding. This is the reason nearly all Flex Coat epoxy seeps through the bottles. This is particularly bad with the hardener component.

Still, it's a great epoxy finish. The heating process used to get rid of the white crystalization will not harm the product in any way. You can do this as often as you need to. Generally, the longer you have the product the more likely it is to happen. Cold temperatures tends to speed the crystalization. But again, you can return the resin to like new condition by the steps others have already outlined above.

................

Once again, nothing will get the little Mrs. more nervous than throwing some strange junk into her microwave and warmin' it up. I just love it; have done this to my rod finish several times. A few seconds of zap, then check it, a few more, etc. until it's liquid again.

I just love the screaming in the background...

Putter
Williston, ND

Thanks All for your replies.

I have had the bottles for a little under a year, I did notice on one of the bottles it seemed to have the liquid some how seep out? caps were on tight, etc. I did use it the last time I did guides and did not have a problem with drying. I guess I'll keep using whats left of it and see what happens with the next batch.


Fernando Torres
BX, NY