Just marbled a reel seat about 18 hours it was dry to touch. Mounted the reel on the seat ,after I removed it ,it left a line where the foot of the reel was.Even though it was dry I obviously should have waited ?I assumed that dry ment it was hardened . Im wrong, how long should I have waited?

I know that 24 hrs. is the the recommended time but I didnt think a difference of 6 hours would make that much difference.

I know that 24 hrs. is the the recommended time but I didnt think a difference of 6 hours would make that much difference.

hey bill i wouldent worry about it as you went slightly bigger then the regular id i assume. most rod finish doesent get rock hard has to remain some what flexible..

Thought I had room to spare ,Bob

sorry bill i meant o.d but yeah you are alright ive got one thats been sitttin a couple of weeks and it will still leave a line..
its cool how much a marble can do for a plain reel seat though........

Bill - My guestimation would be to let the resin cure at least 48 hours, if not 72. Hindsight is 20-20, right? Putter and the Marble-izers can tell you by experience when it is "rock-hard", or at least safe. (Auto body paint can take over a week to cure, but is a different system.) Do not forget that the compression force from screwing the locking hood can generate some incredible pressures. No doubt you have some graphite-body reel seats made in factories that have some evidence of sheening on the surface under the footprint of the reel's foot, and flattening of the cross-hatch gripping pattern, and even the outline of the reel's footprint. (Even the paint on the foot of a reel can begin to "flow" under this long-term compression by the locking hood, even from a graphite -not metallic- barrel.) I have Fuji graphite reel seats and painted metal-housing reels that have this kind of wear. So, maybe a certain amount of this is inevitable, regardless. At least it is mostly hidden, and hopefully not conspicuous.

Hardness of the cured resin will depend on exactly which brands of epoxy resin and pigments you select and combine. And the ratio of pigment to resin, and the extent to which you are succesful in keeping the pigment's carrier liquid OUT of the epoxy resin. Some colors may cure harder (or softer) than others. Also, remember that the pigment will never really polymerize, at least not like the epoxy resin does. It will exist under the encasement of the epoxy casting resin as a softer solid or as a semi-solid, which has little ability to resist the compressive forces of the locking hood and reel foot. (And the pigment mass, once deformed, has no abiliity to restore itself to its original shape, unlike the range of forces that a material, like a rubber, may tolerate.)

The ability of the epoxy resin to shield the underlying softer pigment mass from the reel foot's compression will also depend on the thickness of the overcast resin and it's shape. The cylindrical shape of the reel seat's barrel already provides a maximal resistance to compression, just based on the geometry of a circle, and the circle's ability to re-distribute the compressive force vectors. Just like why you can crush an egg when squeezing it between the tips of your thumb and index finger, if you squeeze it along the flatter middle walls. But if you squeeze with your finger tips on the curved-arched ends, you can't.

Again, the thickness of the overcast resin makes a difference as well. Like when trying to get to the soft chocolate center of the hard-candy covered Tootsie Pop. When the hard candy layer is thick, you'll practically break your teeth trying to collapse the spherical walls (the ultimate muti-axial, multi-directional, weight-bearing arch). But make that hard wall thin enough, and you will reveal that the soft core has little ability to support the pressure on the thin roof above.

So, that's the end of my contribution from the sidelines. Maybe the Marble-Men can offer you more specific advice on brands of epoxy and pigment and techniques that can reduce this "impressive" problem in the future. (End of blackboard chalk-talk.) - Best Wishes, Bill. [Sh.Sh.] -Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-USA+++

Most finishes tack up in just a few hours. This means they are dry to the touch. Most do not reach full cure for many days, up to a week. Keep the rod in a room temperature environment for about 5 days minimum before you tighten a reel down on something like that.

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Tom , will putting a regular light about 5or 10 inches from it speed up the process.Will it damage the finish?

It's not the light that will speed up the curing reaction, but the heat. It takes about a 20 degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature to approximately double the rate of any reaction. That's according to thermodynamic theory, and may not translate into so high a proportional increase in a given situation like you're describing. (Too open a space, too much cooling convection. That's why a box is built for curing rods.) -Cliff Hall+++

The lamp will speed it up quite a bit, Bill. I do it all the time while the rod is turning in my dryer.

I'm thinking that even hardened, fully-cured epoxy finish will get marred by a reel foot being tightened down on it, though. Probably not as much as freshly cured, but it's still gonna mark it, I think. I could be wrong...

Putter
Williston, ND