Hi Fellow rodbuilders!

I have a question pertaining to the curing of the epoxy finish.
My question is what factors are necessary to the proper curing of the epoxy finish?

For example, how much does room temperature affect the curing process of the epoxy finish?
Also, how much time on the average is required for the epoxy finish to completely dry?

Most of the time the epoxy finish cures from my experience but some times the epoxy finish does not dry completely(slightly tacky and gummy).
I use exact measurements every time and stir the epoxy finish for 2-3 minutes as directed but around 1 out of 10 times the epoxy finish does not want to completely dry.
I would appreciate any recommendations.
Thanks!

Any time the epoxy does not completely cure, you can pretty much bet that you did not use exact measurement of each part. The ratio must be 50/50 to 1:1 if you want it to cure properly. Don't mislead yourself into thinking you use exact measurements - on a small mix, being off even a drop or two means your overall percentage of inaccuracy may be quite high. Use syringes to measure with and always mix at least 3ccs of each part. This greatly increases your margin for error.

Temperature affects the time it takes to set and cure. From about 70F, every 18F increase or decrease in temperature will result in either halving or doubling the set (tack free) and cure time.

Once in a while a builder working in a fairly cool climate, say, in a basement or garage where the temp is under about 65F or 60F, will mistakenly think his finish isn't going to cure, only to find that upon moving the rod to a warmer area the finish cures just fine in a day or so.

At room temperature, most epoxy finishes on the market today will be tack free in a couple to a few hours, hard enough to use in a couple of days and decently cured in 3 to 5 days.


...........

John:

Having rod finish come out perfectly depends on so many factors. Temperature, proportion and thorough mixing are the three that come to mind in your questions. Epoxy cures at most temperatures. Room temperature (72F) is the nominal for all times mentioned by manufacturers. At room temperature you should find that the finish begins to gel by 2-2.5 hours and is completely gelled by 4 hours. However, the gelling period is extremely temperature dependent. You can expect that for every 15 degrees rise in temperature the gelling time will cut in half. The reverse is also true.

Mixing and proportion are the general causes of gummy finishes. You should be using at least 3 cc each of resin and hardner for finishes that are 1:1. Do not try to cut down on the volume to save money, because the precision in reading the syringes does induce an error. The errors are larger as the amount you use is reduced, so stay with the 3cc of each product. Mixing is the other side of the gummy finish coin. I suggest that you use a spatula and move it through the mix the same way a cement mixer's blades do - by scraping the edge of the container and allowing the finish to fold over onto itself. Assure that you get all of the finish mixed together. Cover all the surfaces in the 2-3 minutes of mixing. BTW, I use a shot glass or a 2 oz. plastic cup to to hold my finish as I mix it. The shot glass works very well and has a smooth surface with no sharp corners to hold unreacted product. The 2 oz. plastic cup requires more effort to get into the corners and mix the product, but you can discard it following the mixing process. It is very important to get all the finish mixed together.

Hope this gives you assistance.

Doug Weber
Weber Rod Works

I used to have the same problem. It often didn't come out right even when I measured carefully, used a "pure" stick, stirred two minutes in a "correct" plastic cup, etc. Then I discovered Cabela's rod finish! It comes in individual packets (which may not be cost-effective if you build a lot -- but the frustration savings are enormous), but it works every single time(!) and the results are => beautiful <=

I'm not connected in any way to Cabela's; I just searched until I found the best solution.

Jim