My pharmacist gave me two new clear syringes. I am going to mix 3 cc of Thread Master. What do you guys use for the clean out of these epoxy syringes? Thanks Steve

If you keep the syringes seperated and use them exclusively for resin or hardner you don't need to clean them out, just wipe off the tips of them with alcohol. Also there are some good posts on this 1 just recently, do a search and you will get all the info you can possibly use on this subject.

Steven:
Be careful I work for a medical Co. and took some syringes home to mix epoxy and found out that they have silicone in them and it caused my finish to get fish eyes.

Allen Madsen
San Jose, CA.

Be careful of those pharmacy syringes. If there is silicone on the rubber plungers you will be in for some nasty surprises. This is quite common on syringes not made nor supplied for the express purpose of use with adhesives and finishes.

Scott is correct, don't bother cleaning them, just eject the epoxy component, pull the plunger back up half way, and wipe off the tip. Other than that, just make sure you don't get them mixed up. One is for resin and one is for hardener.

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

Barring any problems with silicone...I simply drill a hole in the cap of my resin and hardener just large enough to gently 'force' the syringe tip into. This is where I store my syringes...right in the bottle cap. When I need epoxy I simply turn the bottle upside down and draw out what I need. The syringe fits in tightly enough for the resin/hardener to not leak out when upside down.

Jay

I recently picked up a pair of syringes sold specifically for rodbuilding finishes distributed by a popular manufacturer. Both the syringes had a liquid type "silicone" in them...I was actually able to put some on my fingers in liquid form. I'd recommend cleaning and checking ALL new syringes regardless of where they come from.

The Trondak syringes are two piece syringes and do not contain a rubber piston which needs lubricatiing, and is the source of the silicone in other syringes. As far as I know we are the only supplier using these syringes. The are available from most or our distributors.

Ralph

Mike,

The Flex Coat syringes do have a lube on the plungers, but it's not silicone. I have no idea if these are the ones you're talking about or not, but if so, that dab of lube isn't silicone and won't cause you any problems.

I switched over to the U-40 syringes a few years back but have used many of the Flex Coat models over the years with zero problems.

......

Ralph...It wasn't a Trondak/U-40 set of syringes I was refering too....

Steve, when I saw this, I wasn't about to drive another 100 miles roundtrip for a new set, so I cleaned the syringes out with warm water and dish soap..rinsed things down with Isoproplyl and let dry...(repeated steps). After these steps I felt confident enough to use these syringes with my favorite finish.

Michael,
I have attempted to clean the Flex Coat syringes with the rubber plungers with a little alcohol and Tom is no doubt right about them being lubricated with something because they will not work after cleaning them. The plunger hangs up and does not move smoothly after being cleaned.

Ralph,
Your syringes need to be color coded to match the color coded bottles of epoxy like the Flex Coat syringes and epoxy bottles so morons like me will not mix them up. I have done this at least half a dozen times. The paper stickers on your syringes come off when used a lot and make a sticky mess.

Andy Dear
I would also like to see the same color coding on the Threadmaster bottles and syringes as the Flex Coat bottles syringes. Just to make life simple for a moron.

BLUE FOR THE RESIN AND YELLOW FOR THE HARDENER

Tom, this was the first time I've had anything "ooze" out of a Flex Coat syringe.(sure didn't look right to me...???) Good to know it isn't a lubricant that would cause harm to a finish....you use anything these days in rodbuilding with the words "lubricant" or "silicone", and an alarm just has to go off.

Emory...after cleaning those syringes, they weren't working very well at all..I guess the lubricant IS good, I just didn't expect the stuff on my fingers when I opened the package (a first for me)...so I "primed" them with Flex Coat to get them moving "slicker than %$#@" then dipped them into the ThreadMaster finish...

Something I have done with the syringes with the paper labels. First time you use them, put a bit of leftover finish over the labels on the syringe barrels and they will stay there forever.

I am going to add my 2 cents worth here. I am an occasional Flex Coat user, and I have always had a hard time getting the syringes operational again after sitting around for a while.I just used them the other day, and I thought...why not clean them out with an Acetone rinse after using, and clean the outside of the tips, and then dry and leave the plunger out. After reading this post this morning, I decided to get the syringes out and try them. I tried to insert the "dry" plungers into their respected tubes...they wouldn't go...I tried dipping the rubber tips into clean Acetone, and wetting them. I then found that the plunger and tube worked smoothly. So from now on after each use they will be cleaned with Acetone, and the plungger rubbers wetted before use. We all know that Acetone is used as a thinner for Flex Coat......

Michael, Mick, Richard
Good ideas. I am going to try them. I have just been throwing the syringes away when they did not work smoothly anymore.

Emory Harry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Ralph,
> Your syringes need to be color coded to match the
> color coded bottles of epoxy like the Flex Coat
> syringes and epoxy bottles so morons like me will
> not mix them up. I have done this at least half a
> dozen times. The paper stickers on your syringes
> come off when used a lot and make a sticky
> mess.
>
> Andy Dear
> I would also like to see the same color coding on
> the Threadmaster bottles and syringes as the Flex
> Coat bottles syringes. Just to make life simple
> for a moron.
>
> BLUE FOR THE RESIN AND YELLOW FOR THE HARDENER


This is yet another good reason for keeping the syringes in the bottle caps themselves. No need to worry which one goes where. Only use one at a time and put it back immediately after using. No muss no fuss and you know what is what.

Another thing is the U40 syringes w/o rubber plungers. Use them & forget about all others!!!!!!! No need to worry about lubrication, drying out, or cleaning after use. I have my syringes in the caps of my finish bottles and I swear I haven't cleaned them in a couple of years. I have used the same syringes and caps for quite a while now. When I pop open new bottles of epoxy I just switch out the new caps for my old caps that contain my syringes.

By the way I have looked at a supplier or two for the U40 syringes and can't find them. Who carries just the syringes...I'd like to have a backup set just in case. Thanks!

Jay

Richard
You can buy them from Trondak or any of our distributors. I believe most if not all the distributors handle the syringes. They are listed in our catalogue.
Ralph

I have a set of the Flex coat ones that I have used and used, never once cleaned them.

Just draw up the needed amount and after releasing it wipe off the syringes with alcohol-seperate alcohol rag for each!-and place a piece of regular masking tape on the end and wrap it up tight on each one. The tiny bit of hardner and resin leftover in each syringe acts as a lubricant next time you use them. Just take off the tape and work the plunger a time or two and they are ready to go.

I do like the idea of the U-40's ....might give'um a try if the FC ones ever wear out :)

DR