Hello all –

I was hoping to get an answer to a problem I just experienced while finishing my first fly rod. After wrapping all guides I applied 2 coats of Flex Coat color preserver (allowing for drying time in between them) to the wraps. I felt as if I had fully saturated the wraps and they all appeared very glossy in appearance, which led me to believe that I had applied sufficient CP.

After allowing the CP to dry for 1 ½ hours I applied a first coat of Flex Coat finishing epoxy. Upon doing this the yellow tips of the wraps took on a molted look. It actually looks not only molted but as if there are spaces between the thread. I don’t believe that spaces actually exist as they were packed pretty tightly and appeared fine before and after the CP coats.

Could it be that I didn’t apply enough CP to fully saturate the thread and this is the result or is it that different color threads react differently to CP followed by finishing epoxy?

Note: The wraps are done with a base wrap of red and yellow tips…the red turned out just fine it is only the yellow that look, well, funky.

Thanks for any advice.

-Jeff

If it is mostly the edges of the wraps that turned on you then it is a distinct possibility that you did not get adequate coverage of the CP on your wraps, particularly at the extreme edges. Notice I did not say that you did not use enough, but that you may not have gotten adequate coverage. Those areas might have been starved for CP and the finish migrated in from the edges.

It does sound as if you put enough on however.

Alcohol based CP's can often be dry enough to finish over within an hour. Water based versions take longer to dry. (If you can still smell the CP when you sniff the wraps, it's not dry.) It is usually a bit safer to allow overnight drying time before applying finish, no matter which type CP you use.

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