Okay, I had no bubbles when I put my rod in the drying box. When I took it out, bubbles all over. WHY o WHY o WHY?!?!?!

Am I screwed? Can they be sanded out?

AC
FishinFreaks
Rogers, MN

Bubbles can easily be sanded out with maybe 600 grit paper. Don't know why you are getting them.

Maybe moisture. Stuff happens. Good luck.


Big John
Rio Hondo, Texas
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting

they have come out of the thread trapped under it when wrapped (or in it when dyed )just sand them lightly and apply a thin

It may pay you to warm your drying box or keep a regular check on it (i find bunging the neighbors kid 50pence works well as the wheels stay on my car too)

If you are putting on a thick coat without CP this may be the reason. Try two or three thin coats. The bubbles can release more easily with thinner coats. Probably getting trapped in the thick coat before they can go to the top and pop.
Or even try it with out the drying box. This way the finish can dry slower and give the bubbles time to release.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2006 07:00AM by bill boettcher.

You can't just put on finish and walk off somewhere. Air coming up out of the thread will continue to try and release for up to an hour. You have to watch it and take the time to pop those bubbles as they come up. LS Supreme seems to let them out easier. With other finishes I use a small alcohol torch to pop them as the appear. Once the finish has gotten really tacky and really thick, no more will come out. Then you can walk away.

You can also thin the first coat so the bubbles get out quickly. Then a regular secound coat.

Agree with Danny-u can't just walk away from a freshly applied finish. To get a quality finish every time, some babysitting required.

Also agree with Bill; the thinner the coat, the easier the bubbles come out and burst on their own and also if heat is needed to burst them.

Putter
Williston, ND

I agree with Bill, apply 2-3 thin coats, and with Randy - don't walk away from freshly applied finish, no matter what brand, thin or thick - they will all bubble. I do not trust ANY finish to not hold bubbles. They all require a little babysitting for the first half-hour after application to make sure all is right.

Apply finish in 2-3 thin coats beginning with a thin wetting coat.

Once the finish is cured you can only affect the surface bubbles with sanding and refinish. ANy bubbles that are trapped laying on the thread will be very difficult to remove WITHOUT damaging the thread. You can sand on the finish, but you cannot sand on the thread....

ANother thing that happened to me several winters back; I lost heat while a rod I had applied the first wetting coat was curing. I had already flamed the few bubbles here and there, the rod had been setting for about 1.5 hours in the cold, air temp 45*-50*. Since at this point I am not turning the rod on a dryer I found it easy to move the rod to a heat room. I moved it to the heated room 68*-70* and left it for the night. Next morning I found the rod with HUNDREDS of bubbles on the thread surface that had not been there the night before. Apparently the air in the thread expanded as it warmed to form bubbles in the congealing finish. Fortunately they were easy to pick at and break up - it just took more than an hour to do!