I applied flex coat cp to my wraps and tried to dab off the excess but the paper towel I was using was leaving fuzzies on the cp. I ran off to find a different one and by the time I got back the cp had started to set up. I now have bubbles in the cp. Will these disappear when I apply my finish? If not, how do I get rid of them?
Thanks in advance.

I would use a wet coffee filter and wipe it all off and redo. The best thing that I have found for rod work is coffee filters! Totally lint free, strong, can be folded in half and get a nice straight edge for getting clean finish edges and about a gazillion for a buck at the dollar store.

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

It sounds like you are applying the Color Preserver (CP) TOO QUICKLY, as in POURING it over the thread faster than it can WICK INTO the thread. It over-runs the thread while the air is still trapped underneath, and - Voila - you get BUBBLES.

I don't think the bubbles will dissolve or dissipate if a 2nd coat of CP is applied, or if a 1st coat of thread finish is applied. You may be able to pop these bubbles now with a fine-bristle (NEW) toothbrush. Brush WITH the thread grain and see if that helps. Probably better to apply a 2nd light coat of CP next, rather than going to the thread finish. You just want enough CP to fill in the bubble craters. The thread is already pretty well sealed off (by the 1st coat of CP) from having any more CP penetrate into the thread.

In general, when applying your 1st coat of CP: If you WICK IT IN, supplying it to the thread at the same rate that the thread is absorbing the CP, you will drive out the air as the CP SOAKS INTO the thread.

Having seen this same bubble problem myself sometimes, and the Posts from other frustrated rod-builders who get bubbles in their CP, I am beginning to think that a plastic or glass EYE-DROPPER (with a rubber bulb) may be one of the better applicators for CP. Just keep the dropper upright and don't let the rubber bulb get wet.

-Cliff Hall+++, Gainesville, FL-USA*****



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2006 07:55PM by Cliff Hall.

Why did you try to dab it back off?

Load your brush and lower it to the wrap. Rotate the rod underneath the loaded brush and make sure the wraps are uniformly and thoroughly wet. Then reload the brush, move over and do it again. Don't brush it around and don't dab it back off. If you see that you have just a bit too much on there - a pool has formed, touch the pool with the brush and it will pull some of it back into the brush. But make sure the wraps are very, very wet.

........

Cliff, that eye-dropper is worth a try. I usually put on 811 with the bottle, but have a lot of trouble with too much coming out, or a big bubble appearing. I will try the eye-dropper on the next rod.
Steve

Yeah, as a reservoir, the EYE-DROPPER holds way more CP than a BRUSH can hold. And as Tom Kirkman said, your goal is to SOAK & SATURATE the thread. If your hands & fingers are steady, the eye dropper won't drip. Usually.

For small diameter rod blanks, and minimal wrap lengths, a brush will hold plenty of CP. ... But for guide wraps on larger diameter rod blanks, and for under-wraps and butt wraps, yeah, the eye dropper is hard to beat, in my opinion. And it cleans up easily and can be dried off quickly. (Or just thrown out if you find a cheap supply.)

Some brands of CP that have more organic solvents in them may develop a gas head pressure over the liquid and try to "spit" out the liquid, right after you fill the dropper and release the bulb. The way to stop that scrap is to squeeze the bulb up & down 2 or 3 times while the dropper tip is in the bottle-liquid. That action will saturate the AIR (nitrogen / oxygen) over the liquid in the dropper with the vapor from the CP solvents / vehicle. That will prevent further evaporation of the solvent. (That's where the pressure build-up or "spitting" is coming from.) That little trick usually stops the dribbling.

-Cliff Hall+++, Gainesville, FL-USA*****



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2006 09:43PM by Cliff Hall.

Thanks for the replies guys I appreciate it. Tom, I was doing what I was taught by the guy who taught me how to build rods. It worked well on my first rod but I oopsed on the second.Will try the coffee filter and eye dropper ideas.