I just finished my latest rod, it is a fairly heavy 7'6" Musky rod. Unfortunately on my last coat of epoxy something happened, the finished "orange peeled" a bit as though it did not flow and or level quite right. Not so bad that anybody but me is going to notice but it is a bit frustrating. I was wondering if anything can be done. Should I just try applying another coat, maybe cutting the epoxy a little to make it level a little more. Do I dare do a little bit of sanding on the last coat, I have never done that so I don't know how it would work. I have a lot of time in this rod and the last thing I want to do at this stage is screw it up. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thaks,

Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2006 10:11AM by Jim Buraczewski.

If it is thoroughly cured, about 3 days epoxy sands pretty well. I would sand it down abit to get rid of the orange peel affect and put another thin coat on. I just drives me insane when something like that happens on the very last stage of building a rod.

I wouldn't thin the epoxy, I would use thinner coats. IMO 90% of all finish problems are caused by too much finish (not say this one is!) You can lightly sand it smooth with no problem and then just put a thin coat on

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!!

I would use a heavier coat of finish (high build). If you are going to try sanding, use 600 grit auto paper and use water (wet sand) or 000 steel wool (must clean up meticulously). Try spreading the finish coat parrallel with the blank as opposed to a spiral application, in other words move the brush/spatula up and down the rod blank instead of spinning it on (holding the applicator as the rod turns). I hope this makes sense. JMHO

Ronnie

"Orange Peel" isn't because it didn't flow properly, it's because of some contamination. Go over what you did prior to the finish application for a possible cause. Dips and humps can be caused by too much finish, bumps by dirt or thread ends, but the orange peel is something else.