I have read that it is ok to slightly heat your epoxy finish to extend the pot life some, Im doing a fiberglass right now and Ive done a wrap/overwrap and have quite alot of thread to coat, just wondering?
Thanks,
Scott

Absolutely....a little heat is not a bad thing at all. When people ask me about thinning the viscosity of ThreadMaster with a solvent, I always reccomend they microwave it for about 6 seconds to thin it a little bit before dumping a solvent in it.
Here is the thing, though...heating it does not extend the potlife, it shortens it. If you heat it you will accelerate the cure cycle and decrease the potlife. If you want to extend the pot life, pour the mixed resin out on a flat surface and allow it to spread out. This will slow the exothermic reaction and extend the potlife.


Andy Dear
Lamar Fishing Products

That will shorten the pot life. Heat speeds up the reaction. Coating thread should not take long - move along, get things covered and then come back and fill in any bad or thin spots.

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

I think what Scott may be referring to is if the finish starts to thicken in the mixing container you can use mild heat to the remainder to make it thin enough to continue working with it, this works for a small area but as was mentioned it will also quicken the curing process,developing speed in applying or mixing smaller batches is really the best alternative
John

Scott,

As mentioned above by Andy...put it on a flat surface(a pc of aluminum foil) works wonders....this will increase the working time. A bit of heat will help you to level it once it is applied.

I always leave the aluminum foil and the disposible brush left in the remaining epoxy....when I get that stupid urge to touch the blank to see if it is dry...I just chk the rest of the batch left on the foil. You can throw it away. Many people keep the room they finish in warmer when working w epoxy....small space heater works. A cold damp basement is not the best place to work w epoxy.

My natural tendency (or fault) is to heat the epoxy in an effor to extend the working time. I just finished doing a rod this way and when dry my gut said something is wrong with the finish. I put a thumbnail on the finish and it pealed right off. Any more, I will just mix a new batch.

Andy Dear is right on with his observation that heating the finish will shorten its pot life. If the stuff has already began thickening heating it will thin it only briefly, then it will again thicken even more quickly because of the added heat.

The best thing to do is to work as rapidly as possible and coat the thread quickly BEFORE the stuff begans to thicken. If you need to use two separately mixed batches. Personally I hand mix in a small 1 or 2 oz throwaway plastic cups and apply directly from them with no problems - but I apply the finish very quickly.

Lou

Most people make way too much of long pot life in my opinion. To me a pot life any longer than 25-30 min. is a terrible thing, mainly becuase you open yourself up to dust/lint contamination, and possibly errant leveling problems. The more open time you have, the higher the margin for error. I want my finish to start setting up after about 30 min. and I want it to set up quick! That way I don't have to worry about babysitting it for 2 hours after I have put the finish on the guides.
Trust me when I say you're better off either learning to apply finish quicker or mixing 2 batches than you are trying to indefinately extend potlife or by using a finish with a really long potlife. I have seen a lot of rodbuilders take fffooooorrrreeevvvvveeerrrrr to put finish on. They mix and mix and mix, and then apply the finish painstakingly to each guide, and then fuss with it and fuss with it. Glop it on all the guides and once each wrap is adequately coated, then come back and attend to the details. Don't spend 5 min. on each as you go along. Coating 9 guides plus a tip top on a 9 foot flyrod should take about 3 minutes, and attending to the deatils should take about another 10-15 minutes.


Andy Dear
Lamar Fishing Products

At times I do heat some of my finishes. Do to the fact I over load my wraps with extra finish. By heating the finish I am able to remove all excess finish and eliminate any foot balls. Ralph OQuinn does not recommend any heating of his product let alone any thinning. Now other products such as Flex Coat well take a little heat or thinning with Acetone. I believe you should contact the manufacture to resolve these questions. When I use a U40 product, I do not use heat or thinners. My finishes come out sooth, no foot balls or any imperfection. What I suggest is that you find a product you like and do lots of practice applying finishes. The more you work with a finish the better the results. Practice will makes you faster, thus eliminating the need for heat or thinners.
Just my two cents
Good Wraps Bob

Bob,
Small amounts of heat can and do offer some useful advantage when applying finishes, however extended pot-life isn't one of them. Most Builder's myself included like to have the option of using heat to momentarily thin the resin for a multitude of reasons. Even slight thinning of a resin with a solvent can and does have it's place. But we need to remember that the more variables we introduce into the equation, the higher the margin for error.
However heat does not extend the potlife, so the alternative is to work quicker as you said, practicing with your chosen finish will certainly help you become more efficient.


Andy Dear
Lamar Fishing products

Everybodythat builds rods needs to take a look at a factory guy applying finish. I will never forget watching the guys at Allstar in Houston doing a seven foot casting rod in 12 twelve seconds - two Flexcoat type brushes in the hands of two guys working out of one aluminum pie pan doing a butt wrap section and seven guides at 200 rpm. The only thing that gets in their way is if they are trying to do thirty rods with the same batch. No heat - no fuss - no mess. If you build rods and live in a 200 mile range of a production builder it may be worth your time to arrange for a visit.

Gon Fishn