As mentioned in an earlier thread, I'm building my first rod. After seeking advice about epoxy vs. polyurethane I decided to go with Flex Coat High Build for this job.

I was generally pleased with the way the way the finish turned out except that the coating appears much too thin where the thread wraps cross the guide feet, so that the epoxy seems at those places to have just saturated the threads without building up to a coating over them. Other portions of the guide wraps, and the ferrule wraps, etc., are fine.

I'm tempted to add another coat of finish, but will there be too much buildup, especially in the good parts, if I do this? What would happen if I just added some epoxy to the thin spots? Would it level out while drying? Would it be obvious if I recoated some parts but not others?

Thanks in advance.

You can't add it piece-meal and expect it to look nice. Another coat would be your best bet, just don't go overboard. A thin application should most likely cover any dry areas.

One nice thing about turning/drying a rod by hand, is that you can allow the rod to sit "guides down" for a little more time which tends to help keep those guide foot areas coated with epoxy.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2006 09:19AM by Tom Kirkman.

I'm surprised and pleased by the fast and helpful response.

I can see how you must be right about hand turning, because I stuck this rod in a 4 rpm dryer and was afraid to touch it again for hours.

Thanks very much.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2006 09:21AM by Kermit Ellis.

I need to be more careful when I respond. You cannot add it piece-meal and expect it to look nice. Sorry about that.

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Kermit,

If it has been more than a day or two since you put your first coat on, you really should take the shine off of the finish before putting the second coat on. A light scuffing with some scotchbrite should do it. There is a ton of info on this, if you do a search.

Chris

Hi Kermit,
Welcome to the finest site dealing with rodbuilding. JMHO...
I read your first question in an earlier post. While you didn't mention what kind of rod you are building,there may be another consideration at hand. I am going on the basis of it being a light rod,of fly,spinning,or casting classification. That consideration is how much finish was applied? If you used a considerable amount on your wraps, you may wish to consider scraping off some of the hardened finish. That would be of course if you got some high spots. The purpose for that being that you can get a better overall look to your wraps. Not being able to see your wraps,this is only just a possibility. You did mention less coverage of the guide feet so it may not be necessary,as you may have done a first rate job of using the Flex Coat in a sparing fashion, or just removing any excess finish. Also,being your first attempt at building your own,you may not even care. Down the road however,you may.
Keep coming back and enjoy your new addiction,
Chuck

Chuck,

Thanks for your message. Yes, this is a great site; apparently there is a wealth of information available from helpful people.

The rod I am working on is the well known Hook & Hackle 6'6" 2 wt. fly rod kit. The wraps turned out reasonably well by my meager standards, except for the threads not being well covered on a couple of the larger guides. I suppose I applied about a medium amount of epoxy since the rest of it looks OK, though I would be a little reluctant to post photos. I'm concerned about getting too much buildup, though, so I may try thoroughly recoating only the problem guides, leaving the rest of the wraps alone, and seeing what it looks like then.

Even though building this rod has been sort of a long process (I would hate to tell how many wrapping disasters I suffered through) I have enjoyed it and have another blank waiting.

Thanks,

Kermit