Being relatively new to rod building I still have a lot to learn. One of my biggest headaches is getting a real nice even finish on butt wraps. My guide wraps always come out nice. I just cant seem to get the butt wraps done without a bit of a wave to them, though they are getting better. I have been using crystal coat., applied with a brush.

Anybody care to share their methods and help me cut down my learning curve.

Thanks Bill.

don't apply it with a brush. at least for me it is very difficult to evenly distribute the finish on a long wrap with a brush. try using a fake credit card cut the width of the wrap. of course if that is more than about 3" it may not work as well. load the fake credit care edge with enough finish to coat the whole wrap, hold it evenly along the bottom of the wrap and turn the rod by hand so the rod bottom is turning away from you. let the rod pull the finish off in an even coat all the way accross. i turn it a couple of times kind of squeegying it on with the card. you may have to turn it several times to even out the coat. admittedly i have not done this with any wraps longer than 3". let the rod sit so there is a sag. if there is more than one sag along the length carefully touch the card edge to the sag and kind of pull off the sag in that spot. get all the sags. turn 180 degrees. let sag. turn 180 degrees,
etc. i kind of babysit it for about 10 minutes. i always hand turn everything since i don't have a turner. hope this helps. give it a shot.

Crystal Coat is an epoxy paint, not a 100% slides casting resin and will be a little more difficult to get a smooth finish with it. Also keep in mind that if you're working on an open wrap, there are going to be natural highs and lows in the wrap itself. The coating will tend to follow those highs and lows.

RodMaker Volume 9 #1 has an article on how to get a sure fire, smooth, level finish, with about any product out there.

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I do it a lot like Larry. One thing is whether you are doing a closed or open wrap. All finishes will level, as will any liquid, but an open wrap is uneven to begin with.. I use Threadmaster finish, which I feel puts me ahead of the game already. I usually apply liberally with a "custom spatula" from McDonalds (individually wrapped) and get the whole area covered. When it starts to sag on the bottem, I remove the sags and rotate rod 180 and let sag again, removing excess. With TM, I do this for about 30 to 45 minutes and then turn on my dryer. Since I started doing this, I have gotten the best finishes ever. On long wraps, open wraps, I often use a playing card and lightly hold it against the back of the blank while it turns (I use a 3 rpm dryer) which smooths/levels and removes excess finish

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!!

For me the solution on long stretches of epoxy (butt wraps, ferrule wraps) was to apply the finish parallel to the rod shaft, not perpendicular.

I fought this same problem when I started! I would look at pictures of other folks long wraps with "mirror like" finishes and then I'd look at mine and get frustrated with my "rolling country road" finish.

Then another experienced builder clued me in.... He explained to me that he used a spatula. Now, I don't mean a little mixing spatula. I'm talking about a putty spatula (or putty knife) - I use three different sizes (depending on the length of the wrap) 1.5", 3.25" and 6.25" wide. I was told to brush the epoxy lengthwise BUT I tweaked that a bit. I have a power wrapper. So, I step on my pedal enough to get the rod rolling at a nice moderate, smooth pace. Then I pour my epoxy from my mixing cup on to the wrap (moving down the blank). This produces a "spiral" of epoxy across your wrap. If your "spirals" are poured close enough together, you can just turn on the dryer and let it be. But I am usually trying to coat with thin coats of epoxy so, I then use my spatula and apply slight pressure down on the rod while it rolls. Lift the spatula and scrape the removed epoxy from the spatula and repeat if necessary (this also alows me to do multiple wraps with one cup of epoxy). Then a light touch with my alcohol lamp and done. I have found that at this point the less I try to fix tiny imperfections, the better off I am. I let things lie and allow the qualitites of my ThreadMaster to fix the rest on its own.

I have found that when I'm coating an open wrap, this technique works especailly well. I also apply a little more downward pressure with the spatula to ensure that all spaces/voids have been filled with epoxy.

also, if the waves are being caused by the thread finish thickening, it might help to begin your thread coating at the butt section and work towards the tip of the rod. assuming you're working from the tip to the butt.

eric
fresno, ca.

I found that applying a thin coat and allowing 24 hours to pass before I apply a finishing coat helps to promote a smooth, glass-like finish. I'll sliver the high spots or dust particles that appear with a sharp razor. I turn my rods using motors and manually by hand. Both methods work well to apply heat and pull excess finish off. If the finish coat does appear wavy, or if a high or low spot has formed that I didn't catch prior to the hardening process, I'll turn it and sand it down until smooth, and then apply a thin coat of finish. That does work well, and any scratches created by the sand paper are filled in.

Patrick

If you're going to allow the rod to sit/sag/drip so that you can remove the excess epoxy, then it really doesn't matter how you applied it in the first place. You can use a brush, spatula, credit card, or a stolen coffee stirer from Micky D's. Heck you could probably just pour the epoxy straight from the mixing cup onto the wrap. While you let the wrap sit & sag you are simultaniously allowing it to SELF LEVEL. The epoxy really doesn't care how it is applied, but it does like to have time to level out if you will allow it to.

But the above posters are correct. The natural ups & downs of thread vs. blank will give you inherient lows & highs in the finish. You could spend the time to 'gently' block sand the high spots and continue to apply epoxy if the bumps bother you. They generally don't bother me that much.

Jay

Thanks for all the replies. Very good info. I'll have to give these methods a try.

Bill

I put it on very thick with a brush spreading it out lenghtwise. I put it on pretty darn thick and then let it sit and drip for a few minutes, wick off the droops, then if it is cold where I am applying the epoxy, I hit it with some heat while turing to make it flow a bit, let it sit for a few minutes, wick off the excess and repeat a few times( about an hour) put it in the dryer and let er spin overnight. You can pretty much lay a ruler on the finish and see virtually no gaps.

I used to try putting it immediately in the dryer and let it spin but it just didn't work out for me. I wound up with lumps, bumps and footballs not to mention all sorts of pits from bubbles.

Let me just thank you guys again. . I tried some thread master this time, and did the method Scott posted above. Worked like a charm. I could not be happier with the results.

Bill