G'day Guys,

Finally did my first epoxy job this afternoon. I had been putting it off for ages because I was a bit scared about it all. After putting in so much time doing my guide wraps and butt wrap I didn't want to muck it up.

I did a trial batch of epoxy a few weeks back just to see how it mixed and what it felt like and how long it took to dry. I used it to finish a practrice butt wrap on a dowel. Anyway, due to the cold winter temperatures here, it took a long while to dry and was quite hard to apply as the night was fiarly cold.

Anyway, today turned out a beautiful sunny autumn day so I decided to give the rod a coat of epoxy. Left the bottles sitting on the window ledge in the sun for a while to warm them slightly. Mixed it up, onto foil, straw to get rid of bubbles and away I went. I didn't think I would have enought time to do all the guides and butt wrap too, but I did. Thanks to it being slightly warmer it went on nicely.

I decided to apply a quite thin coat first up then do another to finish off. The wraps already had one coat of permagloss on them so the epoxy went on nicely and did not soak in very much. I ended up with a few dry patches though but I figure that I can fix this with the next coat.

I think I need a softer brush though. Mine is quite stiff and it was a bit difficult to get the correct amount of epoxy on as the stiff bristles wanted to wipe the stuff back off.

Anyway, its in the dryer as I type. Another coat tomorrow and it'll be all done. I'm looking forward to fishing with this rod as its my first spiral wrap.

Cheers

Jason

A softer brush will help. But don't use the brush in the same way you would with paint - you don't want to brush the epoxy on. Just load the brush, hold it above the wrap and then gently lower it to the wrap while you rotate the rod underneath the brush.

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Hey mate. Some times it is just best to jump into it and see what happens. Doing a test is always a VERY smart move. I use the little yellow nylon brushes that Flex Coat sells and they work fined for me. I agree with Tom you dont use them like Miagyi showed the Karate Kid because it has a tendany to increase bubble production but then I am not over cautious about it. I roll it on pretty thick then Brush longitudinally(big word for me) then hit it with the flame and maybe use my blowing tube to target pesky bubbles at the guide tunnels. A lot of rodbuilding is just practice nothing at all to be scared about. After all if you mess up all you got to do is re-do it. No one is going to raise your taxes or take your birthday away if you have an OH DARN once in a while. Like Nike says "Just go for it." Do they still have pots over there?

Jason just a small tip from me, as we are in the Autumn temperatures now it does pay to heat your room up and keep the heat there for a few hours at least. You'll find the epoy works soooo much better and releases bubbles soooo much easier.Give it a try.

Thanks for the input Guys,

Tom, I was doing what you suggest but I found that I would get a bump of finish both in front of and behind the brush. I guess this will level out or maybe I'm just loading the brush too much?

Doc, If you are talking about pots of beer, then yes. But that is more a mainland thing. In Tassie you would normally ask for either an 8oz or 10oz beer. Some of the small country pubs will still give you a 6oz glass if you ask!

Mark, thanks for that. I do all my rodbuilding in my downstairs garage/workshop. Not the ideal place çause it tends to be dusty and cold in Winter. I do have a fridge and freezer down there which seems to keep the temp up a bit, but probably not warm enough. I may have to do my epoxy on the dining room table through winter.

Cheers

Jason