Good evening Gents,
I am at wits end. I have been working with some Maderia on a little shikari ul and have been using cp so that I don't have rejection issues and also to maintain the yellow color. Here is my problem. I am obviously too dense to figure it out on my own so I am asking how to keep epoxy from crawling back up the tunnel and creating an inadvertant tiger wrap.(I kind of like the effect however my customer does not) LOL. Each time that I coat it I still keep getting penetration from the epoxy. I am using guidebrod cp and have even tried to thin it out. HELP. I have to cut off the wraps for the third time tonight.


thank you.
Tom Kaufmann
GySgt USMC

i use various things for cp and in all cases i use at least three coats and i always place a drop or two at the mouth of the guide tunnel with each coat. it will flow right in there and seal the thread from the inside and also fill the tunnel. you also want to seal the edge where the thread meets the blank.
i think it is a good idea to avoid flexing the rod once you have started applying cp. finally let it dry for a couple of days before applying finish. now that i have used this regime i have had very good results. by the way i use water based urethane or aerogloss as cp. i get slightly darker results with the urethane and the lightest with the aerogloss. aerogloss is a laquer that is used in model building and can be found at hobby shops. the urethane i am using is water based olympic but i suspect that most water based urethanes will work.

Tom,
The best way to avoid the mottling effect is to fill the tunnel with the Cp as Larry suggested. I have used several types of CP( U-40, Flex Coat, Swifty, Gudebrod,etc-- all with equally good results. I also use three coats, but only dry it for 24 hours before applying finish.

Mike Blomme

Thinning it may be part of your problem - you end up with something that is mostly water or alcohol, neither of which is going to do anything but evaporate. Even fewer solids are left behind to seal the wrap tunnels when you thin the stuff.

Try the previous suggestion and put a drop or two of the CP into the tunnel openings.

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

Well,
I have been up all night and hard at it. I have completely stripped the old wrappings and so far have 2 coats of cp on it and have paid special attention to the tunnels. I have thinned these first two coats and will most likely not thin the last two. I REALLY appreciate all of the help guys. I can only hope that it comes out right this time and the young lady that this is for is happy. Once again MANY THANKS to all for the suggestions!!

One grateful Marine
Tom Kaufmann
GySgt USMC

One thing to try in the future - when you're doing such a rod, make a sample wrap on a scrap piece of blank or dowel rod. Apply CP to it just as you do to the wraps on the rod. Then, do a test epoxy finish on the sample. Whatever happens to that one, is what is going to happen to the wraps on the rod.

Easier to back up from one bad sample wrap and rethink things, than to use the actual wraps on the rod as the test bed.

Good luck, I hope this times things go as planned.

...........

Thomas,
We have invested a TON of time and money researching the "how's and why's" of color preserver. Needless to say we have learned alot about why certain chemistries work, and why some don't. For example,there is very definately an optimum range of solids content that elicits the best results. Additionally there other characteristics within the chemistry that will dictate whether the material will work as a CP or not. At some point I am going to have an in depth tutorial on how to get the most out of using color preserver on my website.


Stay tuned,

Andy Dear

I know you have already checked your thread packing, but just in case, look at the wrap with some magnification. You may be seeing the blank between the thread wraps. No CP will stop that. Light thread on a dark blank has to be well packed.

I think that yellow is one of the hardest colors to work with. I sometimes paint the blank underneath white. Works great

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 have been dealing with this same problem. Thankfully it is my rod. I am gonna live with the "tiger wrap" look and not peel this wrap off for the fourth time. Sorry I don't have any advice. Just wanted to let you know you weren't the only one with the problem.

Tom, I had tried a test wrap and it came out well, I think not filling the tunnels was my culprit. Andy, I REALLY look forward to seeing that tutorial. Mike, I agree with you yellow is a complete PAIN in the butt. I will give the white undercoat a shot if I have to play with it again. Thank you for the suggestion Grant, I do believe that I was in too much of a rush on the first wrap and packing may also have attributed to my troubles. I know the wraps that I put on last night were as right as I can make them. Once again gents, I can't thank you enough for all of the great knowledge that you so easily share. My rods would most likely not even rival a Wal-Mart Shakespere if it were not for this site and the many great folks here.

Have a great evening, I need to get back to work.
Tom Kaufmann
GySgt USMC.

Yelow is absolutely the worst. When we test new CP formulas it's always on Goldenrod thread against a solid blank blank. That's the true acid test as to whether a CP is any good or not.

Andy Dear
Lamar Fishing