Hi all,
Just picked up this hobby and finished my first rod. Everything is fine except the epoxy finish. my coat on the first guide looks fine but as i proceed, my epoxy mixture stars to harden and becomes tacky. It makes my other application very uneven and difficult to apply. now the epoxy finish on the rest of the guides looked uneven and ugly. Any advice? Thanks

Pour out your finish on a small sheet of aluminum foil, this will extend the pot life conciderably.

With what you have, you can take a razor and trim the finish down fairly even (cafeful to NOT cut into the wraps!!!) and just put a new thin coat over them. Make sure to scuff any finish that you're not trimming for adheasion if you have let the wraps sit for more than 48hrs.

You can also sand down any high spots as well and re-coat. Use something like 500grit wet paper and a popsickle stick to keep things straight and even.

DR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2007 07:20PM by Duane Richards (DR).

Robin, I agree with DR. Just to clarify - you are using rod finish for the guide wraps and not epoxy adhesive, correct? I don't mean to assume anything but I have heard of that error before.

In the future, follow Duane's advice. Try starting out at the tip end on the smaller guides. The bigger ones are easier to handle if you're finish starts to firm up. Don't work too hard or long on each wrap. Apply just enough finish to cover the wrap and move on to the next. You can go back and add more if required. There is a good article in Rodmaker magazine volume 9, issue 1.

Chuck

how long are you spending per guide applying the epoxy??? sounds like its taking you 10 minutes for the first guide

put the finish on each guide fairly quickly(do all the guides), then come back and touch up anything you missed and then go back and brush them length wise to even it all out...after that let it sit for a minute or 2 and if you see any sags underneath swipe them off(careful not to touch the wraps) and rotate rod 180 degrees, wait a couple minutes, swipe off any sags then rotate 180 degrees....do that till you dont get sags any longer

Appying finish takes more practice than wrapping for some.
The only thing I would add is to order RodMaker Magazine
back issue Volume 9 issue 1 as there is an in depth article
for achieving the best results using epoxy finish.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Listen to Ray's advice it will save you a lot of frustration in the future

Ray and Duane are right.

This stuff doesn't need quite the exactness of something that'll go in a museum. It's much more forgiving than that. Just put it on evenly and move on to the next guide. Then you can go back and heat them or touch them up or whatever is needed. On the first coat, all I'd try to do is get the buddles (if any) out.

The tinfoil will just about double the pot life.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Robin,

Please unhide your email address so that I can send a page of instruction for beginners. Many here may also send you their personal advise if their replies are too long to post here.

Anthony Lee

Yep Russ I agree whole heartedly.

Most new builders get to nervous and take to long trying
to get that last step perfect. In doing so they cause there
own problems.

Mix it up, get it on, check for bubbles, clean up edges if needed,
DONE

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Hey Anthony... Can I get that instruction page as well? Having very similiar issues ;)

As mentioned many times in this forum, do not spend too much time applying finish. For most epoxies, you will have a pot life of only 20 mins. This means that the finish will not be liquid enough after this and this will cause levelling problems. There is no such thing as applying a thin coat. The more you try to restrict the right amount of epoxy on any surface, it will not level properly. Thin coats will also cause the epoxy to crease. Do not use your brush as a paint brush, use it only as a vehicle to transfer epoxy to the surface for application. TK said it may times, leave the epoxy finish to do what it wants to do and you will be fine. Restrict it by controlling its normal behaviour, that's when problem arises. So, once you understand epoxy finish and how it behaves, you will realize that this part of rod building is the simplest to perform.

Anthony Lee

Robin,
Get a rod rotator - especially nice if you can have a variable speed and start and stop on it.
That way, when you are putting on rod finish, you can spin the rod to get the epoxy - quickly placed on the rod. Then, stop it in various positions, to spread the epoxy. Then, move on to the next guide.
By using a rod rotator, that will rotate the rod at up to about 50 rpm - with variable - start - stop capability - you can ususally get all of the rod finish applied to the rod in under 5 minutes. Then, another 5 minutes to go over each guide again - and you are ready to place the rod on/in the dryer.

Take care
Roger

Thanks all for your replies. Now I understand better. Does flaming the wraps soften the epoxy coat? I felt that my wraps was'nt finished well where there are strands caused by cutting off the thread. I am thinking of sanding off the surface than apply a new epoxy coat again. What do you guys think?

Do not "flame" epoxy directly as you will excellerate the curing process which may cause many other problems in future. Use a cigarette lighter or an alcohol lamp and place the flame at least 1.5" away. Make sure the rod is rotating and the flame is not stationery when you apply heat to burst bubbles. For fhread work imperfections, use a sharp razor to slice off any bumps and peaks like thread ends. A second coat should cover these up nicely.

Anthony Lee

Robin,

Listen to Anthoney on the flaming. But to answer your question: "flaming" THINS OUT the finish, but once dry and cured the flaming process can actually make the finish more brittle or less flexable, so do it in moderation.

DR