Question #1. I was told by someone that the Pure Diamond rod finish was a really good finish and I thought...what the heck I will try it. I use LS Supreme now and have really good results from that, but just like the most of you out there, I am always looking to better my techniques and always looking for that perfect finish......I do like the LS Supreme and just recieved Threadmaster Lite and was considering using that one too.

Here is the question......The finish comes with a series of insturctions that will change the way I finish rods...Is this neccessary? Can't I just apply the finish and allow it to dry like I do now? Do I have to set up light bulbs like they suggest? If I do, I am not sure I want to change my rod room around that much just to use this stuff. Anyone who is using this finish, please feel free to provide me advise............Thanks...

The person that suggested to me to try the finish is a builder and sponsor on the board and I have no reason to not believe him. I just want to know if someone out there is currently using the finish and how are you doing it.....Thanks again in advance.

Question #2 But the time I finished typing the first question, I forgot what the second question was......... ;-)

I want to clarify the process for curing Diamondite Rod Finish and quickly discuss some of the differences based of our adhesive finish to other epoxy finishes. I will also address the differences in Color Preservers.

Most epoxy finishes cure thru internally generated heat. Diamondite Rod Finish cures thru evaporation. Our product does not “require” heat to cure. The heat that we suggest you apply to the product is to keep the molecules of the finish active and moving to expedite the evaporative process. As specific components of the finish evaporate, curing takes place. This is one of the reasons Diamondite Rod Finish has an extended working time as long as you leave the product in the mixing container. It slows the evaporative process by exposing less surface area to the atmosphere. This is also why we do not recommend that you spread out the product to remove heat like is done with epoxy finishes. Our product will cure perfectly without the application of a heat source. It will just take longer based on the temperature of your drying room and the evaporation process. The Diamondite Rod Finish is also not as sensitive to mixing ratios errors as epoxies because of the evaporative curing process.

Another option to expedite the curing process is moving air. Since the Diamondite Rod Finish cures thru an evaporative process, a flow of air across the finish will also speed up the curing process. I know of a rod builder that installed an enclosed flowing filtered air system on his drying rack. This was to remove the vapors given off during the curing process from his working environment. He discovered that with the positive air flow, he needed to reduce the amount of heat inside the box to less than 90 F for the Diamondite Rod Finish. The product was curing too quickly and wasn’t allowing the bubbles to escape.

Diamondite Rod Finish is also very builder friendly. Tests done by outside sources (by builders) show that our product does not use or give off amines in the application or curing process. It also does not require the builder to use respirators during the application process.

Diamondite Rod Finish has an excellent UV inhibitor that is part of the base component. An independent test lab showed that the finish showed minimal yellowing (3%) after 10 years of 8 hours of daily exposure to the sun.

Diamondite Rod Finish does not require the use of Diamondite Color Preserver. Our CP was designed specifically for our finish. It is what I recommend if you need to use CP. I have had many builders send me notes that other CPs work fine under our Diamondite Rod Finish. I have not tested them. Diamondite Color Preserver is a urethane based product which dries quickly. It also doesn’t leave a white residue on dark thread. It is also great for the builders in the colder climates that have issues with freezing. Our CP will work after being frozen.

I know this information will be helpful in clarifying some of the advantages of Diamondite Rod Finish and Diamondite Color Preserver and remove some of the misinformation that has been floating around about our products.

If you have any questions, please send me an e-mail tim@swiftymfg.com or give me a call at the shop, (626) 963-1142.

Tim Campbell
Swifty Manufacturing
(626) 963-1142

To shorten the answer, you do not need to use the light if you do not. You do need to do a few things differently.

So that is the long and the short answer.

Tim Campbell
Swifty Manufacturing
(626) 963-1142

TIM................Wow! What a response and THANKS.....I am glad to hear this and I look forward to trying your finish

Thanks again for the rapid response. Love this site!

Terry

Terry,

I used Diamondite in my pre-drier box days with good results. No lights or anything. Drying time was similar to LS Supreme.

My wrapper/dryer shares the Garage with a poorly vented clothes dryer, so I was often finding tiny fibres (lint) in my finish. I built a dryer box around a Pac Bay Quad dryer, then added some heat lamps and fans that draw air through a 2sq. ft. sub-micron filter. I found that all of the fan motors wouldn't let the box build any heat because they moved too much air through the box, so I blocked off two of the three exhaust ports which cut my epoxy curing time by almost half. When Tim told me about Diamondite "evaporating" during cure, I opened the ports back up and got my Diamondite drying time down to under an hour. Amazing.

Though I'm still using epoxy on my heavier rods, I LOVE Diamondite on the light stuff. One coat over their CP gives a perfectly flat, low-build finish. Much like Permagloss, but without the "egg shell" finish. The Diamondite looks like glass. I'll be using it on a 2wt today that's going fishing on the East Fork tomorrow.

I've found that the CP is the key to having the finsh level itself quickly, allowing a one coat finish. I apply a single flooding coat of CP, staying on top of the guide tunnels and applying more as the thread soaks up the CP. When it reaches the saturation point, I wick off the excess and put the rod in a dryer motor for about 30 minutes. While I've heard of builders applying Diamondite Finish over Diamondite CP in under an hour, I usually give it a couple of hours before applying the finish. I apply Diamondite just like I do epoxy, with a liberal coat, then hand turn the rod and wick off any excess finish for 5-10 minutes to let it level before putting it in the dryer to spin.

I'm still trying to master the stuff on heavy, high-build coats. I think it likes thin applications better. I lobbed it heavy onto the first layer of a Tiger Wrap trying to get a thick build up, and had some waves in it by the second coat. It sanded out nicely and a third thin coat saved the day. If you use it on your feather inlays, you may want to do a number of thin coats. That's where the light bulb trick would come in handy. You could do 3-4 coats in the same amount of time as a heavy coat of LS. One of those $5 "clamp-on" light fixtures from Home Depot works great.

Let me know how it goes.

Mark Griffin
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C&M Custom Tackle
San Dimas, California

Thanks Mark and the next rod is going to built with that finish.......

Thanks for the advice

Terry