I put Flex Coat high build on a water slide label last night. I ended up with waves in the finish. What should I do? Put another coat on and smooth it out or remove everything and start over? What gets me the best result?
Thanks

Yes, put on another coat.
At the suggestion of Andy Dear, I always spread the finish long ways (along the length of the blank).
When I do it this way, the finish comes out ultra-smooth.


Walt

Walt
What are you using when you apply the finish lengthwise? Brush?

Ricky this can be a complex problem when certain things are not done correctly. The surface of the water slide and the surface of the finish on the blank do not have the same properties. If the edges of the decal are not properly sealed in place when the finish starts its cure the little dimples in the edge will allow a ripple to form in the curing finish surface. Many times a second coat of finish is all that it will take to get it flat if the ridges were not to prominent to start with. I use Micro Set and Micro Sol products to insure that the decal is sealed and laying perfectly flat before the finish is applied. Put another coat on top of this one to see how it looks and remember several important rodbuilding facts - the next rod one will always be better than the last one - you will never build a perfect one - decals do not catch fish - go fishing and enjoy the rod - start the next build!

Ricky,

I use a spatula for this, not a brush. If you don't have a spatula, a piece of an old credit card or other thin (but stiff) plastic material will work.

Bill makes some great points, and it is important to make sure your decal has adhered to the blank properly, but it sounds like you are pas that point now.
The only thing you can do is apply another coat to smooth it out.

BTW, I have not used the Micro Set and Micro Sol products, so I cannot vouch for them. Many builders on here do use and swear by them. I presume, since Decal Connection recommends and sells these products that they are worthwhile. But I have not had any problems (knock on wood).


Walt

I believe I put the finish on too thick. Waves are in the middle of the decal. My waterslide went on fine. I don"t have problems at the edges. I guess I could have given you this from the beginning. I will be trying the Micro Sol/Set in the future to make life easier though.
Thanks
Rick

Ricky,

For some reason I typically get waves over my water slide decals. I used to use Sol/Set but decided to move away from them as they were causing me problems getting the darn decal to stay in one place (I know that's part of the reasoning for them but I just didn't like it). I have always had to put more than one coat of finish over my decals for some reason and no one has ever been able to explain why. I only use distilled water when placing the decals, I let them dry for at least 6 hours before my first epoxy application and I don't put on too much epoxy (in fact I'm using Threadmaster Lite exclusively these days). I'm not sure what is causing your/my problem, but I can tell you DO NOT remove the decal and start over. Just put on another coat or two until it gets glass smooth the way you want it. If someone can tell me or Ricky what we are doing wrong, please do. The waves on my decals happens consistently and it's not just the edges, it's across the whole decal surface. The rest of the epoxy surface that does not have a decal under it is glass smooth.

Thanks, Jeff



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2008 04:22PM by Jeff Shields.

I have had this problem with multiple decals, but I think the following solve the problem (when I do them right!).
1 - apply the waterslide and let it dry
2 - use THIN coats of finish, brushed on lengthwise; better numerous thin coats than one thick wavy one
3 - don't use heat - it thins, ripples, then "kicks" before it can flow back out
4 - the first few times you turn, brush your sags away lengthwise
5 - I believe more viscous finishes like LS Hi-build support their own weight better and thus have less trouble with ripples
I'm strictly a novice, but I've had this problem numerous times; hope this helps.

Other than to much finish (the most common cause of "waves)) a very common cause is not having the rod as LEVEL as possible. If the rod is not level, the finish, being liquid will flow downhill, causing waves

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!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2008 06:37PM by Mike Barkley.

Ok: You said to use old credit cards to spread the finish. I wish I knew that before I entered them through the schredder now all I have is plastic pieces. So I now use the brush and spatula method with no probs. Make sure that the decal is dried on the rod first. before you do anything else, any moisture will give you grief like you never knew before.

One more fine point. Roger Seider with Flexcoat makesa statement in his presentations that could be directly involved in this issue. He makes it very clear that you should wait at least five minutes after thorough mixing before applying Flexcoat to a long flat butt wrap area. He says that the polimerization process of the freshly mixed material will tend to pull the finish around and make it do strange things. He will tell you after mixing the finish to apply to guides first and give the finish a little time before expecting it to lay perfectly flat. I know John Anderson reads this board and would I would appreciate validation to the above. I am looking forward to seeing Roger in High Point. If you are in High Point make it a point to spend some time with Roger if you have any problems with the Flexcoat products. It will be time well spent!

A deck of playing cards will give you 52 spatulas that can be custom sized to fit your wrap.

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 always use the card trick on all my long wraps and decals. Never have a problem and I use Flex Coat regular build. Also, I always do the guide wraps first because the finish is still good and "limber" . I may have stumbled in to what Bill S. is saying, works better on long wraps and decals if you wait awhile.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

With the wavy finish only being over the decal, I don' think that too much finish was applied. The whole area the finish was applied to would then be wavy, not just the area of the decal. Or at least a larger area.

I haven't run into this problem before and can't seem to figure it out in my head, either. Only thing that I can think is that some smaller form of contamination on the decal surface is doing this. Not enough to get fisheyes, but still causes a form of rejection. I'm not sure and am just guessing.

Putter
Williston, ND

I used to have this problem as well. I use Micro Set and Micro Sol, let dry and apply a very thin coat of finish. The second coat gives me the depth/thickness I want. No more troubles. Ditto what Bill said. If anyone would know FC, it's Roger Seider. "Your name here" credit or playing cards for long sections like buttwraps work very well.