Has anyone experienced Threadmaster being very slow to cure to the point where it doesn't feel a little tacky ? My room temp is warm and it is mixed exact 50/50. I don't have this with any other finish......

TM Lite or regular? If it's lite it takes longer to cure. If regular... user error of some sort.

how long has it been?

eric
fresno, ca.

If your's is bad, so will be hundreds of others. The stuff is packaged from larger bulk containers. Much larger. Most likely, user error as Chuck suggests. "Bad" epoxy just isn't common at all.

I know that doesn't help you now, but give it a day or so and see how things look. If still tacky, you'll have to recoat with a very carefully measured and mixed batch.

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

I just finished a rod with threadmaster Lite and I noticed that it took considerably longer for it to cure than flex coat lite. I put the 1st coat on at 11pm and when I woke up at 630am it was a little sticky still. Same thing happened with the 2nd coat, but the finish came out perfect when it was finally fully cured. I will use the same finish on the next rod, but I may jack up the room temp at bit.

TM Lite take a much longer time than regular to cure.

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 never had any trouble with Threadmaster, and I don't get why I would want to switch to lite. I have experienced the tackiness issue with FlexCoat before, but I am sure it was something I did wrong. I also don't like the ideda of putting a second coat over the tacky coat, because I am not sure that the first coat willever cure, and the softness can weaken the wrap/guide system. I would feel better starting over. Honestly, once you get your system perfected for preparing the TM, you shoouldn't ever have a tackiness problem again. I warm my TM in warm water for about ten minutes, mix the 50/50 usually one dram of each in a plastic cup (no syringes, just eyeball it) and mix for three minutes minimum. Pour it out into a dish, hit it once with a flame, and let it rest for a minute. Then go. Works every time for me.

Jerry check you're email.....if you're using the lite, and it's still tacky, it's usually ALWAYS temperature related. I just coated a rod with TML last night at 9:00pm and at 7:00am it was not tacky at all...but the room temp was about 74-76 degrees. I know some of you folks are still gettig some cool weather in certain parts of the country, so be aware of your room temperature.

If you're having this problem with the High build, then it's definately user error....TM High Build is probably the quickest self curing finish on the market. It should be tack free in about 6 hours at 72-74 degrees. If you want to heat it in a drying box, at 110 degrees, you can accalerate the cure to the point it will be ready to fish in about 2 hours.

Frans' suggestion about heating prior to use is a good one. I always nuke mine in the microwave for about 10 seconds prior to mixing, because I want it to cure up quick. BTW, Fran some folks prefer the lite, because they like a multiple coat application with a longer potlife. Those are the only advantages (if you want to call them advantages)

Just as an FYI, the product is not re-packaged. it is mixed fresh in 110 gallon mixing vats and bottled/packaged straight from there. This is not a re-packaged product designed for another industry like many (if not most) of the rod building finishes are. The same is true with our soon to be released Color Preserver. This is a formulated product specific to the rodbuilding industry, with attributes specific to our needs. It's not some off the shelf artists gesso or acrylic drywall primer like most of the CP's are. When I finally settled on a recipe for the CP, my raw material suppliers would not sell to me in less than 55 gallon containers. In fact, I had to rent a seperate storage facility just to store the raw materials for the CP.....so I hope you guys like it, otherwise I am stuck with 125 gallons of Color Preserver for the first production cycle.


Best Regards,

Andy Dear
Lamar Fishing



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2008 12:41PM by Andy Dear.

I totally agree with the comments about temperature and Threadmaster Lite.

It was a bit cool in my place when I applied my last coat of Threadmaster Lite (in the mid 60's), and I ended up leaving the rod out for close to 36 hours before the finish was no longer tacky at all (it turned on the dryer for ~ 7 hours). However, it turned out beautifully!

The rod before was done with Threadmaster Lite at temperatures of around 70, and this one lost all tackiness in about 16 hours.

Yes, it takes a little longer than other finishes to completely setup....but not that much longer when you keep your temperature in the recommended range...and it sure gives beautiful results!

Eric, This last rod is about 18 hours old. It is just a little sticky, not soft. I've only done 4 rods with it and they all cured the same in which they do cure on out in a few days. My temp downstaris may drop below 70 sometimes with a higher humidity and I did not warm it as I sometime do with other finishes. I know its mixed right. It just seems to be slightly slower than the others I've used. I love the clarity of Threadmaster and plan on using it, although I do plan on turning up the heat, warming it first,and maybe place some warm gentle air on it as it cures.....This is such a great board..Thanks for all replies.

I think you're okay. A little tacky at 18 hours at that tempt isn't out of the question. By this evening I'd bet the finish will be just fine. Let us know.

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

Its curing fine. Just a little different than what I'm used to.....Beautiful clarity......Thanks everyone.

Just as an FYI, I coated 4 rods this afternoon in my shop which was 90 degrees at 12:00pm (forgot to trun the AC on this morning) finish was tack free at 4:00pm. As I have stated before.....ThreadMaster likes the heat!


Andy Dear
Lamar Fishing

Over here in Singapore, our room temperature is around 30 degrees celcius. Threadmaster regular is completely tack free in 4 hrs and TM Lite in 6 hrs. Both are super but I still prefer the regular.

Anthony Lee