First off I'd like to thank all of you folks for the information on this site. My rodbuilding has improved dramatically in the last year!! Wish I had know 5 years ago about this site!!!
My question is about the very edges of my wraps when I apply finish. I can still see the texture of the thread (just on the very edge) even after two coats. I'm using aftcote epoxy currently but I've used several different epoxies and still have the same problem. These are not fuzzies but appear to be the natural twist of the thread. I've tried just applying finish to the threads on the first coat and then carrying over the epoxy onto the blank next but the texture still shows through. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

thanks

TJB

TJB,

Aftcote is a very thin thread finish and personally I like that! Seeing the thread a little is not a bad thing really, it shows you have use MINIMAL finish on your wrappings. If you like the look of a completely covered thread wrap while using Aftcote, just add another coat as needed. You're still not going to have "too much" finish with over 2 coats using Aftcote. You can change and add another coat or stay with what you have, you still have good protection either way. I usually add another coat to mine because I like the "totally covered" look better than the thread showing. It's WAY BETTER to have 3 thin coats versus 2 thick ones trying to hide threads, it makes a nicer looking job IMO.

If this helps? I keep my 1st coat of finish ON the thread only, on my second coat if I feel like I'll need 3 coats (you can look at your cured 1st coat and just about tell if you will need 3), then I'll keep my 2nd coat on the wraps only as well. Then with my 3rd and final coat I'll go off the wrap and onto the rod.


DR

Thanks Duane. I'll definitely give it a try. Just applied my second coat this morning on a spinning rod and have one more to go. I like the aftcote after having footballing troubles with other epoxies trying to cover that darned edge!!

TJB

Football look is just that you have too much finish on. One thing you can do in that case is after coating your threads, stop the turner, with guides UP, wipe off the excess that will hang off the bottom of the guides. Then start the turner again.

Thomas,
It simply sounds like the thread is wicking the finish back INTO the wraps, as air is displaced during the curing process. Hard to say, as I have never used Aftcote. It is my experience with others that I base this on.
Duane and Bill give you sound advice on this matter also. :)
Chuck

Bill, no more footballs after reviewing info from this site!!

Chuck, have had this problem with other epoxies as well.

I do use a torch (at a distance) to break any bubbles. Could this be the problem? I only use the heat for a split second (much less that the burn finger test), but maybe that is long enough to thin the epoxy too much? My current finish is nice and flat but just shows the tread texture on the very ends. I really try to keep the volume of epoxy to a minimum.

I've even tried going back a little later (well before the epoxy starts to gel) and putting a very small amount on the ends but it doesn't help.

Thanks guys.

TJB

I would use an alcohol burner instead of a torch. You can isolate the heat to just the bubble. Any time I have heated the epoxy up to much it pools in the center of the wrap away from the sides as well. Basically I would avoid thinning or over heating it ever. Let it be in its natural viscosity for best results.

Matt White

Are you touching the wraps for any reason. The grease on your hands or fingers may be the cause ?? Wash your hands before wrapping any guides. Also I have recently been blowing on my finish though a Straw ? It seems to work and my HOT Breath flows out any bubbles. I read that here but only just recently used it. Go figure.

Pretty careful about washing hands (always follow wash with a wash of denatured alcohol). Learned about thread contamination after an episode with a dust clearing effort using some Fabreeze!!!

I will try the straw method. Use it to break bubbles on the tin foil but a little heat is just so easy on the wraps. Guess I might have just learned a new lesson!!!!

TJB

All of the above are good stuff, and I'll just add this: a good coat or two of CP will also seal the ends, and so prevent thinning or "wicking" of the epoxy, giving a smoother overall appearance.

Also, make sure the end threads are packed tight. Sometimes they are a little more slack than the rest of the wrap.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

I think you're just experiencing what happens to every rod builder when he tries to get a minimal amount of finish on a rod. It happens to me every single time. The edge threads are just the slightest bit starved. And realistically, hardly anyone would notice.

However, it drives me crazy also. I have the perfect thin finish over all the threads--just enough so that I can't distinguish ridges--but those edge threads are just a tiny bit starved.

Here's what I do. (I have no idea if it'll work with Aftcote, but it's worked with every other finish I've used, so maybe it will.) First, I give the rod a first thin coat of epoxy, just coating the threads, but not overlapping onto the rod. Then, on the second coat of epoxy, I go ahead and do the same thing again, still not overlapping. At this point, the wraps have the perfect amount of finish, but the edge threads are slightly starved.

Then, as the second coat is drying, I wait till the epoxy is getting nice and thick, and I take my fly tying bodkin (i.e. needle), dip it in the remaining finish on my foil, and pull off a "string" of epoxy. Then, I lay that string right on the rod-side of that edge thread, as the rod is turning. The "string" makes a little "collar" of epoxy around the edge, then levels itself out. As long as you leave the "collar" alone, and keep turning the rod, the epoxy will level itself perfectly, flowing back into the main wrap, AND give a nice overlap with a crisp edge.

I can't take credit for this. It's a technique that Tom K. first suggested to me about 5 years ago.

There was a post about a year ago relative to this problem. When I read Andrews comments about the " little collar" it reminded me of it.
Here is how I eliminate this problem while using Thread Master Lite. Very similar to what Andrew is talking about. I apply one thin, quick coat, just enough to coat the threads. Then I load my brush again and start right on the edge of the wrap and push up a "little tire" or ridge right on the edge of the wrap and push it off the edge on to the blank. All this done with the rod rotating. Since I started doing that I haven't had a problem with wrap edge threads showing.

What Andrew posted is something that takes a little a little practice because you only have a certain "window of opportunity" where the epoxy is at the right consistency to do this. But done properly, it really takes care of any "sparse" wrap edges. The epoxy will appear to run across the wrap and then roll over the edge, nice, level and smooth.

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