I'm planning to use permagloss to finish a couple of blue water fly rods, or should I stick to two part epoxy finishes-is PG up to the task? will it take abrasion well, and how good is its adhesion to the blank and strength to hold the singlefoot guides in place?
I don't have much experience with PG. one other thing-I will be using it in a very humid 90 plus degree climate, will this affect how I use it ?

PermaGloss is much, much harder and more abrasion resistant than any epoxy.

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Tom, is it flexible as well as being hard? I've only used it as a thread sealer underneath my epoxy...sort of a basecoat. I've always wondered too, how well it would hold up as a finish.

For overall durability though, I've had my best luck using Flex Coat. It's not as user-friendly or as crystal clear as some of the more recent offerings, but tough as nails. I have a couple of rods going on 25 years of hard service, and aside from the colors of the wraps being slightly faded, the finish is holding up remarkably well.

~Ray

Many use it as a thread finish as well as coloring entire blanks by tinting it. I doubt that their is any epoxy that comes close in terms of durability, toughness, etc. I've never heard of any durability problems with any of the epoxy finishes on the market. They are all pretty much variations of casting resins

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!!

It's very flexible.

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In high humidity it kicks quicker. That and if you plan on using it to build up an epoxy like finish, thicker-more depth, it will take many coats and be a bit tougher to get a level finish. you may find at some point you want to sand the waves out.

I tried them both - will stick to two-part finishes (ThreadMaster Lite). My opinion and experiance - if PG is applied sparingly (2-3 light coats) it does not protect the threads from fraying with use and transportation. If applied in many coats or heavy coats, it does not level well and looks awful.
Also, in tests to destruction, guides held on better with two part finishes.
Herb

PermaGloss will give an "eggshell" finish if you apply enough coats to build noticeable depth. Generally, it works well on thread and provides superior protection to epoxy in about 4 to 5 coats. But not everyone likes the way it looks. Then again, some prefer that look.

If you'll go to the photo page and look under my name, you should be able to find a series of photos I put up a few years ago that showed the appearance of PG at something like 3, 5 and 7 coats, or something like that.

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To each his or her own, but I have been very happy with the minimal weight and durability afforded by 2 or 3 coats of PG. It's sort of an extension of the micro guide "less weight is better" concept.

Rick

Ok, it seems that there are pro's and cons. I will go ahead and put several coats on as the general opinion seems to er in favor for toughness, and if I dont like the way it looks I'll put on a coat of epoxy over the top. Thanks for all your input guys.
Earl.

Earl,

I, myself as well - as several others who will probably chime in on this board - use BOTH permagloss and Epoxy on EACH of our wraps. I like the high build of epoxy, but it simply does not have the same durability as permagloss. What I do (of which I copied someone else) is apply PG as the first coat to my thread wraps. Here in Colorado, I have to let it dry 5 days before applying any additional coats to allow for the solvent to escape from the finished threads (a process which is usually less than five days in more humid environments). My second coat of thread finish then consists of epoxy (I use high build Threadmaster) to create a high build on top of the thread and previous application of perma gloss. I then let that coat dry for 2 days and apply one more coat of PG to the surface of the cured epoxy. It seems overkill to some, but it has yielded my best finishing results to dates in terms of the balance between both durability AND esthetics. It's very time consuming, but I'm no high-volume rod builder (obviously) so it's well worth the time investment.

Torin.