I remember seeing a post about applying epoxy finish very thinly and not needing to turn the rod while it dries. Has anyone had success with this? What finish do you use?

There are some that turn the rod by hand for the finish. Any of the finishes will work. It is not that you do not turn the rod at all, but it is turned 180 degrees at a time throughout the drying process. I am sure others here that apply finish that way will explain it better.

I have never used a rotation device for turning a rod while drying. I've always done them by hand.

You turn the rod only as often as it's needed - the instant it begins to get thicker on the bottom than on the top it's time to flip the rod. Initially this has to be done every couple minutes, then it becomes 5 minutes, then 10, etc. Takes about 2 hours before you're done.

It will work with any epoxy finish on the market and you're likely to find that it you the best results you've ever had.

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

You can, in fact, use epoxy finish and put it on so thin that the rod doesn't need any turning. It's a method I used ages ago, when I could only devote a few minutes to putting on epoxy, and I had no time/chance to baby-sit the rod. I think I was using one of the light finishes--maybe U40.

Here's what I would do. I'd heat my resin for 10-15 seconds in the microwave, mix my finish, and pour it on some aluminum foil. Then--using a fairly stiff brush--I'd put fairly thick globs of epoxy on the wraps, so that the thread was well-saturated. Once done with the whole rod, I'd go back with the brush, and brush ALL the excess off. With all the excess off the wraps, you can just walk away--there's nothing left to sag. I'd do the next coat the same way, then the next, and the next, and the next, etc., etc. All in all, it would take around 7 coats to get a finish thick enough that I couldn't see individual threads anymore.

Now--there are a number of down-sides to this method. The first is that you spend a fortune in finish epoxy. Second, you have to remember to put another coat on every 24 hours (or 36). That's not that big a deal when you're doing one or two coats, but when it's 7 evenings in a row, that's hard to remember. Third, even though epoxy will work with this method, it's not what epoxy was meant to do. In fact, if you like the "no turn" method, you'll likely be better off with something like permagloss.

But, if you like the look of epoxy instead of permagloss, and you don't mind the cost and the multiple coats, you can get a really nice, flat finish.

FWIW, now that I have more time, I do it exactly like Tom says. It's way easier, and it allows the epoxy to do its job (i.e. level itself out).

Curtis,
Yes, all of the afore mentioned methods will work to apply finish.

However, if you are in the middle of multiple builds; none of them are really well suited for a production or semi production environment.

When building multiple rods, you need to have a process where you coat a rod, get it set up the dryer, turn on the dryer,and forget the rod so that you can get on to other things in the shop.

Yes, if you are only working on one rod, yes, if you have the time and ability to check on a rod every 3-20 minutes during the setup process, yes, if you want to use other techniques to achieve that wonderful finish without the use of a dryer - go for it.

But, a dryer motor and chuck is quite inexpensive. Then, all that you need is one wooden V block and a T block made of another piece of wood to mount the motor and chuck to hold the rod - so why NOT use a dryer to simplify your life, get 100% excellent quality results every time and free up your time to be doing other things while the rod is drying.

However, that is the wonderful thing about the free enterprise system. Use any method that works for you, with your time and resource restraints to execute the job.

Take care
Roger

I've been using Permagloss, but I was curious about 2-part finishes. It would be nice to get just a big more depth with a single application. Maybe I'll just keep using the Permagloss. Thanks for the info.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2010 05:09PM by Curtis Trompler.