How long do you wait between coats on guide wraps?

I can not get a finish without bubbles. When I put if on it looks great no bubbles, wait an 1 1/2 hours, still no bubbles, and then apply one more coat.

Wake up in the morning and there are bubbles in the finish.

And it was looking so nice.

Any help would be appreciated. I have searched for this and people have written wait 1 to 2 hours, but I am getting frustrated by this.

The bubbles aren't being caused by the time between coats - they're caused by brushing. 1-hour between coats is fine, per the directions.

Load your brush with PG, lower it to the wrap and then rotate the rod one revolution. Stop. If the brush was not wide enough to cover the entire wrap width, reload the brush, move over, repeat. That's all you should be doing.

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

Where are you - dry condition/lower humidity slow down full cure time - solvent is being released continuously during cure.

If you live in Az or NM the result you are having is quite common.

The rate of cure of this product is related to the percent of moisture in the air - humidity.

The small amount of solvent in the Perma Gloss may still be escaping escaping for up to several days during cure.

If you do not wait the correct amount of time between coats the escaping solvent from the underlying coats will be trapped in the fresh coat being applied.

It will create the small bubbles you note.

The real issue is time between applications.

This information is straight from the mouth of Ralph O'Quinn the inventor of the Perma Gloss..

I apply two coats within an hour and wait three days before applying more coats. I live in a very high humidity location.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2010 10:47AM by Bill Stevens.

I think my wait time is the issue. That is all I can come up with due to it looking so nice when I left for the night.

Thanks for the help.

There is so much info on here from you guys I never have to ask these beginner type questions, it is all in the archives.

Thanks again for all of you sharing your knowledge and growing a great craft. I am now the envy of all my Friends and Brother-in-laws.

The rod in question is a gift for a friend of mine battling a horrible disese, so I want it be one of those things in the back in of his mind to hurry up get better and go fishing with a custom rod.

I live in CO (very dry), and the method that works for me is to apply first coat. Wait an hour. Add second coat. Wait another hour. Apply 3rd coat. Wait overnight. Go fishin'. I have no bubble issues, as long as I don't "over" brush the PG.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

maybe LumiSeal from Scott at Fishsticks will be more forgiving.

Bill - willierods.com

I have had great success with lumaseal. I too have had bubbles with PG. I ended up doing what Bill Stevens has suggested, two coat close together, then waiting a few days for additional coats.
With the Lumaseal, I have applied up to five coats about 45min-1.25hrs apart on each with no bubbles.
I also applied lumaseal to one of my carbon fiber grips and ooooowwweeeee it looks great. Even better than the spar urethane I used to spray on and have great results with..........

George remember this - it is not the brushing -

[rodbuilding.org]

Bill, I've changed my technique, since then. I've been applying 3 coats, waiting an hour between applications. So far, it's been working fine.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

It is pretty humid nationwide this time of year. I think it IS the brushing that does it. At least this time of the year. I have had no trouble waiting just thirty minutes between coats and the only bubbles I get are when I brush across the tunnels at the ends of the guide foot and thread wraps.

I agree with Bill. I have had the opportunity to talk with Ralph many times over the years (15 to 20) An Ralph says never rush take your sweet time, PG was designed for multiple thin coats over a longer period of time. Sense it was designed in WA. PG will work in any climate rain or shine. I find the rainier it is the cure time seams to be shorter. You can wait up to 48 hours between coats. I always wait till PG has passed the sticky point of curing before applying the next coat. I always apply a finish without the rod turning in the dryer motor. I apply my finishes by applying a coat on top hand turn it 1/2 way apply a coat then turn it 1/4 turn and apply a cot to any dry areas , then turn the rod another 1/2 turn an apply finish to any dry areas. Now I go back to my starting point let it stay there for 1 minute and look at the underside for blobs of finish to appear and wick those of in a horizon swipe with out touching the thread. I know some will disagree but this system works for me. Others have great success doing it differntly

Good Wraps Bob

Two or three coats an hour apart applied to thead are fine. At the end of three coats the dimpling of the thread will still be apparent. I think everyone who uses Perma Gloss agrees the the place and rotate application is correct. If you make an attempt to "build" a thicker more typical surface "like two part epoxy" by applying additional coats, say withing the next 12 hours or so before the underlying coats are fully cured, put it on any way you want and you WILL get tiny bubbles caused by solvent release. In dryer climates the delay between top coating will require a longer cure time before the application of additional coats.

There are many who read this forum who do not use Perma Gloss - some may want to do so in the future. This is a case of mixed signals again.

Tom K. you have the ability to check with Ralph to get an official statement.

I would like to see his comment on this thread.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2010 09:58AM by Bill Stevens.

I have found that the longer I let it set, like 12-24 hrs, the next coat usually acts like lacquer over enamel and wrinkles up. I find it easier to put coats on about an hour - and a half or so in between.

Bill - willierods.com

The instructions say 2-4 coats, an hour apart (for thread wraps), and that seems to work fine, even in the drier climate of CO. I do put 2 coats of color preserver on first, and wait overnight before applying PG. With 2 coats of CP and 3 coats of PG, my wraps come out smooth.
I have found that if I wait longer than 2 hours but less than 24 to apply a the next coat of PG, I am more likely to get bubbles. So, for me, 3 coats, applied an hour apart has been the quickest and most fool-proof way to go.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

after applying PG, how long should I wait until i put on the epoxy over the PG?