I have searched the forum and through the photo album. I tried to do my homework before posting the question; I am still unclear.
I want to place an image on a flat butt cap and then clear over. I did some practice sets with TM, CA, and a hobby resin (Hodge Podge). The CA dried hazy and the hobby resin is too soft. The TM feels hard and is clear, but I worry about the durability. I plan to use the rod (bass fishing) and want the butt end to be durable. If I wanted to clear over the end and leave it exposed as a build up with the clear exposed, what product will work? Imagine that this will look like a dome of clear on a flat end.
Thank you for the help.

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
Leonardo da Vinci

I'd almost go with some sort of polyester casting resin. You might scratch and dull it over time, but it could be buffed right back up to a high gloss with very little effort.

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

They are hot but if you can seal it and put on LumiSeal cause it is thicker Very hard and clear

Bill - willierods.com

Obed,

Here is a great idea that Mick McComesky had a few years ago.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Hope this helps,
Andres Perez
Miami, Fl

Obed,
If it were my rod, I wouldn't make a rounded end cap as you spoke about.
Rather, make the butt cap with an indented end with your work on the indent. That way the surrounding area of the butt cap will protect the nice work.

The butt ends of rods have a very very hard life. Fancy finishes and fancy work with no protection have a rather short rod life.


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Having said that, I would also use poly resin for the work.

Roger

Thank you for your answers and information. It is appreciated.
I picked up some polyester casting resin and will attempt to make something similar to what Mick created, albeit less pronounced.
I do have some concerns about leaving it exposed, but will experiment and see what happens. It will be a trial.......
I will post pictures when I am finished. Thank you again

Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
Leonardo da Vinci

I've done a logo in the indention of a rubber butt cap recently, I guess I'll have to see how it turns out. I buffed/roughed up the indention and used pigments w/epoxy for back ground color, applied the logo and applied expoy over it. Time will tell.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2011 07:45PM by Fred Trahan.