Hey folks,

Want to start by saying, I appreciate the folks who educate the uneducated on these forums like myself. I've had no prob gettin started by just navigating through the site.

Anywho... I recently finished my first rod using metallic thread wraps, FlexCoat HighBuild with no CP. I applied one coat of this finish. I let cure for approx. a week or so. Well, I went and "field" tested it (saltwater) on day one with not a prob. Exceeded my expectations. Day two while wade fishing, I noticed what appeared to be some small strips of FlexCoat rising above the thread wraps along the top of my guides foots. These "strips" of FlexCoat was soft on touch, as my rod was wet from wading, and could be peeled and pulled off and actually I ended up exposing a portion of some thread. This was a problem with four of the guides from the tip top down. The majority of this problem occurred near the end of the guide foots.

My question is - for saltwater fishing is it best to place a second coat of HighBuild. Was this my problem, not enough finish? The finish appeared to be cured and covered all threads evenly pretty good prior to use. Note that I fought a couple of upper slot Redfish using this rod, and believe that the pressure from fighting the fish may have pushed my threads up some way forcing the finish to raise like that.....I guess, although I wrapped the threads fairly tight.

Question #2 - Do I just take a razor to the finish, or is there any type of other solution to easily remove the finish without potentially damaging the blank. Plan on re-wrapping and correcting this mess regardless. Any help would be much appreciated.

Respectfully,

Marc

Marc the problem you note may have been caused by the use of Metallic Thread - It has a high break strength but stretches quite a bit due to the polyester core. - If you do not pull enough tension when finish is applied the thread relaxes. If the guide foot is not properly prepped the thread will stretch at the upramp under load. Finish has enough elasticity in it to allow the thread to "gap or create peepers". If you are going to load up rods it may be best if you consider the use of nylon rod wrapping thread for guide wraps.

Just to add to Bill's post I wonder if you coated the thread - yet went over and onto the blank to make sure the thread ends are sealed
Also did the finish go around the feet ends so water would not get under at the point where the feet bend and go up to the ring

Bill - willierods.com

Marc,
Out of curiosity, was the finish rock hard before you started fishing.
If your finish has been properly mixed and prepared, applied and dried, you should not be able to scratch the finish at all with a fingernail.
If, when you press the finish with a fingernail and leave a depression, you either have uncured or improperly prepared finish.

Good luck
Roger

Bill,

Coats were applied to the ends of each thread as well as all tunnels. I'll take the advice of switching out to nylon, although that metallic sure was purty..... Thanks fellas.

MMorris

Roger

The finish was solid as a rock, that's the reason I didnt understand. All threading was sealed as well. It wasn't until the area around the guides got a little wet (just from reeling in line), when I started observing these small little finish "strips" were starting to rise. And as I attempted to clear the strips off, u could basically peel portions of the flex coat off.

I'd say the problem was with your thread tension. When the rod flexed the guide foot wasn't held tight to the blank and the foot pushe dthe thread away form the blank and the epoxy lifted. It's a guess.

If you like the look of the metallic then wrap the guides with regular and then do a second layer with metallic. A bit more work, but gets you the results.

On a side note, I have only used lite build and I do 2-4 coats of it and have had nothing but great results. The only issue ever is my so class stand-up rod with rollers that flexes a lot. I have a couple small cracks at the ends of the feet, but not bad.

"Out of curiosity, was the finish rock hard before you started fishing."

Thread finish that produces a "rock hard" finish does not work very well for fishing rods.

Rocks crack - finish moves without cracking when a blank is under load.

I know it is not needed but try CP on it then finish ??

Bill - willierods.com

Thanks again for the assistance

I would suggest not trying the color preserver as you may already be having an adhesion problem, preserver may only serve to exasperate the problem.
It is also possible that being new to applying epoxy, that rate at which you applied it may have been slow enough to allow the viscosity to thicken to a point that it did not penetrate into the winding's enough to hold securely.

Your Statement of: "These "strips" FlexCoat was soft on touch:
May also be an indication of another problem. The epoxy should not have been soft to the touch after a weeks curing time even though wet. It leads me to think your mixture portions were off, or not mixed thoroughly.
Some times while mixing it is possible to miss a spot especially at the edges of your mixing container.
Then when applying, it will not cure-out with the rest of the mixture that later shows up with the problem you are having.

You may also have a problem with the thread being contaminated causing the adhesion problem some metallic's have a silicone additive that will prevent the epoxy form sticking to the threads properly. especially if it is a brand not specifically designed for rod wrapping

A light build finish should also work better for you being new and slow it should stay wet longer and give you better penetration of the threads

Bill - willierods.com

Steve,

That may have been my problem - taking too long to apply, as I ended up having to make a fresh batch near the end to finish the rod due to the first mix hardening up on me, but like I mentioned, I have eight wraps/guides coated and only four of them ended up that way. It appeared that the wraps with the most finish applied (ended up being football shaped) wasn't effected. For a future reference, should adding a second coat maybe correct this problem.? It appeared to be fully cured as I wouldn't have dared to fish it had it not been, or at least I thought.....