Hey all. Im almost finished completing my first carbon fiber handle. They sure are labor intensive but well worth the work. I applied what was going to be my last coat of epoxy and found that I had a number of very small fish eyes or dimples in the finish. Curious if anyone has had this happen and knows a cure. I was very cautious and took a great deal of time cleaning prior to applying the epoxy so im confused as to why.

Any thoughts.... I think what I will end up doing to sanding then applying a urathane clear over the handle for the final top coat.

The cleaning is probably what caused it. Never wipe anything with a solvent as the last step in your surface preparation.

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Try using our LumiSeal as a top coat. Tom did an article on using ours and PG as a top coat and they work very well.
Thanks
Scott Parsons

Scott Parsons
919-900-8998
[www.roddancer.com]
[www.fishhawkthreads.com]

Casey,
When ever getting ready for a epoxy finish coating, the only thing that I ever use to clean with is the Blue low tack painters tape to tack off the surface.
I have never had any issues with the use of this tape and it take care of any thing lying on the surface that will be coated.

One time a long time ago, I cleaned the surface with DNA just before coating and had such issues, that I had to strip off the work and start over. Bad idea to use any type liquid cleaner or solvent on a surface before applying epoxy finish.

REW

I clean with a -- damp -- paper towel Just make sure it is completely dry before finishing

Bill - willierods.com

Well good lord this thing is giving me fits.

So last night I sanded the handle for what I thought would be the final time. I got everything nice and smooth and prepared to shoot it with a final coat of 2k auto clear. I have painted a lot of cars and the way I always prep prior to applying paint or clear is to wipe everythign down with windex, then shoot the color / clear. So thats what I did.

and I still got very small fish eyes. Nothing drastic but it still aggervates me non the less.

Its really odd I never have this issue when painting a car. I guess ill sand it down and use nothing but a damp towl to prep. Unless someone has a suggestion

Do not use a damp towel to prep.

Read this: [www.rodbuilding.org]


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

I use it Not As A Prep but after the prep is done The sanding If wet sanding i use a dry one To dry it off. But when dry sanding I clean with a dry then for dust use - very light moist towel just for dust
Then to make sure it is dry I will run a hair dryer over Kind of like a tack rag but herd they may leave remains behind

Bill - willierods.com

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do not use a damp towel to prep.
>
> Read this:
> [www.rodbuilding.org]
>
>
> ............

That was an awesome read.... I shall try scotch brite this time around

I have started leaving my carbon handles bare with no top coat finish at all. Once I sand them down smooth I finish with a fine scotchbrite pad and then once the rod is finished I wipe the entire blank and handle with spray wax.

Well good god..... I once again sanded everything down and reapplied 2k clear... Still got some very small fish eyes... Not as many but still have some

Here was my process

- Sanded under running water... No soap,, nothing but 3m wet/dry sand paper and water

- After I was happy with a smooth sanded finish I went over with a scotch brite pad

- Next I dried with a new dry paper towel. I used another towel to hold the handle to ensure I didnt contaminate with skin oils...

- I allowed to dry then applied the 2k clear.

The fish eyes were very mild and very small. So small I can probably live with them, however I want to figure out what is going on so I can eliminate. Im kinda lost, I have painted many cars and car parts without having this problem.

You may have something in the air where the coating is being sprayed. Or something in the air lines. That's about it.

Are you talking true fish eyes or air bubbles?

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

Are you using a syringe for the mix of the 2 part? What was your source for the syringes if you did? Also check your mixing cups. Likely you have a source of contamination you just haven't put your finger on yet.

Casey
You may be shooting yourself in the foot. Many sandpapers have a silicone additive to help keep the dust from sticking to the paper while sanding.

Unless the contaminated problem is in the application process
The times I have had fish eyes.
I have taken the handle and used a scotch brite pad and wet buffed it using dawn dish soap in on the pad to remove the containment causing the problem. rinse off thoroughly making sure to flush any left over soap out of the crevices and washing my hands thoroughly making sure no soap is left on them before handling again
dry with paper towels. This has always cured the problem for me.

Its definitely tripping me out... I have painted a lot of cars and parts over the years and cant think of a time I have ever had an issue like this.

The funny thing is that it appears to only be happening when I apply the 2k clear. My epoxy didnt have any fish eyes. Also odd that I used the 2k clear on the rod blank without any issues.. Its almost like the clear isnt reacting well with the epoxy.

Im thinking about giving perma gloss a whirl and see if I have better results.

Any tips to applying PG

Did your wife do the furniture wit pledge at any time during the day
Even an open can of car wax will get into the air and cause it

I also have painted cars If some one waxed a car out side the booth it came in and the car was a Big Fisheye

Bill - willierods.com

Casey,

There are many things that can cause your issue in the sense of prep, location, and materials used. It sounds like you ran into a contamination problem to me. The advise above are great problem solvers to the issue at hand. In my experience with painting your finish room has to have some rules put down that I use in my own finish area. Like silicon based products, this would include car dressing sprays such as Armor-all and even spray lubricants of the like. These are NO No's in a spray finish room. Your de-greasing agents and wipe off materials also need to be kept separate from those products listed above. Over-spray from dust remover like Pledge can be devastating to a finish room. Under-arm deodorant sprays you name it, if its spray it can get on something and make things a real mess. I keep my clean degrease towels or towlets in a plastic bag just so I know nothing got on them accidentally even your wet and dry sand paper, sponge blocks or what ever your using must be kept contaminant free. Once you have eliminated those things you can problem solve to products used and then determine if there are compatibility issue's within. I hope this helps with your problem and gives you some ideas on being contaminant free! Silicone is the Devil to a finish prep and spray area! Good Luck!

PS ... I did a write up on spryaing PG its in this forum just do a search on me and you should find the write up procedure! Have fun building!

Rick H.

rwheil@msn.com

Website
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Rick

I recently tried to thin out LumiSeal with a slow reducer I got from KlassKote
I did not spray it - wiped it on But the reducer cut it well and gave it a little more time to wipe over it

Bill - willierods.com

Well I tried PG last night. I gotta say this stuff is HOT. You can just tell by the crazy fumes it releases. Anyways the coating turned out Okay. I brushed on the coating and found that the stuff seems to set up quite fast. I was thinking it had a much longer working time. It laid out fairly well but its still nothing like what I can accomplish with auto clear and a spray gun.

Anyways I am gonna try a little fish eye eliminator in my clear this time and see if that helps.

You could use 2 K clear and thin it with a slow reducer Drys hard and gives you a longer time before set up

Bill - willierods.com