I have completed my second rod, and both have come out better than I have expected! My question is regarding the finish, and how long it takes to harden. My finish is in no way tacky. It actually feels very similar to factory finished rods. The only difference between my finish and a factory rod finish is that when I press my thumb nail into my finish, it leaves a small indentation. When I mix my epoxy, I follow the instructions and make sure it is crystal clear. I then pour it onto some tin foil and apply with a brush. The rod has been done for 5 days. Am I doing something wrong? Or will it harden over more time? I hope someone will be able to share from similar experiences!

I've had some take up to two weeks to completely harden.

I think you'll be okay. Give it a few more days and see if it doesn't continue to harden a bit more.

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

Brian,
Keep it nice and warm. It will cure more quickly.
Roger

I agree with Roger. I run the AC in the room to dry things out before I finish. Sometimes to much humidity will cause thing to take longer also.

It seems I just need a bit more patience..... I will continue to wait until it hardens up more!

Technical information about epoxy curing as a function of temperature and relative humidity.

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And try not to dig your thumbnail into it when it is new. I know how hard it is not to test it that way, though.

when you but on the flex coat or other epoxy take a drop an put it on a coffie can lid ,, that is what you play with it , thay way you can keep track of the hardness an not mess up your project / ROD it is great for me
there is always some that you throw away from that MIX



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2012 08:22PM by william sidney.

Hello Brian,

I use Flex Coat Light on all of my builds, with no issues at all with cure times. With the exception of winter time and summer time. Humidity seems to be my culprit of getting my results desired. As a general rule of thumb when I mix a batch in very small amounts. I save my cup of left over to let dry with the rod. I use this to check for tackiness and drying conditions of the epoxy. Now I have removed the cup during the summer time and let it set out doors in the sunshine, to see if i would get a better or faster drying effect from the natural suns rays (Keep in mind I live in Oregon here) The epoxy in the cup changed to a much harder state than what was on the rod, so when I felt it was safe to do so I removed the rod after a day of spinning on the dryer to set out side in the sun for about 6 hours and brought it in for a thumb nail test and I couldn't even touch it with my nail at that point. I hope this helps and remember to save your cup every time or even the drop sheet you use for excess of epoxy so you can check later to see if your batch has clearly hardened to your satisfaction! Finding it soft after 10 hours will save your self some embarrassing moments! Good luck and have fun building !

Rick Heil

Rick H.

rwheil@msn.com

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Rick, that sounds like a great suggestion. I will give that a try with my current build!

Brian