Hello all,

Just a quick note to those who dont really use a lot of epoxy or color preserver. (I guess this is for the ocassional rod builder, like me.) I recently had to rewrap a spinning rod project two times because my chemicals were not fresh and had problems.

Epoxy: Brand name, bought last week at Cabelas, but it was obviously on the shelf for some time. It cured way too fast and was discolored.

Thread color preserver: Also from Cabelas, it was the white water based fluid... lumpy.

Just an FYI

Make sure you have fresh chemicals, nothing that has been sitting around...

Jesse

I have had finish and cp that was given to me by a guy who stopped building rods more than 10 years ago and they worked fine.

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Super Tight Lines......Don

Epoxy doesn't go bad nor get old. The set and cure time are determined by the formulation and are influenced by temperature. The hardeners of all epoxies will amber or yellow, either in the bottle or on the rod, at some point.

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What ever the problem.... its gone and Im reordering now.

the epoxy I use is in excss of 9 years old an doing fine you should not have that problem with any of the thred type I know of , look at every thing you are doing to see if you can find out why ,,
do a test wrap on a scrap rod [ CP don't use it ] as like you a new at it



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2013 05:48PM by william sidney.

is it possible the stuff froze in shipping? and that's why it failed to cure correctly

I bought this stuff in the store in Hamburg, Pa. last week. I trashed the stuff and ordered new, Im not chancing screwing up the rod for the third time.

I have used epoxy for many years, I build rc planes in my other hobby. Old stock didnt matter there, but Im not going to struggle again on this rod. thanks for the feedback though, I appreciate the info from all.

The problem is that whatever happened with this last batch was not caused by age, therefore it can easily rear its head again even with your new epoxy. Go through your measuring and mixing routine again and make sure everything is as it should be.

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Thanks

Did you by chance heat the epoxy to make it mix or flow better?

I used the alcohol torch to bust up some bubbles. Would preheating the bottles cause it to cure early? I know you can spread it out on foil and it will delay the cure time so you can keep working.

Indeed. Heat will speed up the set and cure time of an epoxy. For every 18F rise in temp above about 70F, you halve the pot life.

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if it is high build finish
Change to light It flows better and does not dry as fast
Do not be in a hurry to have finish dry It needs time to flow out and level 4 - 6 hours is about normal
Light finish also releases bubbles better No heat

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2013 07:24PM by bill boettcher.

Thanks, I have ordered the light coat. I have built several rods in the past using the same methods, never had this probem. You guys provide a wealth of knowledge here, thanks kindly.

when it is cold out or in my basment I use HOT tap water to heat up the epoxy the 2 part flex coat one is clear an one is light yellow the clear one will harden up , but but the bottle in hot wap water an it will
melt so you can mix an use it , it don't have to be hot just warm [ put it in pants pocket will take a long time ] , some people use micro wave [ never tried it ]