I finally put finish on the first wrap I have ever done, its going to be a tiger wrap and I am really having a problem getting a smooth finish, there are lots of high and low spots and I am not sure how to get rid of them. I don't seem to have this problem when it comes to guides which I am assuming is because they are small and the brush comes real close to covering the entire length of the guide wrap, but with the tiger wrap I am getting high spots. I have tried going back and removing them with a clean brush but it seems like all I am doing is moving the high spot from one place to another.

Since I can't seem to get rid of them this time can I take some 1000 grit sandpaper and try to level things out or will that just ruin things? In the future what can I do in order to get a smoother finish?

You're apply too much finish.

For now, you can wrap a piece of 320 to 400 grit sandpaper around a wood block and sand things flat and then recoat. Be careful not to get into the thread below.

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

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> You're apply too much finish.
>
> For now, you can wrap a piece of 320 to 400 grit
> sandpaper around a wood block and sand things flat
> and then recoat. Be careful not to get into the
> thread below.
>
> ...............


Tom,

I wondered if that was the case, this was my first time trying to wrap anything longer than a guide wrap so its been trial and error. I will try using less finish after I get the top threads of the tiger on. Thank you.

You can try to sand the area, I have. As Tom mentioned DO NOT get to aggressive or you will get in to the threads. Speaking from experience.

As far as the finish, I ham a hobby builder and have struggled with this as well. As Tom said there is to much finish. I would put on, it seemed like, not very much and still get uneven finish. There are two things that helped a lot. First I put the finish on length wise on the blank, not with the turner on. Second I will sag for 5-10 minutes and pull off the excess and rotate the rod and check and/or pull off excess. Then I will turn on the finisher and let it rotate. The first time I let it the finish sag I was surprised at how much excess finish there was. I thought I put on a lite coat?

Initially I also had problems with high spots on tiger-wraps and inlays.
As suggested, I sanded the high spots out.

Yes, it was too much finish and perhaps too much fussing around!

My method now, is to brush on a thin coat quickly, while turning the rod fairly fast on a power wrapper.
Then I leave it alone while it's on the dryer setting.
I always assume it will take two or three thin coats to do a nice job.

Watch the room temperature. The finish likes to be at about 75F, and make sure your rod is level in the wrapper.

I bought very small syringes, from Bingham, to make careful measuring of the equal parts easier.
Put a small amount of finish in the depression on the bottom of a soda or beer can, mix well and don't try to rush these final steps.
Good Luck!
Garry2r's

you can watch doc sky video on youtube [www.youtube.com]

As the others have said, too much finish. I have found that a flat file works great for knocking off the high spots before recoating, provided the finish is fully cured.

Too much finish.

Trim down large lumps with exacto or surgical blade, then sand with 220 paper backed by block of wood. Sand the high spots lightly until the glossy "low" spots near the high spots all but disappear. Clean away sanding debris. Apply thinner coat(s) of new finish.

Hi Scott,
Although nothing can fix too much finish you can also brush long wraps lengthways which helps to even out the finish thickness and gives me a better result. Don't mess around just a light lengthways brush quickly, one in each direction until you get the lot.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Simple thing to do is After the finish is on
Give it a miniut Then stop the turner ( I am guessing you put the finish on while turning )
Stop the turner and give it a 180 turn take off the drips Turn again Do the same 4 - 5 times of this then let it turn

I like cooler temps so the finish stays wet longer and flows out better

Bill - willierods.com

bill boettcher Wrote:
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> Simple thing to do is After the finish is on
> Give it a miniut Then stop the turner ( I am
> guessing you put the finish on while turning )
> Stop the turner and give it a 180 turn take off
> the drips Turn again Do the same 4 - 5 times of
> this then let it turn
>
> I like cooler temps so the finish stays wet longer
> and flows out better


Yes Bill I did put the finish on while it was on my dryer, I think was part of it, being new to finishing wraps like that it made it harder than what it needed to be. I am going to try this method when I put the top coat on.

You might want to read over this article in the library section. It is very good.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I also put my finish on at a 70 rpm rate Let it turn after checking to see how it looks for 1 - 2 hours then go for the slow speed

You will get to know how and what works for you as you PLAY with finish We all have

Bill - willierods.com

Any time the finish looks uneven or excess, I will use a heat gun to slightly heat up the finish, to get the finish to flow like water.
Then, I stop the rod for a bit with the guides in an up position, and let excess finish drip off the bottom of the rod. I give the bottom of the rod a quick brush and turn the dryer back on.

Normally, this will quickly even the finish and allow you to continue for a perfect look.

I suspect that in your case, the finish is cooler and has begun to cure and thicken. Then, the finish can stack up in parts of the rod. Thin the finish back out with a bit of heat, and let the excess drip off the rod.

Just don't over heat the finish or use too much heat.

Be safe

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Any time the finish looks uneven or excess, I will
> use a heat gun to slightly heat up the finish, to
> get the finish to flow like water.
> Then, I stop the rod for a bit with the guides in
> an up position, and let excess finish drip off the
> bottom of the rod. I give the bottom of the rod a
> quick brush and turn the dryer back on.
>
> Normally, this will quickly even the finish and
> allow you to continue for a perfect look.
>
> I suspect that in your case, the finish is cooler
> and has begun to cure and thicken. Then, the
> finish can stack up in parts of the rod. Thin the
> finish back out with a bit of heat, and let the
> excess drip off the rod.
>
> Just don't over heat the finish or use too much
> heat.
>
> Be safe


As a newbe working in a colder climate I found this was my case, likely a result of too much finish as well but the cooler room temp ( 65ish) was making it tough to get the finish to lay even. The heat gun on a low temp worked like a charm to level it out.
My first attemp with an alcohol torch I must have been too aggressive as I had black streaks in my finish and was not really successful at leveling it out.

I finish in cool temps
BUT I use a light finish
It stays wet longer ( unless you are very slow when mixing ) and the finish starts to set up
Set everything up Mix - Apply quickly lay it on and DON"T PLAY WITH IT
Do the guides --- Then do the butt wrap BUY ITSELF so you can concentrate on it alone !!

Bill - willierods.com

Thx Bill, that may also be part of my problems as I used the reg finish not the lite and also mixed for a good 5-6 min on my mixer as I wanted to be sure it was mixed well enough after reading all the horror stories of finish that wouldnt harden.

Paul,
Over the years, I have used only standard high build flex coat finish and have had excellent results over the years.
When, I mix finish, I do it by the clock. 120 seconds or 2 minutes of slow mixing with a craft stick in a plastic cup works fine for me.
Then, I apply finish using my power wrapper at speeds of 0 to 50-100 rpm. Most of the finish application is at a rod speed of about 30-40 rpm.

But, by using the power wrapper, it is easy to stop the rod at the guide feet to nicely work finish in on both sides of the tunnel, without causing an issue with the rest of the guides.

I normally figure on taking about 1-2 minutes tops to completely apply finish to the all of the rod guides and any butt wraps.

Then, with the rod rotating slowly - about 6-10 rpm, on the power wrapper, I go over the all of the wraps and check rod issues. If I find any, I will use slight heat from a heat gun to take care of issues. i.e. any bubbles, excess finish, or inadequate finish.

Again another 1-2 minutes to double check and repair any defects if found, and then transfer the rod to the drum dryer if I am working on multiple rods in a big batch. If this is the last rod of the day, I just leave it on the power wrapper, which has the ability to leave the wrapper motor turning at any speed and in either direction, for overnight drying.

I almost never put on a 2nd coat of finish using this method. The next morning, I remove the rod from the dryer or wrapper, and put in the rod stand for another day of drying before packing and shipping. This means that I can normally ship rods within 48 hours of starting finish application.

Good luck

Thanks for the explanation Roger,
I am going to work on speeding things up next time, hopefully practice will make perfect...........well at least close enough lol

Paul,
Perfect is always a mark of quality. Don't back down from using that standard.

Be safe