I guess I can only speak to my personal experience, but I apply PG to both West Systems and RR321 routinely after they have cured for 12 - 24 hours at about 73 degrees. I have done this several hundred times with no problems.

Bill Falconer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> If it were me, I'd let my wet lay up coat set
> completely (24 hours) and then clean up ends /
> edges and any big irregularities with a skew
> chisel. Clean / true things up but remove as
> little carbon fiber as possible in doing so. I'd
> then apply a second coat of the same epoxy. I'd
> keep it as thin as you can while maintaining
> complete coverage of the grip. I'd do this no
> matter what finish coat I planned to use.


Bill,
Reading this I'm assuming that it's OK to get into the carbon. I've never tried just always tried to treat it like a thread wrap. Guess I got a test project now.

I am with Bill Falcon, having made alot of these grips for myself and others, I apply the finish (PG,LS or spray urethane spar) after I sand it down. I do not sand until it is no longer tacky to the touch. I don't wait a week. I use the spray Helmsman on grips longer than 8" becuase I can't seem to get a foam brush to hold enough finish to complete the entire handle.

Chris, to piggyback on what Bill Falconer said, I use a metal lid off a Testors model paint bottle, tap it with a small sheet metal screw and place it on the Permagloss bottle immediately. It's the same size and thread as the Permagloss. If I need a shot of Permagloss, I can partially unscrew the screw (or take it all the way out depending on how much I need), dribble or pour the permagloss out, tighten the screw and put it away. I store the bottle upside down and what little bit of the permagloss that cures around the edge of the screw helps to keep the moisture out of the bottle...

Hey Bob -

Sorry for the delay in responding. Yes, it is okay to go lightly into the carbon fiber on grips with a clear finish. You need to be super careful of high spots / corners as you can actually sand through the carbon fiber fairly easily and then the grip is shot. I would not use anything heavier than 220 and only make light passes...like once up and once down. Then make sure stop the lathe and hand sand lengthwise all the way around the grip a few times. This step is key. I then repeat these steps down to 600 or so and hit it with first maroon and then grey scotchbrite.

If you start getting deeply into the carbon fiber, you probably want to do another coat of epoxy and sand again. Think of it like you would filling the grain in wood - fill, sand, fill, sand, etc. until you get level. That's the only way to get totally level without running the risk of changing your dimensions and sanding into your carbon fiber. It usually takes me 1 or 2 coats of epoxy after my wet lay up to get the desired effect, and I just adjust each grip accordingly. I have found that getting all the big defects out and all the edges sharp after wet lay usually saves you at lot of work later.

And please keep in mind that you need to wear at least a dust mask and preferably a respirator when you do this - you should treat both the epoxy and carbon fiber sanding dust with care.

One thing to note - if you are using a pigment or glitter in your epoxy, then you generally do not want to sand down into the carbon fiber. Not because it does any harm to the structural integrity of the grip, but because it will give you a splotchy uneven colored (or glittered) finish. If you want a really even colored (or glittered) grip then your coats must be even. Generally this means more light coats with a touch of level sanding in between than fewer, heavier coats.

For Dick Ross - one thing you might want to try on your longer grips. I was having the same problem you are having with long grips and also some similar issues with non-concentric integrated handles (where the seat is actually under the carbon fiber and can't be finished on the lathe). The sprayed finish usually looked okay, but sometimes it looked bad and it never looked as good as the wiped on Permagloss. So I experimented a ton with both the PG and Lumiseal and various brushes to try to figure it out. The first breakthrough was a 'happy accident' when the brushes I bought ended up behaving differently. The Linzer 8505-1 1" foam brush holds the most finish of the foam brushes I have found. They say 'not for shellac or varnish' but neither PG nor Lumiseal affects them. That different brush got me from the 8"-9" limit out to about 12" - 14" consistently. But you gotta LOAD it up. In a Flex Coat finish cup I am probably dispensing 15 cc to dip that brush into and I am letting absorb every cc it will. At the start you are barely touching the grip and by the end you are full on pushing down but you can get to 14" without running out.

The second thing that really seems to work has to do with the difference between Lumiseal and Permagloss. While they yield a very similar result (and are both awesome products), to me they behave a lot differently in the process. Apologies in advance to the chemical engineers who are rolling their eyes at my non-technical description, but the Lumiseal has a thicker, more viscous and gel-like consistency. Rather than letting it flow off the brush, you can kind of 'smear' it like you would butter on bread. It is also not quite as hot as the PG and will tolerate near immediate 'touch ups' within 4 - 8 seconds after the initial pass. So, using the Linzer 8505-1 and a 15 cc cup of Lumiseal I can get an 18" grip coated as long as I load it up and push down pretty hard by the end. I am using this for big bluewater fly grips, heavy trolling rod butts, and most recently Spey grips. Actual mileage may vary, but it might be worth a try. Hope this helps.

I will post a few pics if I can find them. Tight lines, all.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2014 09:19AM by Bill Falconer.

Bill
Thanks, that's a ton of info. Appreciate it!

Thanks again, Bob

Thanks Bill, do you have a source for those brushes?

Thanks Bill, do you have a source for those brushes?

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the info! Great!

Thank You,

Chris Tulk