I was finishing the but wrap of a rod and I really messed it up. Never had this happen so was wondering how to fix it. It has tiny bubbles, has low spots, and has bits of it that look like the thread had frayed a bit. Rod Dancer two part with only one coat. What is the best way of fixing this without having to cut it off? I am thinking sanding but do not want to mess it up worse.

Most likely you need to apply another coat as neatly as you can. That will provide some depth in order to allow you to shave or sand a bit. That's the problem with sanding when you don't have enough depth - you can easily get into the thread and then you'll have a real mess. So try to build some depth before you attempt any sanding.

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I'm afraid it is best to strip if off and do over.
Bubbles can happen many ways.
If thread looks frayed - it is.
Low spots happen when you don't drag finish fore and aft over area to level finish. It will level around blank by itself - but not longitudinally.
Herb

I am going to go ahead and put another coat on, sand, and if that does not fix it I will re do it. Thanks for the help

Ben,
Rather making the problem worse, I agree with Herb, and that is to cut your losses, cut off the guides and start over.

If you have bubbles and junk in your finish, when you put a 2nd coat on it, you are going to have bubbles and junk deeper into the finish that will be more difficult to remove when you cut off the guides to start over.

Also, as Herb stated - if it looks like you have frayed thread, it is frayed and you need to throw away that spool of thread that you were using, or if it is being caused by your tension device, repair or replace your tension device.

As the finish begins to set, look over each guide very closely under very bright light with magnification. If you see bubble - get rid of them, before the finish sets. If you don't. then cut off the guide right then, before the finish cures, so that you can do it more easily. If you have bubbles in the first coat of finish, they will be there for ever, no matter the number of coats that you put on the rod.

Good luck

Before you cut it off, try heating it with a heat gun or a heat lamp. When the epoxy is fresh you have a better chance of bringing it back to a liquid state with a little heat.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Dennis,
I would not suggest that you use heat to try to move epoxy - after it has set overnight. By using a great amount of heat, you will likely soften the finish a bit. But you will not get it liquid with a great amount of heat but you are likely to make the blank liquid with a great amount of heat.

Heat works before the finish has cured, but no to liquify it after it has set.

Try if you like, but be careful of the blank with too much heat. I just mention it, because when removing guides from old blanks that I did not want, I have virtually destroyed several blanks, especially near the tip with way too much heat. I recovered the guides nicely - which was my goal, but there was nothing left of the blank after excess heat.

Be safe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2015 02:03PM by roger wilson.

I had already put another coat on and it seems to have leveled out alright. Thanks for the help everyone

Hi Ben
The epoxies we are using do need to work within certain conditions ie temp humidity and above all the enviroment changes thru the curing cycle.The bubbles are curable during the cycle using 2 methods that I know off Heat and Carbon dioxide.(try this, breath out over the wrap and the bubbles will pop).The epoxies we use have a very low heat distortion temperature and slow curing times so rather take more time in the application of the hibuild than deal with the aftermath.
Regards
Rob

Thanks, I put my heat lamp on the wrap this time and it seemed to have helped

Unless you loaded the finish on you may still need one or two more coats
I take it this is an open wrap where the blank shows they are the lows and several coats will fill them

Bill - willierods.com