How many ounces/cc's do you need of Flex Coat Lite to do one rod? Rod in qustion is 8 ft, 2 piece, 9-10 guides plus hook keeper and ferule?

Not much, but you'd want to measure and mix 3ccs of each minimum to ensure the best accuracy and margin for error.

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I forgot to mention Im using single foot guides and I do know how to spell ferrule- good speller just a poor typist

A total mix of 6cc's will do those with room to spare.

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Thanks Tom

Thanks Tom

So if Im understanding and reading this correctly purchasing one "unit" of Flex Coat would be enough to do one rod easily, that is assuming at least 2 coats. How long is the pot life on Flex Coat? Long enough to do the whole rod with one batch? Thank you

You're coating the guides, not the blank. I mention this just in case.

Even a small 4 ounce kit of epoxy is enough to coat the guides on many rods. The pot life will depend on the temperature where you're working, but generally will be about 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds to coat each guide.

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Hi Jim,

You shouldn't have any problem covering the guide wraps, hook keeper wrap, a label, and a small decorative wrap, before the flex coat starts to thicken, provided your finishing room isn't too warm (over 77° or so...I'm sure others will post their thoughts).

And, you should be able to do multiple rods with the smallest kit , 2oz, that Flex coat sells.

Take care,

Chris

Thank you very much

Jim

A word of caution. Applying epoxy finish at a pace beyond your comfort zone and ability to control the process to avoid finish waste is a false economy. If your pace applying finish is more deliberate than fast, there is no dishonor mixing a second batch to finish each coat. Even so, a 2 oz kit should be sufficient.

Thank you, I am a go slow tpe of guy so Im sure I will make a couple batches before Im done. You have been very patient and generous with advice so I am going to risk asking one more question before I get tuned out, besides Im sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for a connection so I have no where to go. My question is about guides not flex coat so Im not sure if I have to start a new thread and if so make sure you tell me. I am going to use a St Croix blank in a 4 wt, the St Croix web site shows #12 stripper guide but when I go to rod building retailers (Mudhole, Janns, etc ) they show a #10 stripper for 4 wt rods. I would prefer a smaller stripper but also I have to believe St Coix knows what works best with their blanks. Any advice? Thank you again.

I've used both and can't tell the difference.

Go with the 10, no reason for one as large as a 12 on a 4wt!

Jim

Hope your flight connection worked.

I use 10 mm on 4 weight fly rods. Nothing wrong with a 12 mm. I suspect any performance gain for the larger guide is marginal.

There is one complication. (There is always a caveat.) Not all stripping guides are similarly measured. Some (actually most) sizes refer to the inside diameter of the guide in mm, but some (agate guides come to mind) it's the outside diameter. A 10 mm ID is OK, and, frankly, a 10 mm OD agate will work too for a 4 weight.

My experience (an admitted population of one) has been stripping guide location and casting technique are going away more important than 1 or 2 mms of stripping guide size.

Jim, +1 to what Don said above. If you are slow then mixing a quantity to do the whole rod will find you perhaps rushing towards the end. better to mix smaller quantities that you can comfortably work with. What Tom has said about mixing 3ml of each is to ensure you have exactly the quantity of resin and hardener as otherwise it wont set properly. This notwithstanding, I have used as little as 0.2ml. I use Threadmaster high build which claims to have more tolerance in quantity. Some builders count drops for their measurement for really small quantity. For a 10ft surf rod 8 guides plus tip no decorative wrap, I use 2ml of each. From this you can see that the smallest kit you buy will do a lot of rods

I just finished a batch of 50 rods. I started the build with a new set of 4 oz bottles of epoxy finish. To complete the 50 rods, I used 1/2 of each bottle to do all of the rods.

Be safe