Hello, as I have come to the thread finishing portion of my builds, I have hit a wall.I have prokote I bought from mudhole, and the recommended curing temperature says 70-80°. Problem is, nights in WNY aren't going to get much warmer than 60 for quite some time yet. My mother hates the smell of regular epoxy fumes, and says it makes her throat swell, so I can't do it in the basement unless it dosent give off fumes. My plan was to do it out in our barn which is completely out of the wind/elements but not heated. I thought I'd be able to do it even if Temps were in the 50's but after looking into it prokote looks like it can be picky on curing. So, any recommendations? I'd hate to have to wait untill August to finish my rods because they're intended for spring steelhead...

Danny

ProKote will cure at 60 to 65, but it will take a long time, during which very bit of dust in the barn will head directly towards the tacky finish.

If you're willing to change finish, U40 LS Supreme has similar properties (it too needs 70 to 80 room temperature) but it does not off gas, so no fumes, no smell, and mom is happy.

After all, if mom is not happy no one is happy!

All finish epoxies will either double or halve their set and cure times with every 18F down or up from about 70F. At 50F, you'd not only have a very thick and unmanageable mis, but one that took a very, very long time to set and cure.

Epoxy does not give off "fumes." It is a solid and does not evaporate any solvent.

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

Danny build your self a drying box with a few of 60w incandescent light globes .They should generate heat to dry the epoxy & hopefully satisfy the odour problem .If you have a look in the photo board you should see a heap of different designs to get your self out of trouble .You could also set it up in the barn to further eliminate the odour .There must be something wrong with my sense of smell because I've never noticed it

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

I went to Mud Hole and read the reviews on Pro coat
One guy said after a day it was still tacky and took two days to Dry To The Touch To me that is a long time I use flex coat UV and even in cooler temps it still sets 5 - 6 hours Cold more BUT the next day set and I can sand it

Bill - willierods.com

Danny,
Several folks in the family are sensitive to fumes.
No issues with curing epoxy rod finish. Little to no smell from the mixing and curing process.

Then, use a space heater or similar to try to elevate the temperature to about 80 degrees over night and you will have a nice cure in the morning.

If necessary , just hang some light bulbs over the rod to both light up as well as to keep the area warm.

Be safe

If your days are warm I would suggest put the finish on early Like 7 : 00 in the morning Then the day warms up Don't like pro Coat seems to take too long to set up
use water to wet the area around the rod This will help to keep the dust down

Bill - willierods.com

With prokote I normally put it on before I go to sleep with the temp. set at 70. In the morning it will be tacky and I give it the whole day to help cure just to be safe.

Prokote is slow to cure, and seems more sensitive to temperature then some of the other epoxies. I find Threadmaster (both regular and Lite) work best for me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2016 01:01PM by Phil Erickson.

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Epoxy does not give off "fumes." It is a solid and does not evaporate any solvent.


About "fumes" then; I use Flex Coat Lite and Threadmaster Lite. I get slightly better results overall with Threadmaster, and would use it exclusively except for one issue. TM smells a lot more than FC. I scarcely notice the odor of FC. The smell coming from a mix of TM is very noticeable. And, it does not smell what you would call healthy.

So, I use TM for guide wraps, but when I do a long holo wrap, I use FC.

Danny; give Flex Coat Lite a try. Mom may not even notice it.

You are not smelling a solvent - just the normal "aroma" of the amine in the hardener. Your dog probably has an odor, but it is not giving off "fumes."

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

Maybe put up some air fresheners

Bill - willierods.com

Danny,
another option that I have used successfully in the past has been to use one of the small standing tower type "air purifiers", the smell was very strong in the room where I was working but with the filter placed in the door blowing outward the smell was unnoticeable.

Phil Erickson Wrote:
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> Prokote is slow to cure, and seems more sensitive
> to temperature then some of the other epoxies. I
> find Threadmaster (both regular and Lite) work
> best for me.

That duplicates my experiences.

John Shear
Chippewa Falls, WI

Thankyou everyone for the input. On a side note, how much finish would i need to do both a 14ft rod and 13ft? im guessing that the preloaded seringes of ProKote that i have will not be enough for both rods.

How much is in the syringes?

12ml each, 24ml total

Phil Erickson Wrote:
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> How much is in the syringes?


12ml each, so 24ml total mixed

Looks a little short for the two rods, especially if heavy wraps.