I just put a third and final coat of Flex Coat on my off shore rod. On one guide I got a spot where the epoxy repelled from the previous layer near the edge. And of course it's on the top of the rod, visible while fishing. So my question is can I add a little more when doing the next set of guides? (I've come to realize I'm not good enough/fast enough to do the whole rod, so I broke it into smaller groups of guides).

I did a search and saw another guy with a similar question and was advised against it. At this point I will settle for "better" rather than perfect. I'll probably end up redoing this rod anyways because I don't like my finish work on the whole. And I don't want a complete fourth coat on the guide either.

If not I'll just leave it, fish it, and it will stay that way until I decide when/if I'm gonna rewrap it,

Randy,
Of course you can touch it up.
But, because the last coat was repelled, use a scuffing pad t scuff up the area before applying the finish. When I apply finish to a guide, even if there is only a small spot, I add a coat to the entire area, to avoid any protruding edges of extra epoxy.

A representative sample of a nice prep pad:

[www.sears.com]

Do not put an alcohol or other solvent on the rod. If necessary to clean the buffing dust from the rod, just use some masking tape to tack off the area before applying finish.

Be safe

I take a small piece of paper towel wet it and then clean
I stick it on my tong to wet -- no fish eyes Dry well

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2016 08:51AM by bill boettcher.

I put just a bit on...not really to my liking. But at least it built it up a little if I add another coat. Didn't really smooth out to blend in with the rest of the already dry epoxy.

Did make some headway with my epoxy though. I don't have an automatic mixer so I used a couple brand new 1/4 inch ball bearings leftover from a bicycle wheel rebuild. Just turned the cup around by hand for a few minutes and had no bubbles in the mixed epoxy. Wish I had used this on the first two coats probably would have come out a lot better.

Live and learn. Thanks to all who helped on that ordeal.

Oh and Bill, I cleaned it with soap and water...I've already made the mistake of wiping down with DNA before epoxy.

Randy,
One thing that I dislike about using a ball bearing mixer is that it is possible to leave unmixed finish in the corners of the mixing cup.
But, if you like it then by all means go for it.

I use a mixing cup and a craft stick that has slightly rounded corners ( by using a belt sander) to match the rounded corners of the cup. When I mix, I mix well using the craft stick frequently wiping off the sides of the mixing cup with the stick and then wiping the mix off of the stick on the side of the cup. This insures that all of the mix is completely mixed up.

Be safe

I gotta find a happy medium. It seemed to work for me. I'll tell for sure today when I get home and determine if the epoxy is nice and hard. If it is, I'll probably continue this technique until I have issues with it.

When I stir by hand, I either introduce bubbles, or if I go slow enough to not intro bubbles, still have swirls at the end of my 4 minute timer. Which then drives me to stir faster so I don't lose pot life.