I spend WAY too much time cleaning up the epoxy after I set the reel seat, insert, rear grip and butt on my bass rods. I must go through 50 q tips and paper towels. I have used straight alcohol, denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner. Even after 30 minutes of clean up it seems the epoxy leeches out and the next day I can see where the epoxy left a shiny ring around my reel seat. This is after I KNOW I cleaned that area. What is the secret to a good cleanup? I don't think I'm using too much epoxy. It's a nightmare when I use a reel seat that exposes the insert. I may be there until the epoxy sets up, wiping and wiping and wiping. I also use Perm Gloss with added liquid ink to color my blanks. Let them dry for 2-3 days before attempting to build. The alcohol, and denatured alcohol will pick up the perma gloss and leave minor steaks of missing 'paint'. What can I use to clean the epoxy of without having to go back and chip away at hardened epoxy? It's not a lot mind you, but I can see it and I don't like it.

Hello Dondi,

Some builders, including myself, use paste epoxy for assemblies that you describe. For the most part these epoxies don’t run, so they shouldn’t re-emerge once you’ve cleaned up. Regarding how much epoxy to apply, minimize the amount you use. To do so, do some dry fitting of the components. As you do imagine just where you need the epoxy for a secure bond. For example, when I epoxy my wooden reel seat inserts into the threaded barrel (fly rod reel seats) I only apply the epoxy to the inside of the barrel. That way I’m not causing epoxy to squeeze out. Most times no cleanup at all. Another example is sliding a grip in place. Before reaching the grip’s final resting place, use a skinny craft stick to remove any excess epoxy.

Look over the assembly process and I’m sure you’ll come up with ways to cut down on amount of epoxy to use, as well as find best places to apply it.

Jeff

"The greatest barrier to discovery is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge" - Daniel J. Boorstin

One thing you can do is move to a gel type epoxy for your handle and seat assembles. It doesn't creep.

These have vasoline or peanut butter consistency. Don't attempt to use the heavy, thick PC-7 types.

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

Dondi,
1. Use less epoxy.
2. Use less epoxy.
3. Use less epoxy

As soon as you assemble the rod, reel seat and grips - use xylene -- in a well ventilated area -- to remove the excess epoxy.

[www.homedepot.com]

Then, add a cork clamp or a long clamp with a slot on the ends to go around the blank as you clamp things together, and clean again. Loosen the clamp, and clean up any epoxy that may have come out of the end where you have the clamp and reclamp.

Let it cure for another 10 minutes, clean again, loosen the clamp and clean under the clamps and retighten the clamp and let it cure and you are good to go.

The key is to use just enough epoxy, and to use a glue clamp to squeeze things together to get all of the potential seepege out right away so that you can clean it up.

================================
A bar clamp similar to this one works very well as a glue clamp for this job.
You may need to make a different face plate - for the one side of the clamp that will fit on the tip end of the reel seat and grip to go around the blank as the clamp is put in place for a nice glue squeeze.

Good luck



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2019 02:43PM by roger wilson.

Some epoxy adhesives are more exothermic than others and the warmth / heat can cause adhesive epoxy to be forced out between components being affixed or will cause components to move before the epoxy cures.

You need a gell or paste epoxy with minimal exothermic property such as ProPaste.

Some epoxy adhesives are more exothermic than others and the warmth / heat can cause adhesive epoxy to be forced out between components being affixed or will cause components to move before the epoxy cures.

You need a gell or paste epoxy with minimal exothermic property such as ProPaste.

I'm with Roger , sounds like you're using an excessive amount of epoxy , i make sure the rod is level during drying and only need to wipe part of the blank that the inside of the reel seat touched on it's way down the blank before being fitted into position since i coat the inside of the reel seat with a little bit of Pro Paste.

Our Heck or High Water OEM Paste will certainly do the job and it stays where you put it.

Flex Coat Rod Builders Glue and Five Minute Epoxy will work great as well. It does sound like you are using too much. Here is a video link to how we do it, hope it helps (go to the 1:10 time mark and the 3:30 time mark for the reel seat gluing).

[flexcoat.com]

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Besides using paste type epoxy, you can also apply tape to the exposed areas so that any epoxy squeezed out is on the tape not the insert or seat.

I agree it sounds like you are using too mach epoxy and possibly the wrong type.

I only build fly rods but do use recessed seats with exposed inserts and my clean up time is somewhere around two or three minutes.

What they said, especially blue painters tape and gel epoxy. Also try a lint free rag liberally soaked in alcohol. Don't be in a big hurry to remove the tape. No way I'd use xylene or acetone.

Worst time I had was using some West brand laminating resin. Stuff oozed out for several hours. JB weld wasn't much better. Live and learn:)

Sometimes you can use a dental pick and scrap after epoxy cures. I also think visible glue lines look tacky. But hey, you do want things sealed so no water ever gets under your parts.

Good advice to wipe extra off before parts are all the way home. I find about a teaspoon of resin and hardener is enough for 12" rear grip, reel seat, and 6" fore grip. I use rod bond FWIW.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Thanks for all the replies. I currently am using U-40 quick bond as my adhesive. I may be applying too much epoxy, but on the past I have had one Winn Grip (9” long) come loose in the back part of the grip. Not sure why, I assume I either missed a spot or not enough was used.

So, it’s my understanding that some of you actually use a 5 minute epoxy to anchor you reel seats, cork grips and butts? Am I correct in this assumption. I have done that before but had things come loose under usage. I figured the 5 minute epoxy wasn’t flexible enough for a fishing rod and the flex in the rod made the epoxy “let go”.

I will reduce the volume I use and I am not currently using a clamp, but I will from now on. Just as soon as I see one so I know how to make one.

Thanks again

Dondi,
Many many rods are assembled with the correct use and application of 5 minute, 10 minute, 15 minute, 30 minute and 60 minute and all work just fine when used with the correct preperation, correct mix and the correct application.

You are also correct in that the shorter the cure time, the less flexible is the adhesive.

But, do it properly, and all of the adhesives do an excellent long term job to secure grips, reel seats and other rod components.

Good luck

I use U40 quick bond for gluing up reel seat inserts, and regular U40 rod bond for gluing grips and reel seats to the blank itself. Aside from maybe using too much epoxy, you may be using too much alcohol for your cleaning. Whenever I have really soaked my cleaning cloths I have had the leaching problem that you described. I attributed it to the alcohol getting into the cracks and thinning the rod bonds outer edges and causing it to leach. When I cut down the wetness of my cleaning cloth, the problem diminished greatly.

Change to gel, but be careful about minimizing amount of epoxy. If using gel, it won't run out of the cracks, so there's no problem, so using less is a moot point. It MAY be counterproductive IF you use too little for max strength. One of the big differences between custom rods and factory rods is the integrity of the handle/grip/seat/ramp/butt knob part of the rod.

Factory rods brought to me by my friends are often failures of the structure in that area of the rod. + of course, guides.

Even with gel epoxies I have to clean up a number of times depending on the shapes of the stuff I'm working on and how carefully I prevented it from going where I don't want it to go. Keep doing what you are now with respect to checking multiple times as the epoxy hardens.

Michael,
10-4 on your advice.

Too little and a failing joint is never a good thing.

We all need to be like Goldilocks in the story with the three bears. We just need to use the amount of adhesive that is "just right."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2019 01:52PM by roger wilson.

I am confused by the answers here - are paste epoxy and gel epoxy the same product just different names by different manufacturers? Or are they entirely different products. The only ones I am familiar with are Pro Paste and U-40 rod bond.

I think FLEX COAT is now selling a paste EPOXY in small amounts now , not sure of there name check there web site
on the left on this forum , I like it , no break down on it on my builds ,

William Sidney
AK