Hello gents,
I have ran into an issue related to ProKote finish. I have used it without much issue but the last order I received appears to have some issues. No worries, was ready to try another brand anyway so I have ordered some TM Lite as I have read many rave reviews on it. Here is my question...I have a build that is 1 coat in of ProKote which is where I noticed the issue. Can I recoat an existing ProKote finish with one or more additional coats of TM lite without any issues? I am hoping the answer is yes, but if there is some specific prep to the existing finish that would be recommended, I would like to do so. The existing finish looks decent, where I really ran into issues was severe fish eye on the butt section. I have already removed the wraps and finish from the butt and have re-wrapped without any finish at all however the guides have an existing ProKote finish.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, you might want to scuff the coated parts lightly with a scotchbrite pad if the finish is more than a few days old before re-coating. You will like the TM lite!

Hold on. Fisheye is usually the result of a contaminate, such as silicone, not playing pretty with the epoxy. Said another way, epoxy does not just decide to fisheye to spite a rod builder. While I too prefer TM, a change to TM might not solve your problem. I encourage you to give some thought to the cause of the fisheye and eliminate the source of contamination else you risk more fisheyes.

I definitely have contamination in my existing bottles of prokote. Not sure how it happened but it has been trashed. The last 3 builds had the same problem using new brushes from the same batch. Just starting fresh and thought I would give TM a try. I realize that the prokote product didn’t cause my fisheye problem.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. Great knowledge here and I value everyone’s opinions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2019 09:17PM by Chris Carlyle.

I believe he tore off the fish-eyed section and re-wrapped, didn't think to warn him about checking for the source! Better choice of finish either way.

Did you use medical syringes to measure your epoxy? If so that could be the source of contamination. Most medical syringes are siliconized to prevent any type of sticking.
Norm

No sir, I use syringes from Mudhole. Even tried a fresh set.

It is unlikely that the contamination is in the epoxy, fisheyes are mainly caused by surface contamination.

Yeah, silicone contamination can come from many places. Medical syringes, decals, monofilament, WD-40, dirty hands, I have talked to a few builders that build close to their kitchen and cooking oil that is airborne can cause fisheyes. No matter what epoxy finish you use you will have to address the contamination issue. Keep your finishing and wrapping room clean and free of possible contaminants. Another one is Armour All for you car's interior. Once Roger let his kids barrow his van and they had it detailed before they returned it. When Roger looked inside and saw the glisten of the dash, console, steering wheel, etc... I thought he was going to cry. He even talked about selling the van briefly. Moral of the story is: Silicone = Bad Finish

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

Phil E is correct; it is not very probable the contamination is confined within the bottles of ProKote epoxy. And John C is correct that contaminates can be anywhere and everywhere. Some furniture polishes, such as Pledge< will do unpleasant things to epoxy if it settles on your rod or you touch a piece of furniture dusted using Pledge and then touch your rod. Some clothes dryer sheets used to reduce static contain silicone. Again, unless you discover and mediate the contamination source you are at risk for more fish eyes.

Spray Air Fresheners are also one that attributed to fish eye contamination for me during a finishing process.

Thanks sincerely to all for the input. I have been thinking about this after reading all of the suggestions. And I think I may have narrowed down the source of my contamination. I switched to a different type of tape that coincided with when this problem surfaced. After some research on how various adhesive tapes are manufactured, I found that some utilize silicone in the adhesive. This makes a ton of sense as I noticed this mainly on butt wraps and areas where I was applying decals. I am moving forward on this build with the TM lite anyway and NOT using the tape I have used recently. I hope to be back to a beautiful finish.

Thanks again for all the input!

Hello Chris - As a alternative to tape, here is a couple of links to various sizes of tubing and also bands for holding the guides in place - [www.mudhole.com] & [www.mudhole.com] - The tubing comes in various inside diameters, according to the outside diameter of the rod blank. You can cut to the length you need per the length of the guide foot. Just snip off when you have wrapped your thread up to the tubing or band, then continue the wrap. Thank You

Bob McKamey
Mud Hole Custom Tackle
bobm@mudhole.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2019 10:46AM by Bob McKamey.

I wanted to follow up on this thread. I did find that the silicone was coming from the tape I was using, problem solved. Also, I received the TM Lite that I ordered and I have done 2 rods with it. Though I liked ProKote, it was all I had ever used (been building about 2 years). I likely will be sticking with the TM Lite moving forward. I feel like it works a bit better for me. Thanks again for all of the suggestions.