I would like to ask people tried CTS Crystal Coat finish about the hardness at fully cured.
Is the finish being plastic hard as the other finishes? If so, how long did you need to get that result?

I recently finished the wrapping with CC for the first time. I mixed by 4:3 weight ratio with the scale weighing in the second decimal point.
Mixed thoroughly 5 min and kept in the room temperature around 73 deg F. I applied 3 thin coats in tack-free time interval about 24h. It has passed 10 days now but it is still soft like rubber (can easily leave nail mark)

Do you think something wrong is happening in my case?

Thank you,
Shizen

I have used Crystal Coat on a number of rods and have not experienced the problem you are having. I mix by volume using syringes with 3 parts resin and 2 parts hardener.

I found that a normal room temperatures CC is very very slow to cure, and after talking with CTS, found that it best cures with heat around 90 degrees, so i now use a curing cabinet, and it cures well overnight.

When fully cured it is just as hard as any of the other epoxies I have used.

I am amazed that you were able to add additional coats that quickly, as I did not find it tack free that quickly without heat. I also never found it necessary to do that many coats.

Shizen,
My experiences with CC mimic that of Phil. Even at 90*-100*, 12-16 hours were required before applying an additional coat.
Even though you are probably certain there were no mixing errors, such is most likely the case. The scale might be the problem; if it will weigh 5lbs or more, it may not be accurate enough for just a gram or two.
To solve your present issue of uncured finish consider giving the epoxy an elevated post-cure of 150*. Get ,say, a 12 X 12 X 24in cardboard box, cut notches in opposing ends adequate for the rod, put a droplight with a 25-40W bulb in the box and poke a cheapie meat thermometer in the box. It may be a good idea to insulate the heat source from the cardboard with a small ceramic dish or crumpled aluminum foil. You may be surprised how much heat a 25-40W light bulb will produce. I strongly suggest the use of a thermometer to avoid heating over 150*. Check the state of cure at 12 hours and if still soft, give it another 12. CC notoriously and infamously has a very slow cure rate. Obviously, you will have to perform the post cure in steps as the entire rod will not fit in the box.
If you decide to give it a try, let us, me in particular, know how everything turns out.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

When I mixed by weight (4R:3H) it seemed like I got a much softer finish then when I mixed by volume (3R:2H). These two types of measurement should be equivalent but they are not, based on my weight/volume measurements for both the resin and harder. Either my scale was off or the the weight:weight ratio is off. In my opinion the volume:volume ratio gives much better results. There is no doubt that CC has a very long cure rate, but I have found that you can re-coat within 12hr without out any problems, and once cured the finish is very hard and durable. Other advantages of CC is that it is almost colorless, does not yellow like other finishes, and it levels and releases bubbles extremely well. The biggest down side for me is the long cure rate.
Norm

Thank you very much for your inputs, gentlemen.
I found that the room temperature is not enough in my case. My area in Japan is cold in winter so I may need additional heating as Mark suggested.

Phil,
I said tack free but it is still very tacky actually. I applied multiple coats within such a short interval as I expect each coat to adhere well and to be cured as solid, not layer.
I can get my ideal finish, straight & edgy by thin multiple coats of CC. Also I was so impressed by its clarity, there is nothing comparable in the market.

Mark,
I will try your post heating chamber and will report the result.

Norman,
I am so surprised by your finding, volume:volume ratio will make a harder finish. I will definitely try your formula next time.
May I know the ambient temperature and the time roughly to get your result?


thank you,
Shizen

Coming from the composite industry, I am used to measuring by weight rather than by volume. However, I totally agree with Norman that for rod building with the typically miniscule amounts of epoxy to be mixed, measuring by volume is much more practical, even more precise and easier when employing the syringes and self-sealing bottle caps. Unless spending a fair amount of money, most scales will be inaccurate measuring less than 50 CCs of our epoxies. The 3-to-2 resin-to-hardener by volume ratio Norman calculated works very well with Crystal Coat.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I am guessing at the ambient temperature in my shop, but it was probably somewhere between 70 to 85 F. I live in the southern part of the US so temperatures can get pretty high. When the weather gets cooler I use a space heater for my shop which will keep the room into the 70s. Whenever I use CC I turn off the air conditioner or turn on the space heater.
Norm

I have found a heated cabinet a must for using Crystal Coat! Otherwise the cure time is just too lengthy. I just finished a rod with CC and after 10 hours in my cabinet at 98 degrees is is completely tack free, but not completely cured enough to not mark with a finger nail. That usually takes another 24 hours at ambient room temperature.

Bottom line, is that his is coating that requires a much different process then most of us are used too. However, if you are able to work with it properly, the results are worth it !!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2020 09:48PM by Phil Erickson.

Mark,

I also tend to rely on the weight method as I learned it in that way. But now its time to change my customs into volume.

Just for my experience, I weigh each part when in 4:3 volume ratio and found the weight is R3.26:H2.00g. That is 4:2.45 by weight ratio surprisingly.
I used A&D precision scaIe. I feel like I stuck in the mysterious forest of epoxy.

Shizen

Norman,

Thank you for your reply. It seems you are applying the epoxy under the general condition and sounds similar to mine. So it may be the matter of mixing ratio.
Now I started testing 3:2 by volume and will report if I found any.

Shizen

Phil,

Thank you and will definitely try cabinet heating.
Totally agree with you. So I cannot give it up even though the long cure time.

Shizen