Guide wraps are turning out great but I'm still working on my technique for epoxy over decals. Made all of the rookie mistakes on one: too much epoxy, playing it with too much, contamination causing a fish eye. You name it, I probably did it wrong on this one. I've been carefully sanding it down with fine gator sponge which I've found to be pretty good for the task. I'm getting to fairly level and will soon be ready to apply another coat of epoxy.

I've been sanding and wiping the blank off with a wet paper towel in between sanding.
I've been running my fingers over the epoxy to check smoothness

When I'm done sanding, how should I prep/clean the surface given the above?

1. Should I clean with isopropyl alcohol (91%) and then with something like windex?
2. Should apply CP over the epoxy?

Should I do both? Or just CP?

Something else?

Thanks,
Mike J

Hello Mike.

Go on to the Library, 9th from the bottom "Surface Preparation".

Have a good one.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Once you start building a rod, after an initial clean up of the blank, put the DNA away and don't use it.

Especially when it comes to finish work, DNA is just something else to muck up the works.

After doing any sanding, just use a tack rag, or a piece of masking tape to remove the residue from the previous work.

Best wishes

roger wilson Wrote:
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> Once you start building a rod, after an initial
> clean up of the blank, put the DNA away and don't
> use it.
>
> Especially when it comes to finish work, DNA is
> just something else to muck up the works.
>
> After doing any sanding, just use a tack rag, or a
> piece of masking tape to remove the residue from
> the previous work.
>
> Best wishes

I believe I've seen you post in the past about using windex to remove any contaminants from the surface. Is that advisable in this case to eliminate any potential problems with fish eyes on the new coat?

You need to do nothing after sanding other than cleaning DRY with tack cloth, tape, as Roger said. Anything else introduces the risk of contamination or some other screw up.

Keep in mind that if you have been careful in the sanding process there are no contaminants.

I agree with roger just wipe down with a dry lintless wipe of some sort to remove any dust. At the very most you can use a water damp cloth to remove any dust, just make sure the blank is dry before applying finish. Apply a very thin coat of finish over the cleaned area, and stroke the finish out horizontally to remove any hills and valleys that may occur when spiraling the finish onto the rod. This helps with leveling. When finished, stop the rotation for a couple of minutes and remove any sags that may occur, and then rotate the rod slowly until the finish is cure.
Norm

Michael Danek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You need to do nothing after sanding other than
> cleaning DRY with tack cloth, tape, as Roger said.
> Anything else introduces the risk of
> contamination or some other screw up.
>
> Keep in mind that if you have been careful in the
> sanding process there are no contaminants.

And if one wasn't careful in the sanding process? Oil from fingers running over the epoxy to check for smoothness? The original fish eyes?