I applied Threadmaster lite that I thinned with isopropyl as a first coat and left the blank on a dryer (no heat, just rotation) over night. Looks like I didn't get the proportions right because some 16 hours later it is still tacky. Not sure what to do - can I do the final coat over this or should I do something else? This is one of four fly rods I am building as gifts, so I want to get this right.
Thanks in advance for your input.

Dale Thompson
Small-time fly rod builder

I would never thin with isopropyl! Use the Finish as it’s designed to be used, not thinned witness anything. You may have to rewrap that rod, and chalk it up to a lesson learned.
Norm

Mix and apply another batch according to directions. You could just recoat one guide as a test if you have doubts.

Dale,
Never, ever, ever, ever thin any epoxy finish with alcohol.

Alcohol is NOT a solvent for epoxy.

Since the finish is tacky, you can try removing the finish with alcohol and it may or may not be successful. You may need to pull off all of your windings and get back to the bare blank and start over.

Do NOT try to put something over this coat of finish because it will never ever be right.

Take care

I don't think he has much to lose with trying something on one guide.

I am continually surprised that builders think they can formulate their own epoxy mix that will work better than that that companies have been working to perfect for many years and at great cost. If one is going to pursue this activity it would be wise to try it on a scrap blank.. Then conduct a few years of durability testing.

ouch! OK I wont thin with alcohol ever again. Altho, I have done it before. In fact, isn't that how one does transparent silk windings in order to get good, even penettration?

It is sometimes done with denatured alcohol on silk to help create a more transparent wrap. But even that's isn't advised by epoxy formulators.

If you must thin your epoxy for reason, you want to use a more volatile solvent such as acetone.

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I was under the impression that just about all commercial rod makers thinned their guide wrap epoxy for better epoxy penetration of the wrap since it is too time consuming to use a wrap sealer like CP..this way it,s a one step one time process..

I've never thinned epoxy, don't need to, but that has been covered very well by the posts above mine.

If your worried about penetration of the wraps, just warm your Threadmaster Lite up a bit, it will lower the viscosity a bit, but it will shorten the working time, apply a very "thin" coat, just saturate the wraps. After curing, apply a second coat.

Silk, used for "invisible" wraps, couple of things here. First, depending on the base color of your blank, colored blanks or natural graphite, I use "Natural" Silk. If I have a "Clear" Fiberglass blank, this would be where the Prepeg is not colored, has that raw off white look to it, like a McFarland, Kabuto, CTS natural, ect. Those blanks I have used "White" silk on.

Its always good to buy several different brands of Silk and do some test wraps with finish, you'll see a difference and pick the one that suits your fancy.

Unless you're taking a whale of a long, long time to coat your guide wraps and allowing the epoxy to get very thick, almost any epoxy is going to easily soak down and into the threads without being thinned.

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If you wrap with silk, and if the silk is natural as in not dyed, and if you want transparent / ghost wraps, then and only then mix 3 cc of ThreadMaster Lite resin with 3 cc of ThreadMaster Lite hardener for 3 minutes after which add 3 cc of acetone and mix another 2 minutes. The resulting mix will have the viscosity of skim milk, will require an extended time to cure, and will require 2 applications of ThreadMasterLite without acetone to protect the wrap.

Otherwise leave all would be epoxy solvents, including acetone, on the bench and out of the epoxy mix unless of course you are a chemist with knowledge of ThreadMaster's formulation.

from the Flexcoat site - " For the rod builder who likes an extra thin coating on rod wraps, there are three ways to get a thin finish. Use a stiff brush which will spread the Flex Coat evenly and thinly over the wrap. Heating will also thin the finish. Thinning with a solvent such as acetone or epoxy thinner also works. Between 1 and 4 drops of solvent per 6cc mix of epoxy is recommended."

Nothing like a little reverse research.

I do add a few drops of Acetone to my epoxy when doing "clear" silk raps, first coat only! It will take longer to cure, but assures reaching clearity.

If you sit down and read the company directions and follow those directions to the letter and do not add or subtract anything then you should have no problems, providing your application techniques are perfected by getting experience over time.

If you sit down and read the company directions and follow those directions to the letter and do not add or subtract anything then you should have no problems, providing your application techniques are perfected by getting experience over time.

Why even thin a lite formula anyway ? There’s no need to.

There is a lot of "information" on youtube that isn't very good. But it's free (which is exactly what some or even a lot of it is worth) and many people will assume that if it's in a video, it must be the thing to do. No idea if that was true in this case, but you would not believe the phone calls I get from people asking about something they've done that resulted in disastrous results. When I ask them why on earth they would have done such a thing they almost always say, "I saw it on Youtube."

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Dale,
If you try to clean sticky epoxy off a surface with alcohol, you will find that it sort of works.

But, if you try to clean sticky epoxy off a surface with Xylene, you will find that the epoxy is quickly and easily cleaned off the surface.

If you look at the instructions on the side of a xylene container you will find that one of the primary uses for Xylene is to use as a diluent or thinner, because it is one of the chemicals that are used in the manufacture of the epoxy. Thus a perfect mix.


I still do not recommend thinning an epoxy finish with Xylene or Acetone, because the Xylene or Acetone changes the chemical final result of the epoxy and you will end up with a softer finish.

So, follow the manufacturers directions and do not add anything to the epoxy glue or finish and you will be good to go.

If you do need to have the finish a bit thinner, use a bit of GENTLE heat. But, be aware that for every degree that the epoxy is elevated, the working time will be reduced by a certain amount depending on the type of epoxy that is being used.

But, if you are working in a room that is less than 70 degrees, a bit of heat after applying finish will accelerate the cure of the epoxy. Notie: A bit of heat. Do not overdo it if you do decide to add heat for curing purposes.