Any recommendations on epoxy bushes? Finishing up my second rod with cheap brushes and not super happy with the application. Thanks.

This seems to be a rather personal matter. A lot favor throw away brushes. A few favor a spatula (I haven't tried it).

I tend to build heavier salt water stuff with longer wraps. Therefore I want a wider brush. I like what would be called a bright and sometimes a flat, style of brush. Sable is really nice but taklon is okay for my needs and budget. IMHO better to go with a shorter and stiffer profile.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2020 06:54PM by Russell Brunt.

I use inexpensive watercolor brushes from an art store. Loads of choices as to widths. I clean the with U-40 brush cleaner and/or acetone.

Wide, flat ox hair brushes. Usually cost about a buck or buck and a half. Use U40 Brush Cleaner for storing them and they'll last quite a while.

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

Thanks I was looking at 1/4 wide flat brushes at hobby lobby. They use them for acrylic and I'll paints. That work?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2020 07:33PM by Gary Goldsmith.

Yes.

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

Thanks. Great place for quick answers for new builders like me. I appreciate it.

Sometime when you're not too busy, and bored, go back a few years and read all the posts up to the present. You can hardly ask a question that hasn't already been covered. You can skip over the topics that don't interest you. Might save you some typing.

I only build about two fly rods a year, now, and I just use the cheap throw-away brushes. I think I bought a big pack at a Dollar A Store.

I use the more expensive brushes form Hobby Lobby and clean them when done

I have used brushes like these, or the ones from flex coat for years, with 0 issues.

One use only please.

Each time that I mix a new batch of finish, I use a new brush. When finished with a brush on one coat, I lay the brush on top of the plastic mixing cup that I use and I use the contents of the mixing cup to check on the progress of the finish getting hard. Never put a finger on a coat of finish that is on a rod and may not be cured. If soft, you have left your finger prints in the finish.

[www.walmart.com]

[flexcoat.com]


No need to deal with brush cleaning. No solvent, no fumes, no lost bristles from the brush and no clean up time. Just use and dispose.

I apply finish on my power wrapper, so I will often apply finish at 25-75 rpm, so the width of the brush is not terribly important. With a high speed finish application, it only takes two or three minutes for a perfect application of finish to the guide wraps and the butt wraps.
No need to dilly dally on each wrap. Apply the finish and let the turning rod smooth and level the finish.

Best wishes.

Agree with Phil E and Tom . I've never gotten good at the spatula thing, and the throw away brushes just don't allow me to get into the area of micros just beneath the ring. So I buy an assortment from an art store and have what I need for long areas, tiny areas, mid, etc. I just noted today that my wraps on size 4 KT's are less than 1/4 inch long. I have to have a small brush for that detail. If you remember to clean them with U40 they will last a long time.

Our disposable brushes are great. Disposable doesn't mean bad quality. Roger Seiders designed our brushes to have fine bristles that are tightly packed and cut to 3/8". Here is a video of them in action with our spin wave technique.

[www.youtube.com]

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



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2020 10:52AM by John Cates.

Please be wary of extra cheap hair brushes! I used one last year and my guide looked like a chinchilla after all the hair came off the brush. Yes that was after removing the “loose “ hair. I love the disposable flex coat brushes and the 1/2 ox hair also.

I also love the Flexcoat brushes, and I reuse them. The bristles do not come out, they are fused into the handle.
Norm

John Cates Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Our disposable brushes are great. Disposable
> doesn't mean bad quality. Roger Seiders designed
> our brushes to have fine bristles that are tightly
> packed and cut to 3/8". Here is a video of them
> in action with our spin wave technique.
>
> [www.youtube.com]


I do use Flex Coat brushes. My post above is totally wrong. I used to by dime store brushes. But, once I began use flex coat brushes, I never switched from them. They are very good brushes. I use them as disposable. You certainly have my endorsement, although it doesn't carry much weight. The best to you all.

Michael Danek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Agree with Phil E and Tom . I've never gotten
> good at the spatula thing,

An interesting topic. When I started building rods over 25 years ago, I applied epoxy with my own hand made spatulas. I found that I needed them in different widths and simply cut my own from any throw away plastic containers or product containers.

I find that with small plastic spatulas I can control flow and thickness well. Even wipe it off quickly and use it to remove unwanted epoxy. And, they are reusable too.

I have never even used a brush to apply epoxy. Guess that is one expense I have saved on through the years and decades... and the plastic source for my use is virtually endless. I use to save up various plastic containers to the point I had more plastic than I could ever use. So doing it this way has definitely saved me money.

an exacto knife makes a great handle for holding small plastic spatulas that you have cut for different widths..easy to change to another size..

I ended up buying an assortment of flat oil/acrylic paint brushes from hobby lobby. It was a real game changer for me. I'm also new at this but the control was better than the disposable ones I had.