For the past 40 years Flex Coat was my clear coat of choice. Maybe it's me or maybe the different color preservers out there now that don't jive with FC. But a couple of times this past year it seems to stay on the soft side. Not sticky but just shy of sticky. Bought a new set of bottles of FC , 3 or 4 rods seemed to be fine and then poof it raised it's ugly head again and stayed soft. Looking for a good quality substitute Clear coat and a color preserver that someone has had great results with. I build mostly fly and steelhead rods so I don't need a very high build.

If it is not hard it is the MIX not 50 :: 50 by volume, recheck your mixing amounts as you are having problems , or get a new batch from your supplier , even when old it still works ,
as FLEX COAT is one of the best out there been around a long time ,

William Sidney
AK

Bill I understand what your saying, Over the past 40yrs I must have used gallons of FC, I am very careful when measuring , that is not the case here. I think it has to do with the color preserver that I have used. Either I want a good color preserver that is a good match for FC or another quality top coat and color preserver to replace what I'm currently using.

I've used U40 CP without issue for years. Works great with thread master or the new gen4

What's going to shock a lot of people here is finding out that many of the Cps out there are one and the same product. It's often amusing to see someone praising one CP over another, and knowing that they're the same product. Epoxy cures by chemical reaction, not evaporation, so it would be very difficult for any CP to cause an epoxy not to set and cure. Such a thing is almost always the result of either improper measuring or mixing, or a very low air temp which can greatly delay the set and cure time.

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John, there is a CP called seymo sold by mudhole that is quite different from most according to my testing so far..i made a test wrap, applied seymo, let dry over night, and soaked it in a jar of water for 24 hours..any other cp would turn ver cloudy in just a few hours but seymo stayed very clear and hard..i,m thinking of trying it as a one part finish with three or four coats..also if you need to remove the guides, cleanup is just a few wipes with rag wetted with isoprople alcoho..seems like a good way to get very light guide wraps with no epoxy and you will not mar your rod finish if you need to remove the guides..

John

Sorry you are having trouble. When having trouble with finish not setting up properly is caused by not mixing thoroughly. Mix it until it is clear. Scrape the bottom and the walls of the cup and make sure everything is completely mixed. There is a big difference in finish mixed 99% and finish mixed 100%.

Also, our CP works great with our finish and I haven't heard of problems with compatibility problems with others. Have you consider using pre-treated thread?

If you have any questions please call us at 512-858-7742

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

I use mostly NCP thread but I like to use CP to hold the butt wraps so they can be trimmed then cover wrapped. I used to always use Gudebrod non water based CP for years and never had any problems. I also know mixing is not an issue or measuring. I'm going to order a new set of Flexcoat finnish and CP and see how it goes. Thank you everyone for the input.

Is it me or did mudhole stop selling Flexcoat top coat finnishes. If so who is a good supplier for rod building products.

No, Mudhole appears to be selling all of the Flex coat finishes and CP.
Norm

Many years ago, when first starting, I had a couple of rods with a soft finish. When I asked a more experienced builder - he used the word TIME.

Ever since that incident - any time that I mix finish, I mix by the clock. I mix for a minimum of 120 seconds.

I do as John suggests, I use 2 oz plastic mixing cups and use a craft or popsicle stick that has been cut square on the end, with a touch of rounding on the edges on the belt sander. I slightly round the ends of the stick to allow me to completely scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing cup without having to worry about a sharp edge that might cut the cup.

During the slow mixing process, I am scraping the sides of the cup and the bottom of the cup and then scraping off the stick on the cup to insure that every single particle of finish is mixed 100%.

In all of the ensuing rod builds mainly without CP but some rods with the use of CP, I have never had a soft finish.

Mix 100% of the finish - including the finish on the mixing container, and the finish on the mixing stick, brush or spatula. This includes all of the nooks and crannies in the mixing cup, as well as all edges and surfaces of the mixing stick.

Best wishes