Need Help, So last Friday I put a coat of finish over a decal on a rod I just built, temp in the garage was around 53 so I put the little heater that mudhole sells under the tent they sell and went to bed, sometime during the night we lost power, so I got one little dimple of a sag, and the finish was still tacky as of this Wednesday so I brought it in the house. Checked it today and the finish is still tacky. Is this going to ever dry at this point or do I need to remove it somehow. Please help me with the best option at this point. Thank you in advance as always.
1. I brought the finish in the house and let it warm up and used a bottle warmer to heat it up before removing each part with syringe.
2 I mixed the finish in the house and stirred by hand completely
3. I used 1 1/2 cc of each part, only had a 3 inch section to do.
4. Finish went on as usual, no issues.
5. Finish is Gen 4

Keith Langford

If the rod has been inside your house with a temp of at least 70F all that time, it should not be tacky at this point. I'd give it another couple days, making sure the area where the rod resides is indeed 70F.

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If it is not cured by now, it won't! Most likely either, not mixed thoroughly, not equal parts resin & hardener.

Use the strategy that has the least risk and doesn't close any "doors." Put the rod in a warm area and wait a few days. If it hardens, OK. If it doesn't, put another coat on, properly mixed, and cure it in a warm area. Don't even consider 53, even with a heater.

Typically you want to use 3ccs of each part to allow yourself suffiicient margin for error when measuring and mixing.

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I’ve built several rods with Gen4 and the CRB heater and tent. I haven’t had your temperature drop issue, but all have setup hard and really clear in less than twelve hours. I would expect that same timeframe after you got the heat back up, if there isn’t a mix issue. I have turned the drying motor off at 7 hours and rotated a quarter to third turn by hand every half hour or so, for a few more hours. I’m pretty sure those manual rotations are just an abundance of caution, though.

That is such a small amount of mix that the variance in what stays in the syringe spout or a little plunger tilt could be substantial. It’s hard to stop both plungers at precisely the same spot, too. I’ve mixed chemicals as a fisheries biologist using all sorts of methodologies. The separate epoxy syringes are far from being accurate for measuring that small of a quantity. I bet your Gen4 works perfectly the next time in warmer conditions and with a larger quantity of product.

Keith,
The above comments are good and valid. While any properly mixed thermo-epoxy will eventually go off, 53* will require a long time and unless you know for certain how much your little heater actually raised the temp, blind guessing is all that was achieved. A post-cure of 150*F may solve your problems, even if the mix ratio was off (acknowledge and apply Tom’s suggestion of mixing a minimum of 3cc each of resin and hardener). A simple yet effective oven can be made from a cardboard box, a 15-25watt light bulb and a cheapie meat thermometer; be cautious = even a low wattage light bulb can generate too much heat = monitor with a thermometer!

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

My CRB heater raises the temperature, inside of the tent, from a home interior base of 70 degrees to 75 degrees. Each end of the tent overlaps my work table by about a foot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2021 01:46AM by Kendall Cikanek.

What works for me is a set of stainless measuring spoons, goes down to 1/8 teaspoon.
Fill to just level with the top edge of the desired size.
Then wipe clean to make sure no residue of 1st part, and do it again.
For just 1 guide, i use Flex Coat with "Yorker Caps" to lay down a thin bead of each,
side-by-side.
This works for very small amounts as long as you are careful to make the "beads" even.
And remember, everything kept clean!
Hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381