I just finished building a rod using 4.5 running guides. Took it outside and was admiring my work. Best looking rod I ever built. (I have built maybe 10). I installed the guides using Perma Gloss for the first coat on the guide threads. Threadmaster Lite with marbelizing for the second coat on the guides. I used PG for the first coat to minimize the buildup of epoxy from two coats of Threadmaster given the marbelizing work. It worked well, the guides looked good. After the marbelized coat was completed I added thread trim bands to the marble work. Then I coated with the trim bands with lights coats of Threadmaster Lite. All looked really good. Then I noticed that the rings on 6 of the 4.5mm running guides were actually filled with clear epoxy, preventing me from running thread thru the guides. Ugh. I have never heard of this happening before. Obviously too much clear coat epoxy, somehow, although I thought I was being very careful. My epoxy technique is to apply with spatula, coat, and then let rod sit until drips form and remove the drips. Rotate, repeat. Then dry in a rod dryer at low speed.

Is there any way to remove the epoxy from the guide rings without damaging the guides?

Heat a dental pick and push through opening then when it cools you will push out the rest

Thomas, Thank you so very much for this helpful advice. It worked perfectly. I am so relieved, you made my day! This forum has again proven invaluable to me in my new hobby.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2021 01:15PM by John DeMartini.

Bob, glad it helped!

Never a good idea to apply more epoxy than needed. I don't know where this idea of allowing extra epoxy to sag and drip off the rod started, but it's really not a good idea. That's what clogged your rings with epoxy.

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A brush works better than a spatula, I have tried both and you can control/manage the epoxy better with the brush. The thread wrapping epoxy is flexible and you should be able to cut it off or scrape and peel around the eyes and legs.

Tom, i think it started with the idea that the epoxy had to saturate the wraps all the way to the blank in order to make a stronger guide wrap..suddenly color preserver became a big no-no but if the wraps are sealed with cp you can easily apply just one coat of epoxy as thick or thin as you want and the wraps are still more than strong enough..to saturate the wrap an excess of epoxy had to be applied and then taken off by the sag method.

Never understood the "sag method." I think it came about from a bad interpretation of a RodMaker article on what to do if you put on too much finish.

Putting on too much finish doesn't increase the saturation of thread with epoxy. The thread can only absorb so much. Better to add more than have to remove some, although certainly do the latter if too much becomes apparent.

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The "sag method" has saved a lot of very nice wraps which may have had a bit too much finish applied by some inexperienced builders before they read magazines. Works for more experienced, and well read builders also. Hard to believe, I know.

The "sag" method did not exist prior to the magazine article which was specifically aimed at saving finish jobs where too much finish had been applied. The trouble was that too many readers did not actually read the article and instead simply looked at the photos and thought you were supposed to put on too much finish as a rule and then allow it to sag and droop and then remove the excess. That's not a good way to apply finish.

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What I don't get is the obsession to get as thick a coating as possible in the fewest applications, often just one, when finishing a rod. Nearly every other finish or paint application calls for careful application of multiple thin coats. You can always add more. Taking off is a pain. Only thing I try to get done in one coat is the guide foot tunnel. For the guide wrap itself I don't care if it takes one coat or ten.

I also don't get the desire to have a thick coat of epoxy regardless of how you arrive at it. All you need is the thread ridges smoothed out and a level surface to the finish.. I have seen a lot of rods that you can't even see the step of the guide foot there is so much finish on them.

What ever you like is ok I guess your build. But a lot of problems are created when trying to achieve something that does not make much sense to achieve to begin with.

Back to the OP's question, an Facto knife with a fresh sharp blade may allow you to cut out any finish in the rings and/or around the guide leg where the ring forms. The knife blade will not harm the guide rings.


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a good burnishing will knock down the thread ridges enough so that only one thin coat of epoxy is needed following the cp application..

Thanks all, I was able to resolve the clogged guide issue with the approach suggested by Thomas Kaufman, and then some careful knife/scrape work as suggested by Mr. Kirkman. A very satisfying end to what I first thought was going to be a much bigger problem.

I don't know if the other posters discussing thick epoxy coats were responding to something in my post, but avoiding overly thick epoxy was the purpose of using Perma Gloss for the first thread coat. That locked in the guides and added no thickness, allowing me to apply the marbelizing coat with just one thickness of epoxy.

I am not sure where I first heard of the heavy coat, remove sag approach. I would have guessed it was from Mr. Kirkman's you tube videos, which I tend to follow for all of my work. But after his comment I went back and looked at his thread epoxy video and of course I see it was not him recommending that approach. Going forward I will utilize the simple brush approach he shows in his video. Particularly the application of epoxy without the blank rotating in the dryer motor. My dryer motor does not rotate on a straight axis, causing the blank to move up and down and in and out as it rotates, making it very hard to apply and get clean edges. Hopefully the hand rotation method will help with that.

Right, I simply suggested the sag, droop and remove as a remedy when too much epoxy has been applied. After that it sort of took on a life of its own - as if it was a good method for application. It's not and for all the reasons spelled out in that article from 15 years ago.

Keep in mind that you do not have to have your rod in a mechanical rotator while applying the finish. Roll the rod by hand and you'll find it much easier to apply the epoxy and get straight edges. Once all the epoxy has been applied to your liking, you can then chuck the rod to the rotator and set it turning. Or... just use the hand rotation method which allows you get the epoxy exactly where you want it, although you'll have to babysit the rod for at least 2 hours if not a little more.

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I simplify my guide coating.
I will often do batch builds of rods. So, I am interested in saving time.
I use standard flex coat and have never had an issue with the finish so no reason to change.

I mix the finish for 2 minutes.

Then, Starting from the longest wrap - typically the butt wrap, using a power wrapper I apply finish using disposable brushes - to apply a generous coat of finish. I am not particularly concerned at this time to fine tune anything, I just want enough finish on every wrap so that I will not have to add more finish. I work quickly down the rod on the spinning rod that may be turning up to 50 rpm.

Then, starting from the butt of the rod again, I will slow down and use a touch of gentle heat from the heat gun to temporarily thin the finish and I will do what is needed on each wrap to have the finish flow out and have the tunnels filled and clean edges. Then I proceed onto the next wrap.

Finally, I go back one more time - starting from the butt of the rod using very intense light and 3x magnification with a head band mounted magnifier to do a final quality inspection for perfection. At this point if there is a touch of a foot ball that is formed, I will slightly thin the finish with a tiny bit of gentle heat and wick off the excess finish. If a spot is a touch dry, I will dab a tiny bit of finish onto the spot, use a tiny bit of gentle heat to blend it and the job is done.

Typical time for a complete application of finish - ready to ship when it comes off he dryer is on the order of 10-15 minutes.

Then, time to move on to the next rod.

Using standard flex coat, there is no need for multiple finishes, and one ends up with just exactly the right amount of finish for a perfect rod and all ends well - in a single finish drying cycle.

Best wishes

Bob, thread finish tends to wick up onto the guides when I apply it. Seems to do this no matter how little or much I apply, but I just take a toothpick and swipe it off around the base of the guide to alleviate that problem.

Greg
Aptos, CA