Is there a better option out there ? These brushes are probably made in China and a not of good quality. Bill

They seem good enough for zppling epoxy and the bristles don,t come out.

You don't paint epoxy on, you let the rotating blank pull the epoxy off, just about anything works for that, I use a spatula.

William,
I used flex coat brushes for many years.
Then, I used brushes from the craft stores sold as children's brushes for about 5 cents each

Both the flex coat and the very similar children's paint brushes worked very well for applying epoxy.

However, a year or so ago, someone mentioned the following brushes:

[www.amazon.com]

These are also very nice brushes for 10 cents each.

None of the above mentioned brushes would lose any of their bristles. Because the price was so inexpensive, I never ever used the same brush for more than one batch of epoxy thread finish. As a result, I never had to deal with cleaners, fumes etc.
After mixing the finish, I would use that batch until the rod was finished or when the finish would began to harden. At that point, I laid the brush down on top of the epoxy mixing cup and if more were needed would mix up another batch, with another new brush.

I also don't use mixing plates, aluminum foll or anything similar.

Rather, I use 3 oz plastic sample cups that I obtain from the nearby grocery store. Again, one use brush, one use mixing cup and all goes well.

When most folks apply finish, the brush really never touches the rod blank, or thread. Rather, the brush is filled with finish and then brought close to the rotating blank and the finish is pulled off the brush with really little to no action required on your part except t hold the brush.

Best wishes.

Bill,
A quality brush is NOT required for applying thread epoxy; in fact, a brush is not required at all as Spencer mentioned who uses a spatula, as do a few other builders. I have never tried a spatula because the Flex Coat type brushes work so well. As Ben mentioned, a brush (or spatula) is simply a vehicle to get the epoxy on the wrap = don’t brush it on but rather allow the rotating rod to pull the excess epoxy off the bottom of the brush or spatula.
The Flex Coat brushes were designed for this purpose and work extremely well, typical of any Flex Coat product. To be honest, I use children’s art brushes from Walmart because there are fewer bristles and are cheaper, both in quality AND price so you may not be interested.

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

William

Our brushes are not made in China. In fact they were specifically designed for rod building 47 years ago by Roger Seiders. We use a very fine non-porous nylon bristle that is tightly packed and cut to under half an inch in length. This allows them to NOT release microscopic bubbles when saturated with finish and can fan out to work as a squeegee and effectively move and saturate finish into the threads of your rod. There are companies that have copied our brushes in color and appearance but leave out these important bristle attributes.

Here is a video about them and a great technique for getting a professional finish quickly and easily with these very brushes.

[www.youtube.com]

Also, we are currently developing and manufacturing a premium brush that is meant to be cleaned and reused. They should be available by years end.

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

Yes, please listen to the above advice, William. When I was learning I tried to paint on the epoxy and always had problems. Then, I learned from this site, and a Flex Coat video, how to apply epoxy properly.

It's all a matter of personal preference. What works for you is all that counts. I have never mastered the spatula thing, but many have. I use brushes a lot like Roger, prefering the softer brushes to the harder ones. But that is just me.

Find a solution that works for you and stick with it.

I,m a painter and I cut the bristles back a bit..It,s easier to get thin coats..I also seal the wraps with CP which makes painting easier and use one coat of epoxy just for the gloss. It,s the only way I know to keep guide weight down. you can not saturate the wraps with epoxy and keep weight down.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2022 10:11AM by ben belote.

I do have to concur with John C and his advice. In all of the years using flex coat brushes, I never had a brush shed a bristle or give me a poor epoxy application.

Conversely, when I tried using expensive sable, fox or other artists brushes, I often had issues as well as shed bristles that ended up in the finish.

John Cates Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> William
>
> Our brushes are not made in China. In fact they
> were specifically designed for rod building 47
> years ago by Roger Seiders. We use a very fine
> non-porous nylon bristle that is tightly packed
> and cut to under half an inch in length. This
> allows them to NOT release microscopic bubbles
> when saturated with finish and can fan out to work
> as a squeegee and effectively move and saturate
> finish into the threads of your rod. There are
> companies that have copied our brushes in color
> and appearance but leave out these important
> bristle attributes.
>
> Here is a video about them and a great technique
> for getting a professional finish quickly and
> easily with these very brushes.
>
> [www.youtube.com]
>
> Also, we are currently developing and
> manufacturing a premium brush that is meant to be
> cleaned and reused. They should be available by
> years end.

It is so good to see an American Company build a quality product for a reasonable price, and still looking to develop something even better !!!

John the problem I had with brushes the yellow handle ones is that they were not trimmed evenly. Hence, I had difficulty applying the finish. Just an observation of what I got in my Flexcoat kit. I look forward to your new brushes . Bill

I get it, Bill, we do sell over 100,000 brushes in a year, and while we do have quality control in place, nobody is perfect. With that said, we have a box of the brushes that do not pass quality control and that is what I use to finish my own rods quite frequently. Many times they are like the way you described and I still use them in the way shown in the video I posted above with great success. I have also been know to trim our brushes to get the desired shape, in fact we include instructions with our brush packs for this trimming process. If you send me an email at flexcoat@gmail.com I will send you some brushes to replace those that didn't measure up.

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

William, it,s no problem to trim the bristles and when you get one to your liking do not throw it away, clean it and reuse it

Now if that isn’t supreme customer service, then there is no such thing as customer service AT ALL ANYWHERE!!! FlexCoat produces quality products and backs it up with unparalleled service. Thanks John and Roger!!!

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

Hey Mark....here is an example of Flex Costs customer service. Over fifteen years ago i had a batch of Flex coat HI Build that never fully cured. I sent an email to Flex Coat asking for help why. It wasn't a day later that I got a phone call from non other than Roger Seiders himself. He politely told me I goofed and proceeded to walk me through what I needed to do and how to get exact epoxy. I am small potatoes in the rod building world and he took the time to call me !!!!!

In all these years I have never forgotten that call and will remain a loyal Flex Coat user.

Tom

Thanks for sharing, Tom. I rest my case!!!

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

Mark Talmo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bill,
> A quality brush is NOT required for applying
> thread epoxy; in fact, a brush is not required at
> all as Spencer mentioned who uses a spatula


I also use the spatula technique.

I make my own small spatulas that are quick and easy to make- and disposable- and cost virtually nothing since I use repurposed plastic mostly taken from packages products are placed within that most people toss out or recycle. I just cut it up as needed and match the size or width of the thread wrap to the spatula or slightly smaller, but never larger. And they are reusable to.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2022 10:06AM by Kent Griffith.

I bought some of these but have yet to try them [smile.amazon.com]