I was putting a second coat of Gen 4 on today and all was going well until I ran into a hiccup with one of two decals. One of them (my name) turned out great, but the other one (rod specs) just wasn't looking right. So, since it already had one coat on it and that one looked fine, I decided I'd take a microfiber with alcohol and gently run it over the decal while the dryer was turning in hopes of simply removing the second the coat that had only been on there about 20 minutes. Well, now that everything has cured for 10 1/2 hours now, I inspected the area and found that both coats are gone. The first coat had cured for 14 hours. It wasn't tacky. It was smooth as a baby's behind. Oh well, guess I get to mix up some thread finish tomorrow and have another go.

On the bright side, the rest of the rod looks fantastic. I really like the Gen4. That stuff is crystal clear when it dries.

I should add that I don't normally do decals. I hand write my name and specs, but this rod is for a customer and they opted for the factory decal.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2023 11:40PM by Daryl Ferguson.

What kind of alcohol?

Rubbing

Rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl) is more of an antiseptic than a solvent and does not evaporate as quickly as DNA,(ethyl alcohol).

DNA would be a better choice for future use..

Have fun

And, I have DNA too, in my alcohol burner. I just didn’t think I’d have an issue with the first coat since it was cured. Oh well…

At 14 hours, it was "set" but not cured! Curing can take as long as 48+ hours.

Set and cured are definitely not interchangeable. It’s on the dryer now. All is well now, thankfully.

Thanks for sharing your lesson learned.

Kendall, I know lots of newer builders such as myself come here for knowledge so I like to share all of my experiences, good, bad or otherwise. :)

Also, for anyone reading this thread, I should add that I don't think this has anything to do with Gen4. I think it would've happened regardless of brand. I was just merely stating what I used.

I like to thin my thread epoxy a bit with DNA, and in my last effort with Gen 4, at a suggestion of another rod maker, I thinned with a few drops of IPA (isopropyl not beer!) Works great. BUT, since I thin my coats and use 3 coats instead of two, I always wait for at least 24 hours, and usually 48 hours, before moving on to the next coat. That way it is truly cured and hard, and any imperfections, thread ends or fuzzies can be cut off with a razor blade or uneven surfaces sanded with 300 grit or greater sand paper. And the next coat goes on just great.

David, I've never had any issue with how I go about applying the finish. This particular decal was just a royal pain. I'm still not 100% happy with how it turned out. As I said earlier, the other decal I put on (my "Built by Me" decal) went on easy as getting me to eat red velvet cake. But it's out of my hair now. It's off to its new home and the owner loves it. :)

As to decals, I recently completed two NFC LMX FAF blanks, a 5 wt and an 8wt. The rods I make are for me, not for others or clients.

The 5 wt I finished first and the NFC decal went on well. On the 8wt the decal lettering dissipated to the point of blurring a bit when I applied a heat gun to help even out the epoxy. I did not notice this fact until after the coat of epoxy cured. I did not like the look, and the decal also had a slight finger smudge in it. So, like you, I wanted and needed a do over. So I sanded down the epoxy to the decal depth and scraped it off , sanded the epoxy down a bit more, and applied a thin layer of new epoxy. On top of that I used a gel pen to write the rod information. I prefer that but my handwriting @#$%&, so I had my sister do it. The gel pen was not the best performer, but the lettering came out OK. I let the gel pen writing dry and put a final thin coat of epoxy over that.

The decals are not always the easiest to scrape free of the plastic layer they are adhered to, and they can smudge or their edges can nick pretty easily. In the future I am going to go the gel pen or calligraphy method, but have someone else do the writing for me.

It's all a learning process. I guy I knew who made hundreds of rods had every aspect down pat. I'm only on about my 6th rod but its getting better with each effort, and I learn something each time.

I’ll try your method if it ever comes up again. This was the first time with decals as I prefer to write the info, but that was not an option on this rod.

David -

Ever use the scotch tape decal application method?

There is also a good thread about the 'best' pens for writing on blanks somewhere in the search engine. [www.rodbuilding.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2023 11:23AM by Les Cline.

The gel pen we have (Gelly Roll) does not work as well as we were led to believe it should. This was after one try. It didn't seem to flow nicely. I'll apply a little heat to the pen tip and try it again when I get a chance.

The gel pen works great for me. This rod wasn't for me, however, and the person who bought it wanted the decals on it.

I've used a paper towe with alcoholl to clean the tip of the Gelly Roll pen when needed,

I've found the Gelly Roll works best if the pen is held vertical rather than at an angle. Also play with different speeds when writing.

Good luck

David,

With the NFC LMX FAF fly blanks, decals can look kinda wonky because of the ridges in the unsanded blank. There are two ways to address this, a coat of finish epoxy where the decal would be sited of some judicious sanding in that same area. I use the coat of epoxy method as at 72 years young, I don't trust my sanding ability. I sometimes actually wrap the area in a contrasting color, epoxy, and then apply the decal. I currently have 4 of these blanks in process and will use custom decals from Decal Connection. The decals you use can also impact how well they apply and adhere. For example, the waterslide style are very fragile and can tear when adjusting their position.

Rich