First time I've had this issue, but the epoxy finish didn't level out smooth over rod specs decal. I can only assume I got a little heavy handed with the finish epoxy. The only thing I know to do is live with it, or sand it down carefully and put on another coat. I thought of possibly using heat, but I worry if I start adding heat to it, it might weaken the rod blank? Ideas?

Heat isn't going to do anything for you.

Let what you have now set for about 3 days. Back a piece of 320 grit sandpaper with a wood block. Rotate the rod and sand the surface lightly. You should quickly see where the high spots are as they won't show any contact with the sandpaper. Once the entire surface shows sanding scratches, it's level. Repeat lightly with some 400 grit and then 600 if you like. Dust off the surface with a soft paintbrush. Do NOT wipe it with any solvent. Apply a new application of finish and go easy. It won't take much.

.......................

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heat isn't going to do anything for you.
>
> Let what you have now set for about 3 days. Back a
> piece of 320 grit sandpaper with a wood block.
> Rotate the rod and sand the surface lightly. You
> should quickly see where the high spots are as
> they won't show any contact with the sandpaper.
> Once the entire surface shows sanding scratches,
> it's level. Repeat lightly with some 400 grit and
> then 600 if you like. Dust off the surface with a
> soft paintbrush. Do NOT wipe it with any solvent.
> Apply a new application of finish and go easy. It
> won't take much.
>
> .......................

Low spots

Thanks! I’ll give that a go.

Tom has the solution for this situation, but give some thought to avoiding it in the future. My wavy problems have always been caused by too much heat or too much epoxy. Or both. I now use lite build epoxy and no heat, and make sure the blank is covered/wet/smooth, but not so much that I have to take any off. I never have to take any off. I use a brush and spread the epoxy with longitudinal brush strokes. Seems to be working well.

I recently switched epoxy and think I got a little too much on. I don’t use heat with this epoxy so I know it wasn’t due to that.

Presuming you are using a rod dryer and not just rotating. I have only built six rods and still have a bit of difficulty on a long smooth section of the labeling area, especially if I have a hook keeper and put one wrap at the winding check, another at the tip-facing side of the hook keeper, then another wrap maybe 2.5 to 3 inches down the rod from that, between which I put the label or write the rod information. It is even a bit more difficult to get it smooth if you have a rod that does not have smooth surface, such as the NFC LMX blanks.

Smooth or ribbed surface, I do as Tom suggests above. I put on 3 or maybe four light light coats. If after three coats the entire area does not look smooth, as Tom suggest, I go to 300 or more grit sand paper. I put it on a small sanding block or wrap it on a 12" ruler, and sand lightly until the entire area is smoothed. As stated. The flat block or ruler will show the low areas, as they will be the last to get sanded. Do not clear the sanded area or dust with solvent. You can wipe it with a cloth damped in water if you like, but solvents could ruin the sanded epoxy. A final coat fills in over the sanded area beautifully.

Daryl,
This is an ongoing issue which I have tried (and given-up on) to resolve a few times here on RB.O. Either the respondents to my quest of how to obtain a perfectly level, ground-glass type lens over a long area do not epoxy more than a .5in wide guide wrap or they are simply not as picky as I am; I suspect the latter. All I can offer is to apply enough epoxy to allow it to self-level without applying too much to allow it to sag. With the rod turning, lightly drag your brush or spatula up and down the rod, creating an X pattern to help even-out the epoxy from end-to-end as well as rotationaly. Unfortunately, “too much” or “too little” is subjective and only determined through trial and error. I also reverse the rotation of the rod periodically (more often at the beginning of cure). Good Luck!

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

After applying a sufficient layer of finish with either manual or finishing motor rotation to the top of the blank with it moving away from me, I move from the top of the blank for applying to the bottom with the spatula just barely touching the blank. Going the length of the finished area once or twice near the bottom front of the blank lets any excess collect on spatula. If using a brush, I use light pressure on the flat brush tip to the front middle axis to have the excess finish collect on the bottom of a flat brush.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2023 11:52PM by Ross Pearson.

Actually would not the high spots show the contact with the sandpaper and block first?

Ron Weber

Daryl,
Cut a 1"-2" strip of 600 - 1000 grit wet or dry and sand like you would be buffing your shoe with a cloth.
Then just rotate to hit the other sides.
Herb

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Bill Falconer has a couple of good videos on YouTube.

The first one shows how to do long wraps. The light horizontal brush strokes helped make mine look a lot better.
"How to Apply Custom Rod Butt Wrap Finish the FCR Way"
[www.youtube.com]


The second video shows a lot of similar steps to what people have already provided on fixing the finish.
"How to Fix Finish Problems the FCR Way"
[www.youtube.com]

If it's not too late, put another layer of finish on before sanding. It will give you a bit of sanding safety margin to prevent sanding into the decal.

Hello Daryl.

One thing a lot of folks forget to do is to make sure your rod is level before you start finishing.

However to fix your problem follow Tom's instructions.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

I got it fixed. I exercised more caution than I probably needed to, but I was worried about sanding into the decal. Anyway, I just sanded progressively with higher and higher grit that I put on a small wood block until all the shiny spots were gone. Refinished it and it looks great. In hindsight, I think I just got a little heavy handed with the finish and that’s why it ended up wavy. As I said, I switched to a new brand and it’s little different consistency from the stuff I was using. That’s the only variable.

p.s. The suggestions here, along with the Falconer video really saved the day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2023 11:55AM by Daryl Ferguson.

Here is a short video that changed my rod finishing game:

[www.youtube.com]

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

I think the high RPM machines help a lot. I only have a fly drying motor and stand system which I also use to apply finish epoxy. You need to be a bit more careful due to the slower RPMs, so I tend to do more thin coats, usually 3.

You may be right David. It certainly makes sense to me. That said, I've not encountered this issue before and both of my dryers are 18 rpm motors. The only variable (outside of possible human error) is me switching to a different finish epoxy and maybe it has a slightly different consistency. I don't know, but all is well that ends well as I got it fixed, and it looks fine now. :)