After a few dozen successful builds, I've made my first mistake mixing my rod finish. It's been 16 hours and it isn't set up at all. Based off of the fact that one of my syringes has hardened up, I think I accidentally mixed two parts of resin.

I'm thinking of trying to wipe as much as I can off with alcohol and then recoat with a properly mixed finish. This was my first coat, over bare thread. I've searched this forum for similar issues and see a mixed result of what people say to do. I'd really like to avoid cutting all my wraps off and starting over, but I will if I have to.

I figured that trying to remove the resin with alcohol is easier than starting over and is worth a shot. Does anyone have any recommendations?

This is Gen4 regular build over ProWrap colorfast thread.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2024 08:42AM by Cyrus Hilliard.

Hi Cyrus,
Easier to make that mistake than you would think. Been there - done that - ONCE. Now I concentrate.

You will get two opinions:
1. just clean and re-coat with fresh finish.
2. My opinion: You can wipe off epoxy from surface but will not reach under the wraps. And, recoating will not cure the "soup" under the wraps to any degree.
So, if you decide to just recoat - you will have uncured epoxy at the very important blank / guide foot interface.
One very important job of epoxy finish is to form a composite with the thread to anchor your guides.
Having uncured finish at the blank level will eliminate that aspect of the job of epoxy.

Bottom line - re-wrap.
Herb
CTS Rep

Yes, wipe off as much as you can but do NOT use alcohol. Put on a pair of latex gloves and just use a finger to wipe off as much finish as you can. Then re-apply properly measured and mixed epoxy.

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I did that once also now i put green masking tape on everything that is a resin bottle or used with resin like the syringes and spatulas i use.

David Parsons Wrote:
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> I did that once also now i put green masking tape
> on everything that is a resin bottle or used with
> resin like the syringes and spatulas i use.

Any coherent and consistent system should work. I use a metallic sharpie to mark “R” or “H” on bottles and syringes (Gen4 labels bleed off their ink in warm water). I also like the syringe packs with two different colors. I lay the bottles and syringes out in pairs and put the first bottle away immediately after it’s used. With only memory as a save, I’d often not have a reliable save. There is as much time as you want to take until you combine the parts.

I also use the stoppers in my bottle of finish after i load the syringe i leave it in the stopper and load the other syringe then shoot both into mixing cup at the same time

Because the bottles ship with the same amount of product in each one, all you have to do to know which component you just withdrew is look at the levels in the two bottles. The lower of the two is the component you just withdrew.

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Because the bottles ship with the same amount of product in each one, all you have to do to know which component you just withdrew is look at the levels in the two bottles. The lower of the two is the component you just withdrew.

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Cyrus,
As Norm said - Wipe off the finish. Use a razor blade to cut the wraps. Remove the guide and carefully clean all residue from each of the guides. Go over the blank with alcohol to remove all vestiges of build work including all thread and finish.
Let dry for a couple of days to be sure that there is nothing left on the blank.

Now, you have a new bare blank with the reel seat and rear grip. Go build your rod and don't make the same mistake again - using what ever technique that you need to use - to avoid making that mistake again.

I will never ever, ever put new finish on top of uncured old finish.

This would be like building a house on a foundation that was not cured. Invariably, the house will tip over and you are left with a big expensive mess. The same thing happens if you put new finish on top of any uncured finish.

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Folks will say, " I have done this before and have never had an issue". Fine, until you get the fish of your life on the rod and the guides let go because of the uncured finish u nder the cured finish.

Be safe