James, thanks for the specific paint to use. Roger, you make a great point. This rod does indeed have history. Another friend built this rod specifically for our local beach fishery, and donated it to Trout Unlimited for their annual fundraiser banquet. My other friend, who I just bought it from, won it at that raffle. He used it for many years as his favourite beach trout rod, until he switc
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Thanks for your advice, Bill. I'll do the small touch up, and see how it looks over time.
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Yes, Tom, it's a very small area, about half an inch by half an inch, directly underneath the snake guide. Thanks for the suggestion of the enamel paint.
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Bill, I bought this rod from a close friend, as is, at a good price. I won't be returning it, so I'd just like to stop any further peeling. I have to scrape pretty hard with my thumb nail to peel it any more, so maybe it'll be fine.
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I have just purchased a 17 year old custom-built G.Loomis GL3 fly rod (F1175-B blank). There were some white deposits on the blank, under most of the guides, presumably from salt water use, since the rod was used on the beach for many years. The white deposts came off with luke warm water and a toothbrush, but at one guide, so did some of the flat black top coat, revealing an area of dark grey b
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Having read all your latest suggestions, I'll be making these changes in my work: 1. Only mix polymer parts for 2 (max.3) minutes. Even though the visible bubbles dispersed after mixing, I suspect that microscopic bubbles remained. 2. Continue using Flex Coat's round, plastic stir sticks, but toss after each mix. 3. Pour the mix onto aluminum foil, to extend working time. 4. Find some way to
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Oh yeah, one last question. If I do the fix by sanding down the blemishes, what polymer is recommended to recoat? More of the stuff that's already on (Flex Coat Lite), or something else? I was wondering about something very thin, like Permagloss, which I've never used before. I'm thinking that a different coating might not adhere well. True? Thanks again.
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I really appreciate all the help from you guys. This is such a great forum. I'm pretty sure my mixing time of 4-5 minutes was okay. The Flex Coat company has a video online, which recommends 3-6 minutes, depending on air temperature. (The higher the temperature, the shorter the mixing time.) I am undecided about moisture, because I've read conflicting advice. Some say humidity affects p
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Randolph, thank you very much for this extra help. What a terrible experience you had with that saltwater rod! I sure would not want to redo a whole rod. I once replaced just one guide wrap, and that was not a good experience. I do not use colour preserver, so my polymer bonds extremely well to the blank. To answer your question, I used a new batch; Flex Coat Lite, with a label that says
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Randolph, could you please clarify if you mean it was improperly mixed due to unequal parts, or some sort of improper mixing, PLUS unequal parts? Do you think I stirred the parts too vigorously, or not long enough? I think I mixed for about 4 or 5 minutes. I'm sure I used equal parts of resin and hardener. All my mixing is done with the syringes that come with Flex Coat kits, and I am extr
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I think it's the "microbubbles" that Scott mentioned. I examined, under magnification, the cured excess polymer slabs that I saved from my application pan. They are all clouded with very tiny air bubbles on the surface. Then I examined the polymer samples that I kept from a few previous rod builds, and none of them have tiny bubbles on the surface. This is only the third rod I've
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Good point, Steve. Okay, I have to go now, and deliver a backup gift to my daughter. I'll check back here later, for any other suggestions. Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks very much again for helping me out.
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Okay, I used my jeweler's loupe, and I can see microscopic pits on the areas that have lost their gloss. Is that "blushing", and if so, what is the cause and the cure? I have ruled out abrasion from contact with the rod sack or case. Much of the problem areas could not have been contacted by the sack or rod case, because they are right up against the guides, on top of the guide feet.
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What is "blushing", Jim?
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Try these photo links:
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Especially since the customer is my daughter, Bill!
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Thanks very much for your idea of polish, Bill, and your warning about preventing fish eyes. I used the new, UV-improved Flex Coat Lite. I will try the polish, then put the rod sections in those plastic bags that rod blanks come in. They shouldn't cause any abrasion, I hope. Or maybe I'll just have to give an apology that it the rod will not be ready for Christmas. Wish me luck! Thanks v
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Thanks Drew. The reason I'm upset is this rod needs to be delivered today. And it is a very special gift. I am totally puzzled, since I've made other rods and put them in socks with less than 4 days curing time. I wonder if there is something I can rub the polymer with, to bring back the gloss. Sorry about the Photobucket link not working. That site has given be problems lately.
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My gift fly rod build was finished 4 days ago, and I had left it on the rack for the Flex Coat to cure. I checked it out an hour ago, and it looked perfect. I put the sections in a rod sock, then put it into a rod-reel case. It was tight, so I removed it, took the rod sections out of the sock, then put them into the individual sleeves of the divided case. Then I thought of taking some photos,
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edit: double post error.
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Roger, thanks very much for that tip. I usually do that, but I guess I wasn't careful enough this time. Thanks everyone. The repair worked out just dandy today! I cut thin strips of sandpaper, to fit over a thin, wooden stir stick, and began timidly with 400 grit paper, but soon found out that would take a month of Sundays and then some. I went lower and lower, until I found that I was c
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Thanks for the good suggestions, Lorenzo and Steve. Lorenzo, I understand exactly what you wrote. Steve, I'm not sure why I did not notice that I put too much polymer on the 3 wraps that are footballs. My technique has worked well in the past, which is a thin first coat, just soaking the wraps, and none over the thread edges, followed by a second coat, which also seals the edges. For tha
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Thanks very much, Phil. I think I'll use sandpaper (wrapped around a popsicle stick), as I'd be afraid of a blade going a bit too deep. I'm not a surgeon! But I've lots of experience with sanding. Wish me luck!
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Has anyone had success in correcting "football" shaped coatings? Several of my small snake guide wraps looked okay when I left the fly rod to turn, but they ended up setting up too thick in the middle, like footballs. All I can think of is to sand down the thick middle sections, then apply a thin top coat. I use Flex Coat Lite. Will this work? I am concerned that the new coat may
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I'm going to build a 2" fighting butt for a 7 wt. fly rod, using cork rings. To protect the butt's end from beach rocks and barnacles, I want to add an end cap of either EVA , or composite cork. Which material is toughest? My searches have not found any comparisons of the two. Thanks in advance. :)
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