Head cement

[garb72]

I am about due for some more and I have been using the stuff that came in a cabelas material kit and I was wondering what is a good cement for my next purchase?

[flybugpa]

go to a hardware store and get a can of clear laquer, 10 bucks for a quart. or you can spend 10 -15 times that for "head cement" . Save the jar the cabelas stuff came in. use a plastic spoon to fill the bottle. If the lid sticks, rub duubing wax on the threads. You may also get a can of laquer thinner while you are at the store. you will have a lifetime supply of head cement for 15 bucks

[NJTroutbum]

I have tied with nothing but Sally Hensens Hard-as-Nails for 20yrs. I keep two bottles. One for brush applications and one for bodkin applications. Whenever I need a new bottle I consolidate whats left into the older bottle that seems to get a little thicker over time & is the one I use the brush/cap in for streamers, shellbacks, laquering turkey wings, etc. The new bottle again becomes my bodkin application bottle. Costs me about $2.50 a year. And if you want colored head for streamers it comes in colors as well.

[Cold]

NJ, do they make it in black? I've been using it for wet applications for a while too, but would love to see black SH's. For dries, I use either the standard head cement or CA glue.

[ScottP]

Yes they do; it's called Black Out.

Regards,
Scott

[aged_sage]

The only thing I would change in flybugpa's response would be to substitute "Vaseline" for "dubbing wax". (Tip: Apply Vaseline liberally to the threads on the top of you bottle to keep the lid from sticking to it!) I get dual mileage out of my cans of DEFT Clear Woodfinish, which is a lacquer, as I do some woodturning and also use it as a finish on some of my turnings. With the support of A.K. Best; flybugpa and I can't be wrong!!

Cheers,
Frank

[Jeff Clough]

I use a water-based head cement (Orvis branded, but there's lots of this stuff out there) and it works well. It also has the added bonus of being initially thin (but you can thicken it by leaving a bit out for a few minutes), cleans up with water and has almost no odor. I can't offer a comparison between the other products that have already been mentioned because I decided I didn't want to be playing with acetone or other solvents period, especially on account of having a five year old.

[Buddy Sanders]

I'm also a plain old lacquer guy. A.K Best put it 'best'= "how can you improve on plain old lacquer?"

I keep two bottles on the bench, one 'from the can' consistency which is thick enough to get really shiny heads, and one thinned so it penetrates to use for everything else.

Nice thing about 'real' lacquer, it dries VERY fast.

It works, it's cheap, and it's easy.

Only drawback, and I don't find it the bad thing that some do, is that you actually have to move it from the can it comes in to a smaller container to use it, and you have to know how to pour in the thinner and stir it. I know how to do all of that, and I have the 16 sq. inches of shelf space to store the can....

Buddy

p.s; you can also buy small bottles of it in just about any color you want.

[WarrenP]

I may have to look at the lacquer and see what I think of it. At the present time, I have been using Sally Hanson's clear fingernail polish for several years and have no complaints with it. The nice thing about using it is that you can thin it with a few drops of fingernail polish remover. (just borrow your wife's when you need it). I have the original square bottle that regular head cement came in and that is what I pour the Sally Hanson's polish in. I also have replaced the lid on the original bottle and put the flip-top lid on it from a ketchup bottle. It screws right on and when you flip the top open, the small hole allows you access to the clear polish with your bobkin. I like this set up because I can open and close it with one hand and the lid is never off in case I knock it over. I keep a regular bottle of SH on my fly tying table for those times I want to brush it on.

I think the lacquer technique that others have suggested has merit and it would also work in my "ketchup bottle top square jar". It could be easily thinned with lacquer thinner and it could be added with an glass eye dropper so that you can add a few drops at a time until you have it thinned the way you want.

Find what works for you and have fun....

[NJTroutbum]

Yes, I've bought it in Red and Black.