Five Minute Epoxy

[xisintheend]

Well I just put a little drop of each and mixed it for a few seconds until I saw them combine and form a little bit different color. I than just dipped the toothpick into the solution and applied it to the fly. This morning when I woke up I went to see the finished result again and I found a few mistakes on the fly. As it so turns out to be that I was so excited about getting to the epoxy part that I forgot to put the biots for the tail and I completely brushed the wings out of the picture!

Marko

[William Fitzgerald]

In your opening statement I thought you were going to mix the two bottles--as others have said you mix the amount you may need with a tooth pick with no bubbles. Dont worry about heating it. Without a dryer just rotate it in your vice or fingers. Next in all my years of tying if I read right you are covering your Copper John. Never heard of covering a fly. Epoxy is usually used on heads, poppers,tube minnow bodies etc where a hard finish is needed. Glad you bought the bottles and not the push tube.

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Bill

[adso4]

xisintheend,

Here are another tips.

First, when you mix your epoxy, do it on Post-it notes. After epoxy job, you can easily throw that piece of paper.

Second, if epoxy on your Copper John runs or does not look swollen enough, you can follow Mike Mercer's tip, who is well-known for his Poxyback series (epoxy-backed nymph patterns): Mike puts the first thin coat of epoxy on the wingcase of his nymph and then adds another drop of epoxy on the first coat after the first layer dries. By doing so, the second coat will not run or lie flat because of the first coat.

Third, wooden toothpick may discolor epoxy, making it turn yellowish, so you may want to use a bodkin or plastic toothpick.

[This message has been edited by adso4 (edited 17 September 2005).]

[Ray Kunz]

For any new user of the 5 min. epoxy bear in mind that it has very strong tendency to "wet" and will wick itself into nearby materialsif you apply too much. And many brands will turn yellowish in time.

[Greg H]

William Fitzgerald: in the Copper John the epoxy is put on top of the holographic tinsel wingcase to increase the reflectivity and imitate the bursting wings. There is also a series of 'PoxyBack' nymphs and emergers where the same technique is used. Search & See.

[billknepp]

you can also add a dab of model paint (Testors) to the mix and make (Mother of Epoxy)
or "MOE" flies with some Opaque color to em...

Great stuff...Soooo many uses in tying...

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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best

"Wish ya great fishing"

Bill




[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 18 September 2005).]

[William Fitzgerald]

Greg I just use Sally's clear nail polish. Poxy takes too long to dry when tying lots of flies.

[Fishnfool]

Very important to get a 50/50 mixture of the two bottles. as ASDO4 wrote. Use WHITE Post it notes or a paper pad to mix your components together. You just throw away a few sheets and it's all cleaned up. I usually lay out a 2 or 3 inch line side by side of each part that way you get a perfect 50/50 mixture. Then thoroughly mix the two parts together for 1 minute let set one minute to let the air bubbles settle out. then that gives you 2-3 minutes to work with it. Same formula used for rod building.

I have a guide friend who uses Loon UV Knot Sense for his Copper John's. He finds it easier to work with than 2-part epoxy. Also quicker.

Hope this helps,


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John G.
Albuquerque, NM




[This message has been edited by Fishnfool (edited 18 September 2005).]

[xisintheend]

Thank You All for all of the help and tips you have provided me with. I read through all of this and I have received alot more responses than I expected to receive. I thought everybody would laugh at my questions, but you folks at FAOL seem to be open armed and very helpful people. I just want to comment on 1 thing and that is putting epoxy on post it notes. Well I actually thought about this before I started using the stuff, so I decided to use some of my broken blank cd's to mix the epoxy on. I think it works pretty good because after I am done with one round I let the epoxy dry off on the disk and than just scrape it off which enables me to use it again and again, hopefully it doesn't affect anything.

Thank You,
Marko

[teasels]

Duckster
Never really had to much problem but then been doin it for yrs used to build RC aircraft used it a lot along with CA i guess experiance makes the dif. I used a heat shrink gun and used to debond epoxy from balsa after a rekit job some might know that as FATAL GROUND CONTACT (crash).

X You can thin silicon (clear ) and get the same effect. makes for a soft body takes longer to dry on the wheel about 24 hrs