Is it possible to thin a two part epoxy finish?
John
jstraight;
Heating will thin Flex Coat. They recommend this before mixing to get a more accurate mix. Put the final mix in a saucer of warm water to thin. Epoxy warmed up may set up faster also.
I have thinned by using an equal part of denatured alcohol.
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
Cactus
MET (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) is an epoxy thinner. Be careful with that stuff…it will disolve a plastic cup. After it ate my cup I decided I didn’t want thin epoxy as bad as I thought I did
“The only thing worse than getting old is not getting old”
I think you are better off by using flexcoat lite or u40 LS supreme instead of the high build epoxy.
I have found I can thin regular epoxy with acetone but it considerably lengthens the curing time like 2x or 3x. Flex coat and similar stuff seems to be a bit tricky–less tolerant of mixes that are off 50:50 between resin and hardner. Thinning with acetone may well work but do an experiment before committing to putting it on anything expensive.
Mike
Try a product called diamondite! its thinner, less bubbles, dries a little harder, clearer, and very pleasing finish aesthetics.
What is diamondite, where does one find it? A google search came up with a spray protectent, but the application would not be suitable for rod building. Need direction.
Trouts don’t live in ugly places
Betty------Try [url=http://www.swiftymfg.com:5b39b]www.swiftymfg.com[/url:5b39b]
Betty,
sorry, thought I had edited and included information about it.
Diamondite is a product that is similar to an epoxy finish but IMHO it is easier to work with, and is faster than the epoxies. A google for Diamondite, will yield a car finish product that, as you have pointed out, will absolutely not be something that is compatible. If you google Diamodite Rod Finish, you will find it. It mixes in a 3 to 1 ratio and with the diffuser that is provided with it does the proper mixing as you force it through the supplied tool. It has a pot life of about an hour, and also cures in about an hour after it is activated. Activation is accelerated with the application of heat and light from an ordinary light bulb. On my bench, I have three of these flexible “gooseneck” type lights that I use to both wrap and work with, but also to activate the diamondlite rod finish product. It flows very well, and cures to a very nice smooth and glossy finish. I have only used it on a couple of rods so far but I have found it to be a very good and simple product that for me, does better than the atypical epoxies.
Fantastic! Thank you! It’s time to try something new. After years of FlexCoat, I just learned a valuble lesson, time and money wise. FlexCoat gets old in the bottles. You can mix till the cows come home, exact proportions, apply and reapply, and it still won’t set up. Gunna give the diamondite a whirl! (much easier to find when you add the words rod finish! ; ) )
Trouts don’t live in ugly places
I discovered that issue with Flex Coat as well, talked to them and learned that if you warm each part prior to mixing, it will eliminate the problem, and yes it works, but I am much happier with the Diamondinte
I have not tried it, but so far, if dleo6446 says something, you can take it to the bank. Tksonce again for the straight info. 
“How long does it take to learn fly-fishing?
No one knows.”
Grand poo-bah
Sorry to revive an old post and will try not to bore anyone with details, but back in May, this subject came up and I had recommended a product called Diamondite Rod Finish and just wanted to share my own observations about this product.
Mostly I build bamboo, but still enjoy building both fiberglass and graphites and when I do build “plastic”, I use basically the same rod finishing process everyone else does. Back in May, I stumbled across a product called Diamondite and shared with everyone my feelings about that product at that time. Since then, I have discovered that this is still a very good product but somwhat “temperamental” as it appears to be more sensative to temperature change than does Flex Coat, a and has some peculiarities to it that are not necessarily enjoyable. While I would agree that much of it may be “operator error”, I tend to believe that it isn’t in the mixing, as I am somewhat anal about ensuring that the mixes are correct, and that the application of the product is correct. I will continue to use the Diamondite but will be communication with Swifty Manufacturing about the issues I have encountered, and will find out if it is something I am doing wrong in the preparation, in room temperature, etc.
I guess the bottom line is that I won’t be completely swayed from the Flex Coat until I have a 100% satisfaction degree with the Diamondite as far as the application goes. The final product…it dries fast and is clear and glossy, it is just getting it to that point at a high degree of consistency that leaves me wondering if this is a viable replacement or alternative.
Lesson leaned? Yep for sure, don’t go off talking to the world about a new mousetrap until its been proven that the new mousetrap works better than the old one! there is more to the book than the cover and the introduction!