fell prey to the tacky flexcoat gremlin

Equipment Rod Building: Cane and Graphite
1

This is my first rod so I had read all the problems with flexcoat high build but I thought “oh well it came with the kit”.
I thought I mixed it so carefully, too. Sixty nine degrees inside yesterday and the epoxy stored near the heat register. What does it take to avoid this? Now I have to coat over it and I didn’t want thick wraps. Now I have the bottles and mixing pot under a lamp before I mix it.
Wish me luck. Next time: gudebrod?

Greg

2

Wow what a difference. With the epoxy warmed up and using a paddle instead of a stick for mixing, it went clear almost immediately but I kept mixing, of course. I added two drops of acetone to thin it a bit, which didn’t seem to do anything. I barely had time to do three snake guides and a ferrule wrap before it started stiffening up on me.
The paddle (a plastic knife) entrapped alot of air bubbles. I think I’ll use a 1/4" rod next time. Although it felt just warm, I might have heated the epoxy too much. I would like to have more working time.

Greg

3

Another one on the list of flex coat failureies.
Here’s my secrets , I learned from others as we all have had similar problems.
I take the 2 bottles and heat them in a pot of water or under the tap until relativley warm. I use a measure cup and mix the 2 parts exactly adding a couple drops of acetone. Exactly, I cant stress that enough!! Then after totaly mixed and clear, I pour it into an aluminum foil covered shallow dish.(this helps diapate and bubbles left)and slows down the curing time. Lite formula or high build …I do the same for both. Flex coat is a pain in the butt, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be fine.
As for applying another coat over what you have I recommend against it. You may have to remove it with acetone and have to re-wrap, otherwise you’ll wind up with “Fat wraps”.

4

I used the syringes, three cc’s each. I forgot about the foil pan, that would have helped with the bubbles and pot life.
Thanks for the tips and reminder.

Greg

5

I would like to add…for all of you folks having Flexcoat problems, if you get the chance, visit the achives at [url=http://www.rodbuilding.org.:c6101]www.rodbuilding.org.[/url:c6101] Tom Kirkman did an article in Rodmaker magazine explaining the best advice for mixing epoxy. Mixing properly is the key! No acetone thinning required. Follow that advice and your problems should diminish. I do not mean to offend anyone here, for I had my share of problems when I first started. Getting educated by that article put an end to all of them many years ago. I have only used FlexCoat, both brands, with good results each time since learning the proper mixing methods.

6

I went over the tacky finish on the guide wraps with flexcoat and it is still tacky. I went over the tacky finish on the butt wraps and it worked out. The difference is I applied the finish to the guide wraps from the mixing pot but on the butt section I poured the finish out flat onto foil. Lesson learned. I will have to strip off the guides and start again.

Greg

7

Greg; rather than strip the guides, just do the same thing you did with you butt wrap. Apply a light coat over the guide wraps and you should be fine. Remember, always pour the epoxy onto foil to insure you are using properly mixed material.

8

Another “trick” I learned from Flex coat is to either use a small flame souce very close to the mixture or to exhale onto the mixture and the Carbon dioxide will help to dissipate the air bubbles as well.

9

Yes I did exhale over it after I poured it onto the foil and it works! I didn’t realize it had anything to do with carbon dioxide. I stripped the mess of epoxy and thread off the guides on the goofed up section. It was easy to do, thankfully, and I will avoid “fat wraps”.
Thanks to everyone for the good advice.

Greg

10

Flex coat is my finish of choice and I do the same exact thing every time, it’s about routine.

I use the 3cc syringes and mix 2.5ccs of each part in a small foil “bowl” that i make out a piece of foil. I mix slowly and carefully with a wooden popsicle stick.

I then pour the finish onto a piece of flat foil and let it stand for about a minute. Then I exhale onto it and watch the bubbles disappear.

I apply a soaking coat onto the wraps using a cheap throwaway nylon brush. Then I use an alcohol burner to lightly heat the wraps and remove as much excess finish as possible with a different clean brush.

This works for me everytime. Once the first coat is dry, usually about 18 hours, I trim off any thread bumps with a double edge razor and do a second coat exactly like the first. Apply third coat after that if needed.

Works for me with both regular and lite. If you need more working time, run the alcohol burner under the foil a few passes and it will thin the finish a little longer. I can do a 4pc 9ft rod with one batch of flex coat regular or lite.

Hope this helps.

Lou

11

While we’re on the topic of mixing Flexcoat and the different methods folks are using, here is mine.

  1. I always measure 3cc ea of hardner + resin using the colour coded syringes for no matter what I am doing.
  2. Put into a small graduated plastic measuring cup recommended for this use.
  3. Mix it very well using a metal spatula (a Gudebrod product). Anything wooden creates bubbles.
  4. While mixing, I take care to scrape around the surface of the plastic cup and scrape off the spatula, then continue mixing. This ensures that the entire combination is well mixed and there is no trace of any one componemt left unmixed either on the spatula nor cup surfaces.
  5. Pour into a small aluminum foil tart tray and let it stand for a minute or two while I get the rod rotating on the drier unit of my rod lathe.
  6. I prefer to apply the finish to the rod using a good quality red Sable hair brush, starting at the tip top and working back towards the handle assembly.
  7. I do all the guide wraps first.
  8. The hookkeeper wraps are done last or if I have done a butt wrap or other fancy thing at the handle area, I save that for the next day to complete.
  9. Once the guides are done, if needed, I use a Methyl Hydrate Bubble Burster (great item) to burst any bubbles that may appear in the finish, by giving them a short flame blast with the bubble burster. Occasionally a bubble might appear at the base of the guide foot and a flame blast breaks it immediately.
  10. Dispose of the plastic cup ($.01) and the foil tart tray ($.02), clean the spatula and brush well with rubbing alcohol and I’m good to go.
    This is the method I have been using for all standard rods and all repairs that I do. If working with longer rods with many guides like a 13’ float rod (Steelhead), I will warm the bottles of flexcoat in a container of hot water. This helps to thin both parts a bit before I measure them and prolongs the working time slightly to allow me enough time to do all the guides at one time. This method has worked well for me for many years now using both brands of Flexcoat and with good results. Disposing of the items used is not a great loss and insures that nothing in my shop is contaminated for the future. It was good to hear what other folks are doing and interesting to know what works for them. Over the years, I have learned thru trial and error, that the key to working with epoxy is cleanliness, proper mixing and patience. Without those it just doesn’t work for me. Good finishes folks!