I built a fly rod for a buddy’s 50th birthday. The party is Saturday.
Everything went fine until I applied finish to the guide wraps. I was using the rod finish epoxy that comes in the little 2-part foil packets where you snip off the end and squeeze out the 2 parts so you have equal amounts. The packets said the second coat could be applied after as little as 6 hours. I waited for about 8 hours. Applied the second coat about 9:00 last night and now, 24 hours later the epoxy is still tacky.
Anything I can do to help it along? I’ve read that one can apply another coat over the tacky coat but, unfortunately I have no more epoxy and no way to get more before the party on Saturday. Am I just being too impatient and just need to wait? As I said, using these packets of rod finish it shouldn’t have been a problem with unequal amounts of the 2 parts and I’m sure I mixed well.
I’ve built a few rods over the years (often using the same foil packets of finish) and never had this problem before.
It has been quite humid here the last few days. Can that slow down the curing process? Is there anything I can do to help it along or do I just have to tell my buddy that I meant to give him the rod but now have to re-do it?
I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks.
Those packets are the worst culprits for getting unequal amounts from, they are notorious for that. Best thing to do would be to recoat it with a thin coat of equal mix epoxy, but since you do not have anymore then you don’t have many options. If you can put it in a small room and bump the heat up in that room then that will help cut down the time a bit.
Royce, I hate to say it but you will need to wait. The most common reason for this is that you did not mix it well enough with unequal parts being second but not as common. Most of the thread finishes have some tolerance for unequal amounts but they must be thoroughly mixed. You can do another coat over what you have and that will fix it.
If you want to present it and fix it afterwards, clean up the sticky epoxy with liberal amounts of rubbing alcohol. This will take it down to the first coat you applied.
I don’t think you would ever get a smooth and decent finish with it. Also I do not think the results would be satisfactory to you in the least. If it worked people would be using it a lot. It just wont flow and level to give a decent look. Hardware store epoxy is designed to be a bonding agent between 2 surfaces, not as a stand alone coating