For those of you who use Hard As Nails as a head cement for standard dry, nymph, and soft hackle trout flies, when you go to the store and get a new supply do you thin it right away or is the thickness of it OK as is? And, if you do thin it immediately, how much?
Joe
Joe,
I always have two bottles on hand. One is thinned and used for a one or two coat finish on most of the flys I tie. The unthinned bottle is used for the second (or sometimes third) coat on larger fly heads such as salmon, steelhead or saltwater patterns. Depends on how glossy I want the finished product to be. I also trim some of the fibers from the brush in the thinned out bottle. By thinned, I mean about 1/3rd Acetone to 2/3rds nail polish.
I also trim the brush fibers on Hard as Nails to use on smaller flies when I feel the need for a head cement, which is not often since I learned how to use the whip finish tool. Two 4-5 wrap whip finishes are almost foolproof, as the fish usually tear up the fly before the head can start to unravel. Still, it’s a great tip for the new tyer.
Also, the single most important thing I’ve learned over the years is to leave sufficient room to actually tie a head. I think it’s a common fault of new tyers (at least it was for me) to crowd the head, and then I found myself tying a head that actually was creeping down the eye. The epiphany came when I was fishing and could not get the tippet into the hook eye (Duh!), then I started paying closer attention. I never stop learning new ways to be a better tyer, thanks to other tyers.
Joe
I found that the “Sally Hanson Hard as Nails” is thicker in consistence, then the “Sally Hanson Hard as Nails - with Teflon”. I use both! Regular “Sally Hanson” for finish coating of the head surface, the “Teflon - Sally Hanson” for soaking between the threads.