head cements, never knew there was THIS MANY

Fly Patterns
1

http://www.drlogik.com/headcement.html
I am always interested in products that make a shiny fly head. I have a good method, but it takes a long time, if I paint heads on
a fly. I guess the Wet Heads article my Mike Schmidt made me want to explore a little more. I came across this article, and just had to share. I have been tempted to buy a quart of varnish, now after this article I am not sure. It is like being a kid in a candy store with so many choices. I usually use Sally’s, and I top that off with Loon’s Hard Head. (thinned) Take a look, and give pros and cons if you wish of your head cements. I am interested in a head cement that soaks in slightly, but has extreme durability and shine. (wow factor :wink: )

2

Neat article, just skimming it I was wowed by the amount of cements. I’ve pretty much settled on a home made type by mixing shoe goo and Toluene. I make it very thin indeed and it soaks in the fibers and gives me that mutted look of an insect. If I want flash I will add a bead of some type. Some times, I have thought of a shiny type head. I do have some Salley Hanson’s product but rarely use it. This topic can be worse than talking about different threads. Find something that works for you and then just go with the flow.

I don’t have much patience so I wouldn’t want a product that takes a long time to dry or that I had to spend more time coating the head with multiple applications of whatever than the time that I spent actually dressing the fly. If I tied for show, or presentation type salmon flies, I’m sure that I would have a completely different point of view. Good luck finding the perfect head cement for you.

Rick

3

I started out using the Wapsi bottled stuff (not the handy metal tube applicator, just a jar) when I started tying. After 2 bottle dried into clear, bottle-shaped rocks before I’d even used half of the cement, I quit buying it, deciding to just apply 2 whip-finishes instead.

I use Sally Hansen’s, but more as a gloss coating than a true cement. The small bottle I have of that is also quite thick at this point, though I’ve certainly gotten my use out of it and will certainly buy another bottle when this one becomes unusable. It takes a little time to dry, but I’ll just hit a fly head with a coat and hang it up, then, after I finish another fly, I check to see it its dry, and apply another coat, then tie another…until the first fly has an acceptable number of coats. In the end, I will have to wait a bit for the coats on the last few flies to dry, but to fill the time, I’ll just tie a few of another pattern.

I use zap-a-gap for parts that need to be structurally tough, not just unravel-proof, like at the base of wings, or a parachute post…or to reinforce the tie-in for a trailer hook.

I’m now looking into the black lacquer like in the article, now that I’ve started tying classic wet flies and streamers.

Overall, though, 90% of my “fishing flies” don’t get glued. To use a variant of a reason in the linked article, it’s an extra step, AND it isn’t necessary for my flies. I’ve never lost a fly because of unravelling due to lack of glue. Most flies end up in trees or hooked to rocks long before the integrity of the tie comes into play. Even then, fish teeth shred the more delicate parts of my flies long before the double whip-finish comes undone.

4

I’m pretty much with Clay…word for word…

and Cold…add a little acetone to your Sally’s and pick the thickness you want…

5

I use Rumph head cement most of the time. I like it. If it starts getting a little thick, I’ll just add a touch of Acetone to get it back to the desired level. I also use Sally Hansen’s HAN. Like it too.

6

What a great little article. Thanks for the link.

7

I do some woodturning and have used DEFT Clear Gloss Wood Finish for years. It is a readily available lacquer, and is what I have used as my head cement for about 15 years now. It can be thinned to water-thin consistency with lacquer thinner, and will penetrate through the thread to the hook. One-stop shopping kills two birds with one stone for me. The only downside to it is that the smallest container is one quart. However, at about $13.00 a quart, it sure beats the price of a one-once bottle of Dave’s Flexament, etc.