For the most part wrap finish has not been a problem with rods I’ve done. Now a new thing has cropped up. And I’m not sure what is causing it?
Every so often when I put a finish coat (using flex coat lite) on my wraps , I am getting strange pricks or points in the surface of the finish? What is causing this?? At first I thought it was bubbles, I tried heating , blowing and what ever to get it to go away with no success. My mixing proceedures seem correct and the finish hardens like it should , but I keep winding up with these things that look like a prickly pear in the finish.
Is it contamination? I’ve tried rebrushing while wet to remove this also and all it does is move it to another area. Like I said it doesnt happen all the time , but enough to frustrate the h-ll out of me. I’ve had to let it dry and sand it out and it’s getting old…Any ideas what’s causing this?.. …thanks…Ed
I’ve had a similar problem before. I also use Flex Coat Lite. I think it was fuzz on the thread. I used a razorblade to cut the “prickles” off and recoated it. The second coat always came out smooth, so I don’t think it was the Flex Coat.
It might be Fuzzies, although I always use a lighter to burn off any fuzzies visible. Also it happens on the blank itself where I’ve coated (at the same time) the signature area. This might be occuring as well because fuzzies are being transferred by the brush when appling the finish…Maybe?..Any other thoughts? I am lining up a list of things to check to rid myself of this problem . Like I said it’s new for me, and aggrevating. Nothing worse than doing an excellent wrap job (not to mention all the rest of the work involved) than having to do double time to straighten out a finish problem… First thing I’m going to do is check my thread spools , maybe they are getting old or maybe I have to go to a different brand.
Hello smern, hey, I had that happen once and it was the two part finish that was to blame. Try this, mix some up as you always would and ‘finish’ an area on a clean piece of glass. If you get the ‘bumpies’ you’ll prolly want to get new Flex Coat. I have more info on this if needed but let me know if the problem still exists when you apply your finish to a piece of glass. Hope this helps !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I used to have that problem. What I started doing was to trim all thread very close and burnish with a burnishing tool. I switched to U-40 and when I mix it I put it in the micro wave for 15 seconds to heat it up. Not the hardner just the epoxy. Try that and see if it helps.
Montana…I’ll try that and let you know…thanks
harley… I dont always heat the epoxy…that could be it also
My list of things to do is growing, but That’s Ok!!
That has happened to me. I determined it was from the spool of thread getting contaminated with dust from my work area. I stripped the surface layer of thread off the spool and I could see it was clean underneath. Now I keep all my thread in a zip lock bag in a drawer at my bench.
Montana…the glass thing worked fine clear with no problems.
Greg…I think you might have hit the nail on the head. I am going to check my thread spools.
Thanks…Ed
Ok then…you must have (choose one or more) dirty/dusty/fuzzy thread smern. I used to use a small alcohol fire to take care of that dust and fuzz but I quit doing that for obvious reasons. Once I started putting my spools in sealable bags and such, no more dirt/dust/fuzz. Let us know !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Yupp completly agree with the guys that are saying its the thread. I had this very same thing happen to me about 8 months ago and after eliminating things one at a time I found it was the thread getting contaminated because I use to keep it exposed on the bench in a thread rack.
Now I keep all my thread in one of those stand up plastic storage containers that you can buy at any hardware or Walmart so that the thread spools are protected from anything in the air (cork dust, dust, chemicals). Since I’ve done that I havent had any problems.
Steve
OK , you guys have me convinced. Now for a stupid question. Is there any way to clean the thread spools I have (and I have a bunch). Or are we talking replacements…Ed
Your spools I mean…someone already mentioned stripping off the top layer or so which should get you down to clean thread !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I had a great deal of problems with Flex Coat - bubbles, rough surface, you name it. Someone mentioned it’s the thread. Now I use two coats.
The first coat a mix of Part A, Part B, and denatured Alcohol in equal thirds. This is an extremely thin mix - almost like water. It captures and locks any impurities, dust, etc. down into the thread.
The second coat is a normal mix per instructions. No more headaches - finish is always exactly what I want. 