I epoxied the guides on a rod that I’m building and I have a problem.
I put the guides on with 3 seperate batches of Flex Coat. One batch has failed to harden, it’s three days and still tacky. I know of, and thought that I had taken all the precautions about precise mixing but it’s too late now. Have any of you had this “sticky” problem? Short of removing the epoxied wraps is there anything that I can do?
I tried heating the epoxy with a hair dryer. Didn’t help.
What will happen if I cover the tacky epoxy with another coat?
The only thing that causes tacky finish in my experience is not having an exact 50/50 mix.
I use 3cc syringes. I fill them full regardless of how much finish I need. I check and double check to make sure the measurement is exactly equal…EXACTLY.
I mix in a plastic cup at least 100 strokes. I pour the mixture into an aluminum tart pan then hit the bottom of the pan with a flame…just hit it…to displace bubbles…
I’ve not had a finish failure since I start this practice.
Yep that 50/50 rule is hard and fast . Jerry I like your idea of the syringes for quality control.
Because of the shelf life of epoxy I always buy my glues from a business that has a high turnover of stock. Something the local fly shop sometimes doesn’t have. If there is dust on the package pass it by.
Ive tryed every approach to measure epoxy there is from eyeballing it in the cup, to useing the syringes, but for the last several thousend batches of epoxy Ive mixed, I found the little plastic pumps are the best method. It just doesnt take many redoes to figure out how inexpensive the pumps are. If you have a doubt about them between jobs, one single primer stroke per pump is a small price to pay for never haveing to go back and reepoxy a rod. The primer shots are not in the mixing cup either. They were just shot in the trash can for my own satifaction that the pumps were ready for the count. Equal number of strokes of part ‘A’ and ‘B’. So seldom do I miss a mix any more I seldom bother to prime the pumps any more. If that sounds like a lot of epoxy, its not just rods. A lot of it goes to flys I tye as well as dumb bell eyes. As I like to both paint and epoxy the eyes befor I tye them, often with glitter mixed in the epoxy for effect.
I’ve used syringes, little pill cups and even put plastic tubes into the bottle to extend the tips of the syringes but I’ve never seen a pump. I just checked my Mud Hole catalogue and I don’t see pumps can you please tell me where I can get them, I would like to try them.
I don’t think that I missed the 50/50 mixture proportions as I know it’s critical. I use denatured alcohol to thin the flex coat and I’m wondering if somehow that may have caused the mix to come up tacky. Any thoughts?
Check Flex Coat thats were I get them from. But then most brands of rod finish make them available also. I just happen to deal with Flex Coat and have for a very long time. You may just want to contact them directly, Im sure you will find them to be a very friendly and helpful bunch of folks.
I would just like to add that IMO, the tacky problems you have had are quite likely from thinning the Flexcoat. Many others here will likely argue this point, but under proper conditions Flexcoat does not usually need thinning. If you want a lighter epoxy coating on your rod guides, use Flexcoat Lite formula. I have used this material on hundreds of rods and repairs and found that correct measuring and proper mixing are the keys to successful finishes. Yes the instructions do tell you that it can be thinned if you wish, but this only adds more chances of error with a product which is already very finicky to work with. Perhaps it might be to your advantage to work with the product a few times to get successful results before you jump in to thinning it. Research the www.rodmakermagazine.com web site for a full story on getting best results with Flexcoat. You might be surpised what you read and it may be to your advantage in the future.
I concur with David. I never thin Flex Coat. If I run out of working time I make another batch. BTW, I make small batches of Flex Coat of 3cc without any problems. I just use the syringes and carefully measure both components, then mix with a plastic stick for 2 minutes. I pour it on aluminum foil and blow softly across it with a straw to remove all bubbles. I also use Flex Coat Lite, and get excellent results from it without thinning or altering it in any way.The only thinning I do is with Color Preserver.
