Someone school me on UV dried epoxy finishes. I bought a bottle of Lisa Pavelka Magic-Glos, meant for making jewelry, at Michael’s Hobby shop, but it does not harden under my Ebay UV flashlight. It will harden if I put it out in the direct sunlight, so I know it works.
My question is: Did I get the wrong epoxy or the wrong flashlight. On my fixed income I can not afford the items sold at the fly shops.
How long did you hold it under the flashlight? Just curious.
Rick
I am no expert but you may have the wrong light. A google search revealed that the company recommends this light http://https://store.lisapavelka.com/UV_Light_s/1874.htm . This is listed as a 9 Watt light and I don’t think the Ebay UV which I may have the same one, is strong enough. You could try new batteries int the UV light and/or trying sunlight.
Good luck,
Mike
Well it may be a moot point now. I really couldn’t remember how long I held the light over the popper I was trying to coat. So I sat at the bench and tried to paint another popper and do some testing. NOPE - it seems that the entire bottle (1 oz.) is as solid as a rock.
You are correct. I never looked into what sized light the manufacturer specified.
So given the light I have, a small hand-held 12 bulb UV flashlight, which UV Resin (I realized in my looking around, it is a resin, not an epoxy) would you both recommend?
After much reading, Youtube watching and talking to the only other fly-tier close to me (if you consider an hour and five minute drive close) I decided to get a bottle of Solar-EZ Bone Dry. My buddy has the same light I do and he says a maximum of 20 seconds for a thin coat is all that is needed. Less than $20 delivered. Worth the slight extra $$ to not worry about it. Thanks for the insight.
I started out using CCG UV resin which is no longer available. I ordered a kit which came with a UV light, not sure what voltage it is. So far it’s worked on all the resins I’ve used CCG, Bug Bond and Loon. I just got a couple of bottle of the Solarez UV resin so I’m curious to see if the light will work with them. One trick with using UV resin on poppers is to rotate them while you shine the light on them, if you have a rotary vise. It will keep bulges from developing even you’re using a thin resin. Here’s a couple of poppers I did with Bug Bond light which is a thin resin. A bit heavier coat over the eyes to keep them in place.
One other thought - I’ve been using Bondic, light pen and UV cure in the same tube. I got it at my local do it all drug store for about $12 or so. It also came with a spare UV resin refill.
Mike
I ordered some SolarEZ from Amazon. I saw the one pictured above at $15 + $3 shipping for 1/2 oz. - so I bought the one listed below. I am hoping it is the same or similar.
It was $18 with free shipping for 4 oz. . I will report back on how it works (or not).
The company also describes their light as "quick setting … (an average time of 5–10 minutes) … ". I’ve not used my UV finishes a lot, but 5–10 minutes seems like a whole lot longer than what mine usually requires
The bottle of resin I bought was meant for making jewelry, not fly-tying. The light they sell is a desk top unit, that plugs into the wall and has a slot in the side where you slide the item into it and let it set. Same idea, but a very different application. I did use the resin successfully, but had to take my poppers outside on the deck rail to set up. I think the total setting time was about 15 minutes, but I never measured it.
Perhaps someone who knows more about the details can chime in, but it is my understanding that UV flashlights shine at specific wavelengths whereas sunlight covers a much broader spectrum (sic.), hence why you get different results. This is true for a lot of the UV curable acrylics, not just the product you tested. The length of the curing time can vary as well, depending on the product, and this one is one of the slowest I’ve heard of yet. Your hand-held UV flashlight probably did not have the proper range to cure the product. If you look around, you can find UV lights with broader ranges, some even like using UV ‘laser pointers’ which are supposedly more powerful (and don’t make a difference as far as my experiments indicate), but probably easier just to find a different product.
As far as Solarez, really wish they had not learned so quickly how easy it is to gouge fly tiers. What they want to for a 1/2 oz. is ridiculous when you realize how cheap their other products are by the pint or quart. They have a thin UV lacquer substitute that looks very interesting and might serve as well as “Bone Dry” and it costs around $35 per PINT. At that price, it does not have to be identical, just close enough. YMMV.
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Matt Grober videos show cure time within seconds. That too is my experience
5 - 10 minutes!!! Mine tuff, either Bondic or Loon sets in about 30 - 45 seconds. The Bondic can be found, at least around here, at the local do it all drugstore.
Mike
I have the bottles from Silver Creek. With the flashlight I got from him it takes about 12 to 15 seconds for the cure. No tackiness.
Rick
So here is what I got:
The instructions on the side says it hardens in 3 minutes in the sunshine (emphasis mine).
I coated an in-process popper and using my Ebay UV light it went from wet to tacky in about 20 to 30 seconds for a thick bodkin applied coat.
Since poppers are the original purpose for which I wanted a UV Cured Resin, I believe this will work just fine. If I had, and may soon have. a better UV source such as the “UV Laser” (a UV Flashlight with a focusing lens) the dry time should be somewhat reduced.
Given the cost difference between the small bottle sold to fly-tiers and this 4 oz. bottle I think it will work just fine.
Perhaps the smaller faster setting bottle would be OK for fly heads since so little is used for that application.
But to get an equivalent amount of the small jar would cost $130 and I spent less than $18.
Me, too, Rick. I think it’s great.
resin from smaller bottles cure the same as the resin in larger bottles
