Starting off

[pommy]

Thanks again BenatCoffs.

The rods that I look at from the Bait shops seem to have quite a thick layer of epoxy over the bindings. Is this deceptive or is it generally the case with the cheaper rods?

Am I correct in thinking that in warm, humid weather the epoxy takes longer to set?

Thanks again, Rob.

[BenatCoffs]

you will end up with a thick glossy coating once you have done 2 layers. You can do the coat in a single layer but it is harder to keep it level and deal with air bubbles. Many many rods are built with a single epoxy layer though.

Yeah, warm n humid = slow.

[pommy]

First layer done and turning.

Rain outside, kids watching DVDs, time to paint some jewie lures!

Rob.

[Mark Fisher]

Hi Rob, As this is my first post on this site I don't want to come across like I know it all, which I obviously don't, but the purpose of the CP is to encapsulate the thread, stick it to the blank and finally to help get rid of air trapped in the thread. The added advantage is that once regular thread is CP'd and has dried, it retains its original colour. If you don't use the CP it will go transluscent. Depending on what you are doing, this can be the desired effect. Personally, get away from that smelly Speed CP and try something like Erskines, U40, Flex coat, Gudebrod or similar. IMO they are way better to use. The CP doesn't fill gaps in thread bindings unless you know how to roll the threads as the CP is drying.

Regards
Mark

[pommy]

Thanks for that!

That's just what I found. The speed filler was easy to use but left some small gaps between threads, even after 3 coats. Will move on to the erskine stuff next time.

Thanks, Rob.

[pommy]

Going quietly mad!

The rod roller is set up across the kitchen units and over the sink. It's the only place (not inhabited by bored children who destroy rod rollers) that is flat enough and long enough.

The thing is still rolling and after six hours the epoxy has still not set! Mixed it exactly 50/50. Warm and very humid conditions.

Washing up piling up and a meal to cook. Somebody is going to have a sense of humour failure as well as me!

And I've got to do it all again tomorrow!

Rob.

[pommy]

The epoxy was applied at 11-15 am this morning! It has still not hardened!

Do I have a problem? I mixed the epoxy and hardener 50/50 and did not apply too thick a coat.

Any ideas?

With trepidation, Rob.
Ballina.

[roz]

What happened to it Roz?

Rob, if you are using the speed nasty smelling stuff then you won't have any cloudiness from the cp on your black threads. 8ml of epoxy would do a 12' rod. Do a thin coat leave it a day to harden and then do a second coat.

Hi Ben,

The thread in question, Speed A metalic blue, was used on an 8 axis scale pattern, which for me is a biggie.

I graduate the colours from dark to light to hopefully achieve a 3D effect. On this occasion I blended the metalic blue in with the black just to lift it a little, the lightest colours in the wrap, were a soft tan/cream colour. Anyway the blue from the metalic turned the lighter threads blue as well, fortunately it didn't look to bad, so I didn't have to re-do the work....... PHew!!!!

I must add all the other threads in the wrap were NCP gudebrod. I still use Speed thread, as some of their colours are great, but must ALWAYS remember to use preserver with their stuff.

I also had one of their blue threads fade to an awful looking grey after one season, that tells me some of their colours are not UV stable....another good reason to use preserver! I believe this has happened to others also.

Ben, you might be lucky not to strike a bad batch, but if you put in 15 hours on a wrap it's not worth the risk imo.

cheers roz.

[nigelr]

Mate, personally I'd hold off the 2nd coat until the weather improves.
I've got a 3 piece braidbuster ready to roll and epoxy.
I won't touch it 'till the sun returns.
Your first coat may take days to totally harden if this rain continues.
The last rod I finished (Snyder MT 9144 coincidently) was about 3-4 weeks ago, the last coat was applied in conditions very much like these. It was after at least 3 full days of sunshine that the epoxy fully hardened.
It ended up ok, just took a lot longer to set.
Best of luck Rob.

[roz]

What ever takes your fancy matey.
No fixed rules amd your not going to get shot if you make it 2 or 4 inches.
I reckon they look nice with about 3/4 inch of black and then a trim band of silver (about 6 turns).

Pommy,

A word of caution DONT LET SCOTTY ANY WHERE NEAR YOUR CROSS WRAP!!!

I've seen the damage he can do if left to his own devices.... he is one of the nices blokes & I love him to bits..... BUT!!!!

As for resin application IMO less is more, in other words, I feel four or five thin coats is better than two or so thick ones.

I may have missed it some where in this thread, but what epoxy are you using??? The only reason I'm asking is because when I use Erskines I find it some how traps air bubbles a lot easier than brands like flex coat, which I much prefer to the other brands.

Adding heat with my hair dryer helped that problem and also smoothed out a few imperfections (fault of the user not the product), You can flame the epoxy, and Scotty will be able to show you how that's done...just don't let him touch your binding!!!!

cheers roz

[pommy]

Big sigh of relief!

I don't know what type of epoxy as Scott very kindly gave it to me in specimen containers (semen samples for the storing of!)

Will keep the roller going and will let the washing up pile up. Will eat dry rations only, until it sets.

Have learned a number of lessons so far on this first rod build. The latest, apart from the epoxy business, being to use a better quality filler than the smelly speed filler.

Unfortunately, a 12ft rod, slowly spinning, in the middle of the kitchen is not gaining me any browny points! Oh well!

Regards, Rob.

[sid_fishes]

pommy ,mate scott,s stuff should have started to harden up by now.i did a first coat on a rebuild as late as 5.30 today its now 9.30[give or take ] and i,m turning the lathe off as we speak. by the way scott i have a flame thrower now and what a difference its made.[lesson 1 dont hold to close to plastic cup as hot flexcoat burns] he means well our scott cheers ian

[pommy]

Any ideas then? Is the 50/50 mix correct? I also mixed the epoxy and hardener slowly for 2 minutes so it should be well integrated.

I'm going to leave the roller running overnight and will see what happens by the morning.

Thanks, Rob.

[Mark Fisher]

Rob, Don't worry that the epoxy is still tacky. Mix up another batch and put it straight over the first. You will find that it is the humid weather causing you a few problems but once it finishes the epoxy should set up without any problems. I'm lucky because the climate out here is nearly always dry with very little humidity. You shouldn't have to have the rod turning for more than 2-3 hours. I use Threadmaster epoxy and my rods turn for 2 hours and are ready to recoat in 4. Whatever you do, don't touch your wraps to test if it is dry or not. You'll leave fingerprints in the epoxy. Touch test the container in which you mixed your epoxy. This will give you a good idea. Flaming also helps get rid of small bubbles.

Regards
Mark

[roz]

Don't worry Pommy, I put coat #3 on a rod yesterday and it's still sticky in patches.

That's something I would expect with all the rain we are having down here at the moment.... I really should put off doing the resin in wet weather, asking for trouble.