Hi Guys,

Last night before I went to bed I gave the butt section of the rod I have been building a last coat of flex coat. The only section I applied it to was the bit in front of the handle covering the fly keeper whippings and the logo transfer thing.

Unfortunatley!!!! , some time before me leaving the rod to go to bed and the morning the rod has fallen off the dryer and the epoxied section has stuck to the newspaper I had placed underneath. The rod had obviously fallen off fairly quickly as the epoxy where it has fallen and then touched the paper is now nice and flat. It is a mess and somehow need to be removed and re-done.

What is the best way to know sort this out. Should I cut the epoxy back or should I sand it down and then re-epoxy.

Any tips would be much appreciated as the blank is fairly expensive and i don't want balls it up any further.

Thanks

Steve

__________________

Steve,
Pretty sure you can sand the epoxy down and re-coat with no problems using a fine grade paper. Make sure you clean up the sanded area well with denatured alcohol before re coating.
Are you using a rod turner or hand turning the section to prevent sagging?
TC

__________________
Used to be an angry young man, now I'm an angry old man.

You can bomb people into pieces but you cant bomb them into peace.

Hi Steve

Well we've all suffered something like this from time to time.

Personally I would simply strip that whole section down up to the winding check. I do it by using an exacto type knife and very carefully shaving the epoxy off in strips. A bit like whittling a stick with a knife. Pro's of this are that its quick and when you re-do the section it will be as good as you chose to make it. You will be left with quite an attractive area where the carbon will show through the new flex coat. Cons are that you will lose the transfer, probably also the paint on the blank and you have to be very carefull not to lift any carbon fibers with the knife.

The other option is to sand it as you say. Here I would let the epoxy harden fully for a few days. Trying to sand it whilst still soft will just make a mess. Again here you have to be very carefull that you dont go through to the paint or the decal label and only remove the messy bits.

If you sand, really make sure that you get all the dust off before new coating. Keep dabbing it with tape to get them out.

Hope that helps. Maybe someone else has another method but those are the 2 ways I usually go.

__________________
Steve Parkes

www.atomsix.co.uk

info@atomsix.co.uk

Terenzio silk fly lines

Atomsix furled leaders

previously
www.zenithflyrods.co.uk

Hi Guys, Thanks for the info, i'll let you know how I get on...

Oh yes and I was using a rotary dryer, the blank just fell off!!!

__________________

Next time you do a rod, put a safety wrap of masking tape round the rod shaft and over on to the chuck. If you get into the habit of doing that you can relax knowing it won't fall of if any vibration loosens the chuck.

I also have our driers on a timer. Just a regular 13 amp household timer. Set it for a period of time relative to the temperature that your coating sets firm at, and have it cut off at that. 5 hours at 25c (77f) for example with regular Flex Coat. You can set up your drying heater in the same way on a timer set at an hour or two after the dryer motor stops..

David.

__________________
David Norwich Rod Maker. Custom made Fly Rods.

Carbon Fibre Rod Repairs.. Favourite Fly Rods new or old, renovated or repaired.

Rod Building Supplies Fly Rod Blanks, Guides, Threads, Flex Coat.

The David Norwich YouTube Channel