Sorry, gotta vent...

Envirotek light,
sys 3mirror coat,
sys 3 clear coat.

Anyone got any other suggestions that aint gonna kill me that I can put on in the basement?

I used etek and mirror coat last winter with pretty good success. But any plugs that had thicker coats of etek are now yellowed, and I could not get more than 6 done before it started setting up and going on too thick. Mirror coat went on nice but I had some durability issues with the mirror coat, but maybe that is something I could work the kinks out of in my finishing process if I went that route again. I also noticed some of my mirror coat plugs have cracks in the epoxy, and I don't think they were cracked when i put my gear away in the fall?

Clear coat just has me dumbfounded. I got it last week and I've tried it 3 times. I can't get a good finish with it. It doesn't flow well and its tough to remove the brush strokes. I've tried heating it, heating the plugs, all kinds of things.. I get it on good, flip em a few times and 1/2 an hour later it looks like it pulls back in little spots. And this is over a scuffed clearcoat and the plugs are clean.

It could be pulling back due to an incompatability between the surface tension of the paint and the clear coat, it happened to me once and that's how the engineer guy at the paint co. explained it. FYI, it was Envirotex over Lumiere light body acrylic metallics.

A coat of Modern Options brand waterproof sealer (glorified name for some formulation of polyurathane) as a scratch coat before the Envirotex solved the problem.

To get the finish to run smooth and to remove the bubbles I put it on the spinner, hit it with a hairdryer gently blowing through the back. Hot Co2 works like a charm, just make sure to blow out the inside of the dryer with some compressed air every now and then to avoid sticking small clumps of dust in the finish.

I've always battled with epoxy.. my basement is to cool to apply epoxy .. I epoxy them with mirror coat on the kitchen table.. I get set up with the plugs upstairs and my epoxy (unmixed) on the table.. crank the heat in the house about 74 ,,plus I put a space heater on the table..not blowing on the plugs but bouncing of the wall .. then i go away for about an hour... Plugs are not hot,, but the room is toasty.. Its been flowing and kicking pretty good so far .. I only do 6 plugs at a time ,, small batches .. I wear a powderless glove on one hand during and after paint so my oily fingers never touch the plug prior to epoxy ..I had durabilty issues with etex.. a little knick and i could peel it .. Not mirror coat ,

I never bothered with a scratch coat for the Systems III clear coat. Like Tagger said, the room has to be warm. A spinner helps too. The thing that I found with the Clear Coat is that you really need to mix it well. When doing a batch, I would mix in a small plastic cup for a couple of minutes. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then stir well again. Get everything set up ready to go, then a final mix. Can do up 12 plugs at a time with this stuff. The key seemed to be mixing it well and doing it in a warm place.

Jigman

I think I'm heading back to the mirror coat. I do want to try the clear coat again without the scratch coat, maybe that will make it easier...

thanks guys.

The clear coat is very tempermental temperature wise. If it isn't 70 degrees, with our humidity you will have problems. I use it in the basement but have to crank the heat. The glove is a must too.

mixing thouroughly and climate control are the keys to a great finish imho. i mix for 3-4 minutes(timed) and have a dehumidifier in my epoxy room and get the results i want.

I was going to post this before DJ's post but I will now. I went back to just mirror coating 2 years ago. Since I don't sell my plugs I am not concerned with looking like a commercial plug. I have posted pics of my plugs and the general consensus was that they looked great.

I usually do 2 or 3 coats of clear gloss. One word of caution!!! Use the same brand gloss as the paint you use. I made the mistake once of mixing different brands and the gloss coat crinkled like crumbled aluminum foil .

I think the temp along with the proper mix, are the most important things I mix the e-tex or mirror in a cup inside a cup of hot water. Hit the plug with a hair dryer before applyin to warm it, and spin with two 100 watt flood lamps inside the box.

Unless they are being swapped or made for other people, I generally dont coat my plugs... and if I do I generally only do it on needles and poppers....

:doh: :read: :faga: :kewl:

I don't know if this is just an anomaly, but the smoothest clearest coat of etex that I ever applied to a batch of plugs was also done in the coldest tempurature that I have ever done it. I store it in an unheated garage. I applied it in a cool basement (55 degrees or so). I did not heat/warm it before mixing or applying. I did not do anything different than I usually do, but they came out so smooth and clear.

Not to brag, but i have the most ideal setup for clearcoating with epoxy and also for drying out my plugs that have just been sealed. My glass studio hovers around 90 degrees if i turn off my exhaust fan. when i want to dry out my plugs i slide them underneath or on top of my glass furnace- its easily 150 to 200 degreees where they are drying. cememnt floors so i dont care if epoxy drips..

If anyone is in a pinch, they are welcome to bring down their plugs to dry underneath Bertha... i got plenty of room. when i use minwax wood hardner, i can prime them the same day i seal them :hihi:

I swiched to flex coat rod epoxy last year and had good results.It comes with sringes so mixing the right amount is not a problem. Doesn't yellow, and it's made for outdoor use .

I don't know if this is just an anomaly, but the smoothest clearest coat of etex that I ever applied to a batch of plugs was also done in the coldest tempurature that I have ever done it. I store it in an unheated garage. I applied it in a cool basement (55 degrees or so). I did not heat/warm it before mixing or applying. I did not do anything different than I usually do, but they came out so smooth and clear.

Thats probably because in the winter months there's generally much less humdity.even though there a 100 percent humidty level outside today inside it's only 40 percent.In the summer months I'm lucky to see 55 percent inside. unless ur garage is detached it all gets good an dry which is nice for epoxy.

Not to brag, but i have the most ideal setup for clearcoating with epoxy and also for drying out my plugs that have just been sealed. My glass studio hovers around 90 degrees if i turn off my exhaust fan. when i want to dry out my plugs i slide them underneath or on top of my glass furnace- its easily 150 to 200 degreees where they are drying. cememnt floors so i dont care if epoxy drips..

If anyone is in a pinch, they are welcome to bring down their plugs to dry underneath Bertha... i got plenty of room. when i use minwax wood hardner, i can prime them the same day i seal them :hihi:


Is this like the apex triangle thing.:D

Mixing tip I saw some where ,, works good .. I don't know what you guys mix in .. I use a new plastic drink cup . I cut them, down shorter so they are easier to work out of .. I mix with a platic throw away knife ,. anyways .. This is the tip ,,, after you have think you have mixed real good Pour your epoxy in another cup and mix again..So you know you don't have any unmixed stuff around the edges... Measuring ,, I been using metal baking spoons,, I have 2 sets one for hardner,, one set for resin,, Systems 3 is a 2-1 mix,,unlike etex that is 1-1 mixing .. I'm talking about sys 3 mirror coat,,, using the spoons I noticed the resin is so thick you can acually fill the spoon higher than the edges,,do this twice for 2-1 mix and your mix is way off .. too much resin not enough hardener ,, hello sticky plugs .. I wouldn't go to crazy with the heat unless your coating just one plug .. the stuff will kick faster in the heat .. I think Mac's finish is so nice partly because he has that big old steamy boiler in his basement .. I have fha ,, very dry ..

Good idea on the spoon thing eddie.
Measuring the proper amounts is key.
U have to nail it.
If u think u made a mistake tro it out.
to much either way is no good.

Oh ... forgot to say .. I hate epoxy too .. and as soon I find something better it all goes in the trash with a bunch of F bombs...:realmad:

yes NIB it is the golden apex.. :hihi:

I make my own glass stirring rods too :D

i pour into 2 plastic mouthwash cups and then pour them into a wider coctail type plastic cup. works every time..

One thing I learned from making epoxy flies--don't mix your epoxy with a wooden stirrer and don't mix it in a paper cup or on a piece of paper or cardboard-that can lead to an increase in the yellowing effect.

I always use a metal stirring stick. and a plastic mixing cup.

NIB-the humidity level was definately lower when I epoxied my last batch. I'm sure that had something to do with it. On some of the really humid days we had this past summer,I stuck a dehumidifier next to the drying spinner. It did not seem to make much of a difference at the time.

Im just in the process of making my firsts (njtackle kits) buy I've used epoxies builkding rods & tying flies.

I found the most important thing is get as close to a perfect 50/50 mix as you can. You don't do you might as well start over. I had a rod I made that never dried - it remained tacky - luckily it needed one more coat of epoxy (I finished it like 6 months later it was still tacky).

I noticed the resin is so thick you can acually fill the spoon higher than the edges,,
I found that if you nuke it in the microwave for 20-30 secs, it levels much better.