Recoating old wraps

[chris_macca]

G'day all, I am getting back into rod repairs/building after about ten years and I am a little rusty. Today I wanted to recoat a set of guides as some had their threads fray a little bit through wear and tear and I didn't want to rebind (back up rods). I wiped down the wraps on the guide with metho then I mixed up the two part 'glass coat' and proceeded to recoat the wraps. What I found was when I would finish one guide and move onto the next that the wet coating would go blotchy (have spots on it where it just wouldn't attach itself to the previous coating) so I would go over it again but sure enough a short time later it wouldn't look smooth and cover the whole thread.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards
Chris

[robfish 1]

Hi Chris...the blotchy finish is due to two incompatible epoxies. What brand are you using? The old one is exuding a waxy substance, preventing adhesion - and you'll need to either completely strip the rod, (Aargh!), or lightly sand the old epoxy to provide a key for the new solution. Also, make sure you apply the epoxy coat on a very warm day, thus decreasing its viscosity, and improving flow and coverage. I also used to build rods professionally many years ago, and experienced the same problem - particularly patching mass-produced rod bindings. It seems that the epoxy they all use has the same problem. Also, give the metho away - it enhances the wax problem - and stay RIGHT AWAY from acetone - even worse!
Good luck,
Robfish.

[chris_macca]

Thanks mate, I am using a product called glass coat (used for coating wood tops etc) has worked very well for me in the past when coating from scratch. What you say about the wax in the older epoxy is spot on that is exactly what is happening. Appreciate your feedback.

[robfish 1]

I've also used glass coat now for a number of years - it seems to have better UV inhibitors as well as a good degree of flex. When professionally building, I'd only use flexcoat, as it had a great cure rate and flex - I found other brands became brittle way too quickly - cracking and allowing moisture ingress.
Enjoy the work - a good finish is a work of art!
Cheers,
Robfish.

[BARICK]

You could try sanding the finish until it's nice and smooth.
Then recoat, but use something like Bullards D2 or Threadmaster.

[Rodman]

Mate I normally pick the old epoxy off before recoating the original bindings

Ken