Rod Finish

[Marky1]

Just looking for the latest on the rod finish(s) that you guys have been using lately.
What's the best stuff out there and what is your recommendation(s)
American Tackle ? ,..Flex-Coat ? etc. ?

[Saltheart]

They all have some things you may like and some you won't. I have used a bunch of different ones and eventually learned to work with them all. Flex coat is the readily available near me. Classic Coat was fool proof. LS 2000 had a nice long pot life , Amtek was cheap if you brought your own refillable container , Aftcoat can do rods and hour apart ,

Now they all had bad points too. Flex coat took me the longest to learn to use , classic coat went crystaline in the epoxy half (maybe my fault for having such a big jar it lasted so long) , LS 2000 was discontinued , can't actually remember much about Amtek , aftcoat takes so long to cure you have to shave twice waiting for the tackiness to disappear.

Pick one and learn to use it , readily available in your area has a lot to say for being a good attribute , cheap is also nice.

[fenwickseaker]

I use Envirotex lite to set foams, reel seats, and finish my rod. $15 for a 16oz kit at Ace hardware is at least half the price of any other epoxy.

As far as it's performance, yellowing is minimal (I live in Florida), bubbles come out easily (I torch the rod anyways), its very durable, I never had any foams or reel seats break, and to top it off it's kind of a medium build with up to 45 minutes of working time for those complex butt wraps.

[astroman]

Fenwickseeker-are you using envirotex to glue eva? do you have to clamp and how are the joints after sanding. Thanks-Bill

[fenwickseaker]

I never glued EVA with it, it something I never got into because I don't have to right tools, however it's a very cheap investment to buy envirotex so try experimenting with it.

[Marky1]

All I wanted was some updated info,..or something about new finishes. I have tried Flex-Coat many times,..had some disasters and some "good" results with it.
Want to try something different,but I thought I would check here first.
I only build one or two rods every couple of years,..So that is why I am asking. Thanks,.....

[tacpayne]

I like thread master finishes myself, both the high build and the lite, high build has a short potlife though

[TKSurf]

I used Threadmaster Lite for the first time on a Surf Rod I built this spring, I had been using Flexcoat up til then. The Threadmaster seemed to penetrate the thread better and so far I have not had any cracking around the guide feet like I always seemed to get using Flexcoat. This is a rod that gets used almost every day. I did have to use three coats with the Threadmaster to get good coverage as opposed to the two I would use with Flexcoat

[makomakoman]

Afcote or threadmaster or combine the 2..

[neki]

i've heard of combining two brands .Is this to achieve characteristics of both?

l like the flexability of aftcoat but would like to shorten dry time as well. Would mixing the two give the results?

[tacpayne]

Originally Posted by neki

i've heard of combining two brands .Is this to achieve characteristics of both?

l like the flexability of aftcoat but would like to shorten dry time as well. Would mixing the two give the results?

Like B40 would say experiment with it and see. I combine TM lite and Regular TM, to get the characteristics I like, SHorter pot life than the lite, much longer than the reg, little better one coat coverage if I need it. basically takes what I like about each and combines them to one product. I use a 50/50 mixture of lite and reg. I have never mixed brands before, mostly because I found what works for me and dont have any reason to switch now.