I had applied my last coat of epoxy and when I was done I wsas going to put the syringes away and noticed that there was still some left in one of the syringe's, that was about 11 last night, and when I checked this morning, it was still tacky, what do I do, Wait, or just put anpther coat over that?

I'd give it 24 hours before putting another coat on.

Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Thanks for the advice, Todd, I was heading towards the same answer, right now its just sticky, not real badly sticky, so I think it will be ok.

Lorenzo,
A question or two.

I assume that you are speaking of finishing epoxy that is used to coat the guide wraps after wrapping?

I also assume that this epoxy is a 2-part epoxy - i.e. part A and part B.

I further assume that you are using two "different" syringes to measure your part A and your part B epoxy.

Then, finally, I am assuming that after extracting part A or part B epoxy from the appropriate container with the appropriate syringe, that you then push the epoxy out of the syringe onto a mixing surface or mixing cup for mixing and eventual applicaion.

Having said that - and that is what most folks do - the epoxy resin that is in one syring and or the epoxy hardner that is in the other syringe, should really never harden.


So, if you are checking for tacky finish in the syringe itself - this is perfectly normal and should always remain tacky.

If, on the other hand, you are checking for finish curing on your mixing surface, or in your mixing cup, the finish should be essentially cured in 4-12 hours depending on temperature, brand of finish and a couple of other factors.

Whenever I mix a batch of epoxy and apply it to a rod, or rods, I will leave the remaining epoxy in the mixing cup at the end of the rod or rods. Then, when I check for finish cure, I check the epoxy for cure - in the mixing cup. I never touch a rod that has had finish applied, until I am absolutely positive that I have a good cure on the epoxy that has been left in the mixing cup. If you have the misadventure to touch a guide wrap that has had epoxy finish applied but is still not quite cured, this is an excellent way to leave your finger prints in the guide wrap. Most rod owners would rather not see finger prints in the guide wrap.

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If you are checking in the mixing cup and find that the epoxy has not set up after 8-12 hours, there may be a couple of issues.
1. You may be checking in the mixing cup, where a portion of the part A or part B - caught on the side of the cup and did not mix with the other component. You realy shouldn't have this, but if you aren't dilligent about scraping the sides of the mixing cup, it can happen.
2. You may have NOT mixed part A and part B together. You may have accidentaly used all part A or all part B, or you may have grossly mismeasured the amount of one or the other parts of the finish.
3. You don't indicate the temperature of the room where the epoxy is curing. If the room is very cold, it may take a much longer time for the finish to cure. i.e. heat accelerates the cure rate of the epoxy, and cold slows down the cure rate of the epoxy.

If you are finding that the epoxy is just slightly tacky, you may have a small problem, that will eventually work itself out with a bit more cure time and or increasing the temperature of the area where the epoxy is curing.

If, after several days, you still have a slight tack to the finish, you should then be very careful about mixing up a new carefully measured batch of epoxy finish and apply an additional coat. This will generally take care of any issues, of only a slight tack to the previous finish. If, on the other hand, the finish has not hardened at all, you likely have a much larger problem, and it is probably in your best interest to cut off the guides, wipe down the blank with solvent, and rewrap and recoat the guides correctly.
Otherwise, you will never have a properly finished rod. i.e. if you try to overcoat a finish that is essentially not cured, you will end up with a bad rod.

Good luck
Roger

Roger, the thing is, the epoxy that is in the cup is still wet and sticky and the epoxy on the wrap, well it looks like it is not as wet and tacky looking, i might be wrong on the look of the wrap, i don't want to touch the wrap, the best thing i can do i think is to wait.

I believe what Lorenzo is saying, is that he didn't empty one of the syringes all the way when mixing the epoxy, so he has a mix that is not 1 to 1 for the two parts. If the variance is slight, it may harden enough, if the variance is great it may not.

I just checked the epoxy it is finally starting to harden, it;s been like 17 hours, but I am sure glad it is hardening, Thank you all for your feed back. Happy Holidays!

With most rod finishing epoxies.If the mixture is wrong, this is what can happen, too much hardener the mix will do 2 things stay soft or tacky, it will never cure. Too much resin the mixture well flash off faster and the mix will cure to fast, this can cause a hard brittle finish. In lorenzo case, tomorrow I would add a new thin coat over the tacky coat, Making sure my measurements were correct, that I mixed the correct time (generally 3 minutes), spread it out on foil. Check the temperature for the correct working heat. An give it a new thin coat. This should cure the problem. Some not all epoxies will haze if the humidity is high

Good Wraps Bob

I have had perfect finish on the wraps and a day later the mixing cup is still sticky. Don't worry about the mixing cup. Give the wraps a couple days and stick your finger to check.
If it's still a bit tacky and you get fingerprints just add another thin coat. I've had sags dry, a fly in my finish, etc. Just cut it out or sand it down and add another coat. Another thin coat fixes many mistakes!

In addition to Todds comments, if you decide to check for a cured finish on a freshly coated rod and aren't quite sure if the rod will be cured - don't use the front of your finger to check for tackiness.

Rather, use the back of your finger, or your finger nail. That way, you can still tell if the finish is cured, but if it is a bit tacky, you might leave a very slight dent in the finish with your finger nail, but you won't leave finger prints.

Take care
Roger