Now I'm reading my new copy of RodMaker and there is an article on how to prepare surfaces in order to get them ready for applying adhesive. For years and years I have sanded or roughened and then cleaned with solvent. This is also the advice you see on every rod building message board on the world wide web.

Now this article says that is all wrong. That you are supposed to clean the area FIRST with your solvent and THEN sand or lightly roughen the area to be glued. Then you apply the glue with no further cleaning. Don't mean to contradict what is always an informative publication but this just sounds backwards. I've never heard of this sequence from anybody in the rod building business. Ideas? Misprint? Somebody?

The article is correct. If you sand first, you will grind any oil or other contaminates into the surface, this is futher componded by cleaning with a solvent - which dilutes the contaminates, thus allowing them to penetrate the into surface. Additionally some solvents leave a film, which is detrimental to bonding.

Cleaning the surface first, followed by sanding - removes most of the contaminates and provides a near virgin clean surface for bonding.

I went back and read the sidebar with the article and that's pretty much what it said. Okay, I'll do it that way from now on. But I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut there's not 1 rod builder in 100 that do it this way.

It's not a misprint - that's the proper way to do it. @#$%& has followed with the exact reasons why this particular sequence is better than the way most of us would assume to be correct.

In a future issue, Ralph O'Quinn is going to do a more involved article than mine on the same topic. It will delve deeper into the how and why, along with the testing that has been done over the years which proves the best way to prepare surfaces for bonding.

The one thing I am most proud of concerning RodMaker, is that we are now able to present rod builders with valid technical information which heretofore was just not available to them within the realm of the rod building craft. What they choose to do with that information is up to them of course, but at least it's out there now.

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Tom ,

I understand the reasons for cleaning first then scuffing up with scotch brite and not using solvent after scuffing but, the not dusting/wiping is perplexing me like the others.

I can see not wiping after the scotch brite if the particals that are left on the blank are a few microns to a couple of thousanths big .

Every time I use a scotch brite pad I seem to leave strands off the pad aprox 1/8-1/4 inch in length ! I can,t see this material as being fine enough to be considered fill on the blank . (Ive been using the softer blue polyester scotch brite pads I cant find Grey pads)

I always have to dust /wipe. any insight will be helpfull.

Thanks Much "John"

I understand that what Tom is saying is for the most optimum bond surface, but you know that wiping or dusting off the surface isn't going to completely ruin the bond either. Most of us do it that way and it works well enough that we don't have rods falling apart. I also understand from my reading that you don't really have to work over the surface, just lightly abrade it, so there really shouldn't be much in the way of dust or fibers left behind. To be honest though, not wiping that sucker down after I have used the scotchbrite on it will be a hard habit to break. Then again, if I do I wouldn't think it would ruin my bond. It never has.

What I did get from the article is that I must clean the surfaces first before I abrade them. I'll certainly do that as it makes very good sense as it has been explained here.

Rodbuilders,
I recently had a question for the Guru of epoxy/finish; Ralph O' Quinn. It was in reference to bonds made with epoxy. He supplied me with an understanding unlike any I have found. If interested in his response, e-mail me and I will forward to you.

Pat Barnard
Pat's Custom Rods