What is the best brand of rod finish ??? I have been using Pro Kote. It takes so long to dry !!! 12 hours later it is still sticky. any suggestions ?? Thanks !!

I'm still very new at this but my builds have increased in complexity and look pretty "professional" to me, especially in terms of the finish. All I have used so far is Hi-build by U-40. I lay it on thick with a soft tip brush. It's not your "100 pack for $5 dollars brush" but it's not a $50 sable hair brush either. It was about $2 or $3 dollars on discount at my local craft store but it really works well with the viscosity of the finish, in my opinion. The finish comes out crystal clear, hard as glass and in my apartment at 73 degrees fahrenheit, it takes about 6 hours to dry to the touch. After 6 hours it's "grippy," not tacky and you can still make an impression with your nail if you really try it. After 6 hours though I would feel comfortable leaving it resting on the power wrapper without spinning.

I love it. It only takes one coat and I have fished it in less than 24 hours with no adverse effects such as dings, impressions, or loss in clarity. If you get decently high enough RPMs, you can get a perfect straight edge taper at the end of the wrap.

It's kind of funny because I thought about switching over to other finishes at first but decided to wait until I ran out. After sticking it out to the end, I can't see a need to change now.

I've heard people say numerous times here before that there is not one brand of finish that is better than any of the others. I guess it all really depends on your style of application. If you like to do multiple coats, maybe a "low-build" is better for you. If you are impatient like me and are comfortable enough to trust the finish will level out, you shouldn't have any problems working with a thicker, faster drying finish like U-40.

I think they all end up in the same place, although they might take you there a little differently.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2014 12:31PM by Carlos Saravia.

If it is "still sticky" after 12 hours, somethings wrong. Either the portions are not correct or the mixing was not thorough enough. After 12 hours, it should be firm, but soft enough to dent, but not sticky.

I do find ProKote to be slower to cure, so I use Threadmaster, both regular and lite.

Make sure it is in a warm room. Give it a full day for any stickiness to subside. If it doesn't disappear in a full day's time, then it might be time to take corrective action. Until then, just wait a bit longer.

.................

I use ProKote a good bit. I let mine dry overnight, around 8 hrs. If I am in a hurry, I will crank the heat up in my finish room. When I do that I can take them off the drier in 4-5 hrs. It is not rock hard in that time, but they are not tacky either.

gary

the warmer the drying area the quicker the finish will set up. i seem to have settled in on threadmaster & threadmaster lite for my go to finish. i have also used u40 ls supreme & ls lite in the past with good results, but it turned dark red on me before i could use it up!

rog

I use flex Coats new UV finish usually sets in 5 hours
I use the high build --- but thin it

Bill - willierods.com

Open a new bottle of ProKote last day.
Stop turning after 3h dry to the touch after 6h.
I've seen some time it need more time to set up.
This time I didn't warm it, but 5 second in the microwave before mixing a full 4 minutes allways work for me.
Seems you need to be very accurate on the 50/50 ratio, I mix small batch so I try to be very precise (othervise it don't set up).

The High build is quicker but too thick for me with shorter pot life, but with some drop of acetone work well.

________________________________________
@+
Eric
[www.emfishing.fr]

Gary,
Just two things.
Make sure your mixing ratios are correct at 1:1.
Make sure that you mix slowly for at least 120 seconds or 2 minutes.

Many finishes either don't cure because of a mix ratio problem or insufficient mixing.

Good luck