Hi All,

I have a problem I am hoping I can get a positive answer to.

I put a "final" coat of epoxy on the butt of a carbon fiber grip I made last night. I wasn't happy with the depth of clear coat so I wanted to add another coat. Because the grip had been sitting for 3 weeks I gave it a light sand with 800 and proceeded to add another coat. Well The darn thing had a couple fish eyes on it this morning. No idea why but it did.

So here is my dilemma. I had planned to drop the rod off to a friends kid tonight with the grips all layed up so he could do the wrapping himself. SO i WASNT THINKING and decided to sand this morning. The epoxy wasn't hard enough and it smeared. Obviously waiting only 10 hours between coating and sanding wasn't long enough.

Can this grip be fixed or do I need to make another one?

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

Chris,
Certainly the grip can be fixed, since you have multiple layers of epoxy.

Wait several days to be sure that the epoxy has really cured.
Then, sand as need with grits as needed until cleaned up. Then, put on a nice even coat of epoxy and you should be good to go. Just be sure that you do not sand through all of the epoxy anywhere or you will have issues.

Be safe

Frankly, I never use epoxy was a top coat on carbon fiber grips, but since that's what you have, you can speed up the cure of the epoxy by keeping the grip in a very warm area.

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

OR - you can wipe the whole thing down with DNA and start again.

Also - 10 hours is plenty of time for epoxy to cure. Something went wrong - like ratios.
Herb

I have done finish on handles Like it I have also found that it usually takes around 5 hours to set where it is dry to the touch
Then I let it sit overnight Sands well the next morning Usually 320 - 400 dry clean ( do not wash ) bare paper towel or damp with water - Make sure it is dry before finish and maybe a brush When clean a THIN coat of finish A light finish I thin out high build
take your time and do it NICE or he will not think much of you Like said ( you want it when )

Bill - willierods.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 05:19PM by bill boettcher.

Chris,

As long as you don't sand all of the way through the carbon fiber, you can sand and refinish as many times as you wish. Assuming that you used RR-321 as your finish, it definitely does take a while to cure. I got in a rush and tried to sand and apply a topcoat to a grip in a 10-12 hour window and ruined it as the epoxy gummed up and I sanded through portions of the carbon fiber. I like to learn things the hard way :).

As an alternative to get the rod out quicker, after you sand it down this time you can turn the grip and spray with a spar urethane, or swipe on permagloss or lumaseal. If you have any of those options on hand, you can get the rod delivered a little quicker.

Joe

Hi All,

Thanks so much for the replies!

Tom bought a bottle of Permagloss to try, but I am saving it for a second rod I have underway. It's a more important build :-) I have watched your video a couple times now.

Herb I didn't mix up the ratios. I use syringes and have never had a problem. We are in a heat wave here in southern Ontario, 36C today with a humidex of 42C. May basement is very cold because of the AC running all night. its cold right now in my cave! Joe joe it the nail on the head. Cold plus time was my mistake!

Joe, Bill and Roger i am going to let it sit upstairs for a few days and try to sand it down. I will post my results!

I really do appreciate all your feedback.

Thank You,

Chris Tulk

I have had similar issues with the rr321 and believe it is pinholes. I now do 2 coats of rr321, wet sand with 400 grit and final coat of lumiseal.

Hope this helps, Bob