hey guys,
can i take the rod of the dryer after my ProKote epoxy has gelled ?
i only epoxied the guides. they've been drying 10hrs at 70 degrees. just a little tackiness to them.
i like to epoxy my trim bands now, and was wonder if i can remove the rod from the
dryer, before they reach there fully cured stage which takes 24hrs, as per ProKote instructions.

thx,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2016 10:32PM by David Hauch.

Yes - you can remove rod.

How do you know they are still tacky? Did you touch the wraps - I hope not - or an unused portion?

Tacky after 12 hours is very unusual. I never used Prokote though.

Herb

i edited, it's been 10hrs.
so once the glue has gelled, there's no reason to keep turning it then ?

Hello David,

Once the epoxy has set up sufficiently not to droop, drip, stretch, or wiggle, you can stop rotating it. The time this takes depends on the temp you've got your room, but around 75° or so, with a properly mixed finish, two hours rotation is usually good.

Take care,

Chris

Generally, at room temperature most epoxy thread finishes will set beyond movement in about 2 to 3 hours. I would suggest you set your rotation timer to stop at 3 hours but leave the rod alone until the next day.

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

I let mine turn until I can touch the unused epoxy and it does not leave a print, something I learned on the board and It works for me, I hope this helps because I have been helped a lot by folks here. Phil

David,
You mentioned that you have epoxied the guides but not the trim bands.

Are your trim bands part of the guide wraps, or are the trim bands that you mention trim bands on the butt or tip of the rod?

Normally, if trim bands are adjacent to the guide wraps one would coat the trim bands at the same time as the guides.

By the way, if excess epoxy is still tacky, and if there were any chance that your hand or fingers might touch any spot on the rod with that epoxy finish - I would wait for a few more hours until the tacky feeling is gone.

Be safe

David,
With respect to finish.

Be sure to measure the part a and part b accurately.

Then, be sure to gently mix the finish for at least two minutes or 120 seconds - by the clock.

When I first started building, I ended up with a couple of batches of finish that remained tacky for a long time. I asked my teacher what the problem might be and he suggested insufficient mixing.

So, even though I mixed until I thought that everything was mixed, I followed his suggestion to mix by the clock for 2 minutes or 120 seconds. I use a craft stick to slowly mix the finish in a plastic container. I frequently wipe the stick off on the sides of the container, and then mix up that finish so that every single part of the finish gets well mixed.

Since going to the technique of mixing by the clock for 2 minutes - minimum - I have not had any more issues of tacky finish.

Be safe

first, thank you guys for all your very detailed post. you guys are good!
my bigger trim bands are all south of the stripper guide. thought i better just do the guides first.
seriously, i was just to scared to put epoxy over my decals first. i can remove guides.... :-)
i was in business building high end composite r/c sailplanes for many yrs, and have mixed a ton of epoxy,
so i feel i did this right.
everything dried nicely, and turned out great.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2016 11:07AM by David Hauch.

David,
Even if you built sailplanes for many years, it is tough to mix 2,000 lbs of epoxy.

Just kidding.

Be safe