Hi I am fairly new to rod building. I have been having some trouble with my finish. The problems I am having is that it thicker and not dripping off the rod like some videos that I have watched. What can I do differently?
Another Question I have is how to prevent your finish from going up on your guides also known as "turtle necks"?

Thank you in advance.

Work more quickly.
If necessary use a bit of "gentle heat" to thin the finish. But, do NOT over heat the finish.

If you are getting finish up the guide, you may very likely be putting on too much finish.

Take care

Thank you!

Ryan R Klenke Wrote:
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> The problems I
> am having is that it thicker and not dripping off
> the rod like some videos that I have watched. What
> can I do differently?

> Thank you in advance.

Ryan - Why would you want it to drip off the rod? Watch this - [www.youtube.com]

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

If the finish is dripping off the rod, you've put too much on.

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

Ryan

Some videos make a big deal of sealing "the tunnels" on either side of the guide feet. While sealing the tunnels is important, you might not have to do anything special to make it happen as many epoxy finishes contain wetting agents to cause the finish to penetrate the thread and thus fill the tunnels without your purposefully filling them.

Also try working from the outside or toe of the guides to the inside or heel. That might help prevent your putting excess finish where it can "wick" up the guides.

Finally, the best finish application is when there is no excess finish to drip off or otherwise need to be removed. A second finish application is preferable to the devil's own task of removing excess finish after it cures.

Don't be afraid to apply a decent amount of flex coat, it'll spin itself out, if it's building up in a particular spot hit it with a little heat and pull some off with the brush. I use to go too light with flex coat and it never looked right. You'll get the hang of it, just takes practice.

Applying multiple thin coats as opposed to a single large coat will give you more control over where the finish goes making it much, much, much easier to prevent the finish from riding up the guide. If you do a single coat, the amount of finish has to be within a decent window so it covers everything while not getting out of control. Either way, dripping off is a sign that its probably out of control and it's probably too much. Also, look at what 'build' finish you have. The videos you watch might be using medium or light build finishes, while a heavy build thick finish will definitely not drip off as easily.

Just to make sure we're not out of context though, do you have a link to one of these videos? I'm curious now

Make sure your ambient air temperature is warm enough. Cold epoxy is thick epoxy. I've read where some guys even keep small epoxy bottles in their pockets a little while before mixing. I've also read where some folk will QUICKLY microwave one or both parts A&B before mixing...careful with this as you don't want it hot...or even warm. The other thing is, are you using a high-build epoxy? If so, it is formulated to be inherently thicker.