The summer is here in Houston despite what the calendar says. Morning lows are already above 70. I don't have my rod workshop in my garage air conditioned so its likely that all my epoxy applications will be above 80° or more until about October. I'm using FlexCoat Lite Bld and I suspect my pot time will be pretty short, or at least shorter than what I've seen the last couple of months. I plan to do this after work today so I'm thinking of ways to give me some more work time since I'm still pretty slow but detailed on the epoxy work. One thing I've thought of would be to chill down just the epoxy hardener, maybe to about 60° or less, with the resin at room temp. Then when the two parts are mixed the epoxy is likely to be several degrees cooler, at least for a while, than what my shop temperature is. Might give me a few extra minutes.

Any other suggestions while I'm thinking this out?

Larry,
Pretty simple.
Mix up small batches as usual. If you work slowly - and that is fine - just do a butt wrap or a couple of wraps per batch of mix. It works just fine to work this way.

But, if you are having the finish start to set up and you still need to get some spots flowed out - just add a bit of gentle heat and that will thin the finish sufficiently to let it nicely flow out. However, if you are working in elevated temperatures, you can likely only do the heat addition once because after that - the finish will have "kicked" into its getting hard cycle.

Good luck

Larry

Don't mix too small of a batch, no less than 3 cc of each part or a 6 cc mix. The reason is that getting a proper mix is difficult in smaller quantities.

We are in Austin and our shop goes from 80 to 90 degrees in the summer. we mix up the finish as normal, no need to pre-heat, obviously. Then. once mixed, pour it out on a paper plate covered with aluminum foil. The foil will help take the heat out of the finish and give you a longer pot life. We recommend working from the tip to the butt of the rod.

If you have any questions, call us. 512-858-7742

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Hello Larry.

There was an article in RodMaker called "A Finish Cooler" By Chuck Brewer, it's in Volume-19 / Issue-5 / page. 12.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

The cooler outlined in the magazine will allow you to dial in whatever pot life you desire, regardless of the epoxy being used.

...........

Why not epoxy in the house? Seems it would stay cleaner that way.

Anyway...just store your epoxy in the house, and mix it in the house. Have the rod set up and ready to go. The stuff isn't going to flash off in five minutes or anything.

Chances are, you are worrying about a non-issue.

I've described this procedure many times;

Mix enough finish to complete the whole rod plus touch-ups.
Pour nickel size rings of finish out onto 3" square aluminum foil "trays". Put all in the freezer section of your refrigerator - except the one you will use immediately.
Take your time. I have used finish "frozen" this way 24 hours later. It does not freeze solid and only takes 20 seconds to soften enough to use.
herb

I have never seen that Herb. Even though I do mine in 78 degrees no matter the time of year, I'm going to try that just to see it.

Back in the 70's Dale Clemens sold an epoxy finish called Crystal Coat and he stated that when mixed it could be stored in the freezer for a while without any ill effect. I did this a couple of times using the Crystal Coat with no problems. Could take the unused epoxy put it in the freezer and use it the next day for the second coat. So I know where Herb is coming from. Have not tried the freezer methods with other brands of finish but I have no doubt it will work. On really hot days I have cooled a portion of my mixed epoxy by placing it on a cold pack or a cold damp towel. Keeps it from setting up too quickly if you need extra time time or get interrupted.
Norm

Good stuff guys, thanks. It turned out that it wasn't an issue after all yesterday. Had about 30+ minutes which was plenty but will keep all of these tips in mind as it gets warmer. I too like the frozen method as well. Thanks again!