I'm sometimes tough on people with epoxy issues, mixed equal parts of part B today - #%it happens.

Never done that....................I like to do it with "A"

I've done it with both...... :-(

thanks for sharing we are all human, just finishing my 4th build and the finish has been my down fall.. Everyone on here seems to do amazing work and that's where I am striving to get to.

Bret,
If finish has been your downfall, enlist the help of another builder that does not have finish issues and do some finish work under his/her guidance.

A good teacher can quickly spot issues and give guidance to correct such issues.

Be safe

The problem when teaching your self is that you keep making the same mistakes.

Bret,
If you are having finish issues, take an old rod from the salvation or scrap bin and do a bunch of test wraps on the rod. You don't even need to put guides on the rod. Just do thread wraps on the rod. Then, take a few days and try different finish application and clean up techniques, until you have a system figured out for yourself that you can use on new rod builds and have excellent repeatable results.

Once you have a good working system with perfect results - stick with it.

it may mean special mixing techniques, special finish application, adding heat now and then, using a piece of aluminum to spread the finish to slow the "kick time" of the finish or some or none of these techniques for yourself.

Try, try, test, retest and finalize your methods and then stick with it for your next rod builds. Then, as you build more rods, if you find ways to do even better, remember and use them - and abandon things that don't work well for you.

check library, you tube videos, other on line videos, manufacturers web sites, help sites etc. All can be educational.

Be safe

Thanks to everyone here for such a great history of tips.

Finished my first wrap finish. So far so good. After 2hrs, no footballs, peaks or valleys. Was worried I wasn't putting enough on so I added more until I got a slight sag on the bottom and then removed. Hope by tomorrow morning it dries correctly and not sticky or anything.

The finish brings out my beginner wrappings. Need to work more on that. Guide Wraps looked good even under a magnifying glass, but the finish really brings out some mistakes I made such as bumps with tie offs and some bird nesting from frayed threads. Already baught a new blank and guides to practice with. Got the cheapest blank kit I could find for practicing techniques.

Thanks for such a great forum.