UV Resin Curing Light

[Poopdeck 0]

On 3/12/2022 at 6:38 PM, rscconrad said:

You using a 3d resin printer light.  I do also. It works great.  Now take the next step and buy some clear up resin.  It will blow your mind how much you get for how cheap. It is like medium viscosity, similar to the loon thin I use. For the clear printer resin, I use Dr.3D clear. Mine was a 500 g bottle. They sell it as photopolymer resin.  
 

I am sure lots of people will pop up saying why it won’t work, but it works great. I have not tried the color stuff yet but the clear looks the same, smells the same, and sets up the same.  
 

I am sure there are differences but they don’t matter to my flies. 
 

good luck

Wow, the 3D printer resin is CHEAP!!!!! With a capitol C. A little less that 18 ounces for the cost of a half ounce of fly tying resin???  I suck at math but I think thats 1/35th of the cost. My math must be wrong, it can’t be that much cheaper. I also like how the color resins are basically the same price as compared to 10 bucks for a 5 gram bottle of colored solerez.  It’s got to be to good to be true, right? 
 

I may actually start using uv cured resin again. At that price it’s worth a shot. Nice tip! Thank you!

[rscconrad 0]

I used it at work long before I used it for tying flies. I’m not that smart. If I was I wouldn’t be working.  I first used it in like 2008 from a firm in Iowa.  It was ment for “potting” electronic boards.

For the heck of it I pulled it out of a cabinet to see if it was still good. It set up fine.

I did not use it for years until again I needed a 3d resin printer at work. I took home the table end of the bottle I told you about. It also worked fine.  It also takes dyes so but one bottle and make it any color you want. Hobbiest have been doing this forever when they use it to cast parts (think dungeons and dragons). 

I actually have a thick, thin, and flow from loon. I like them because of the bottle and applicator.  No complaints, use them all the time.  That being said  those  applicator bottles you can also buy. Leur lock applicator bottles. Green tip blunt tip glue dispensing needles. Totally standardized by color of  the tips. Buy 500 mls of clear.  Make a bunch of colors with dyes or powder “lakes”.  Store them in the bottles you buy.   For the most part they are clear bottles, spray paint them black. I did it for the fun of it but man I overpaid for the loon thin.  The 3d stuff comes in not too many viscosities but they tell you the viscosity up front, unlike our normal suppliers. 
 

Maybe someone smarter than me can figure out what to increase or decrease the viscosity with
 

 

[charettl 0]

I found a USB plug UV lamp that works well for curing.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QJZ6N9R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[caddis16 0]

My wife has something similar to this. Works well. Still easier to bring flies out in the sun.

[Philly 0]

I use mostly flex resins.  I coat my foam flies with it to help with floatation or use use a thick hard resin to build heads on some of my streamers.  I have three different lights.  One I picked up at Home Depot.  I picked up a plug in one at Michaels. I can only cure a couple of flies at a time with it. Most of my resins are a couple of years old, so they tend to dry tacky.  Most of the time wiping the fly with an alcohol wipe will remove it.  If not I just let them cure in the sun which does the trick.

[flytire 0]

 

i have used this 21 led light for a few years now without failure

[Mark Knapp 0]

On 3/12/2022 at 11:44 AM, SilverCreek said:

UV resins for fly tying should be formulated with a photoinitiator that is activated by the relatively low power flashlights vs the need for a 120 volt house current UV lamps.

The type and amount of photoinitiator determines how fast a resin will cure.

The tacky surface coat that does not cure is due to "oxygen inhibition." Oxygen inhibition is when oxygen binds to the resin polymer radical forming a peroxy radical that blocks further reaction, leaving some of the resin "uncured."  The uncured resin causes the tacky surface.

 

 

So adding a chemical that blocks oxygen inhibition allows a complete cure. Using the right combination of polymers and a photoinitiator that is activated by low power flashlights means you can tie these flies anywhere and they are ready to use immediately.

 

I think my new nick name for you is "Sheldon" as in Sheldon Cooper from "Big Bang Theory". Meant with the utmost in good nature and admiration. Thanks Silver.

[SilverCreek 0]

Now no one can sit at my favorite place on the couch.

 

[flytire 0]

silver creek the science geek 

(in a nice way)

😁😁

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I''m still back in the stone age - not using those modern resins at all - but one trick I have been using for ages and ages - and that's my solar oven when i have painted eyes or other finishes on flies that I want to cure out quickly and harden them up - the dashboard of my truck.  Located in south Florida, the sun is so strong most days even in winter that you wouldn't want to sit in a closed vehicle with no A/C running at all to give you an idea of just how strong the sun is here.  

That solar oven trick is also handy when your gear after a monsoon day on the water needs drying out -particularly flies and bucktail jigs - no matter how well your tackle box (mine is a cooler since they're mostly much drier inside than the finest tackle box or bag - but still things just get damp or downright wet at times... An afternoon in my truck's cab and things have dried out nicely when needed.

 

A quick caution... any flies or lures with flash need to be removed quickly and not left in the solar oven long term at all since they'll curl up from too much heat.  For bucktail jigs that's not a great problem - but for flies like clousers and others - it's damaging and you end up re-tying the fly to be able to replace the curled up flash elements...

[BobHRAH 0]

What nm light is best for fly tying uv resins?  I want to get a new rechargeable light, and have mainly Solarez resins on hand. If I run out, I would probably switch to Silver Creek.

Thanks,, Bob H

[flyflinger 0]

I bought the Solarez Resinator with extra rechargeable battery.  Seems to be a good strong curing light (18w) at 380-390nm, and that obviously matches the requirements for Solarez resins.  It is not an inexpensive light at around $75, but I like the convenience of the extra battery and separate charger.     

Regards,

  

[flytire 0]

DARKBEAM UV Light Rechargeable USB Flashlight 395nm Blacklight Ultraviolet Wood's Lamp LED Portable Mini Handheld Pocket Torch Detector for Dog Urine Pet Stains 400nm Anti-counterfeiting, Resin Curing - - Amazon.com

ive used the one above for curing solarez bone dry uv resin

dont resort to the "you gotta use my $$$ light to cure uv resin" that i bought on that chinese website for $2-3 but i'm gonna charge you $50-60

395nm UV Lamp USB Rechargeable Ultraviolet Flashlight 3 Mode Powerful Mini UV LED Torch Telescopic zoom UV Light Blacklight - AliExpress