A Better Alternative To Epoxy

[Guest]

There comes a point in every fly tyer’s life that they’ll want, or need, to use epoxy.  Unfortunately, epoxy is oftern frustrating to work with.  You’ve gotta mix it right; you’ve only got a limited amount of time to get it on there, etc.  It’s because of this that several alternatives to epoxy have become [...]

 

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[Kevan J. Evans 0]

Thanks alot, I'm going to get some and try it out,

[JSzymczyk 0]

I'll wait for some real world reviews. I was disappointed with Tuffleye because the tubes I got cured very yellow. So far Loon UV Knot Sense is the best stuff I've used.

[mark2olson 0]

Does the light fully cure Clear Cure Goo?(1) I've noted that Loon's UV products, Knot Sense, et al, will not fully cure under a UV light. It does cure fairly well in full sunlight. Also, is Clear Cure Goo tough? The Loon UV products seem to crack fairly easily based on my observations.

 

1) Assuming fully powered batteries

[JSzymczyk 0]

Does the light fully cure Clear Cure Goo?(1) I've noted that Loon's UV products, Knot Sense, et al, will not fully cure under a UV light. It does cure fairly well in full sunlight. Also, is Clear Cure Goo tough? The Loon UV products seem to crack fairly easily based on my observations.

 

1) Assuming fully powered batteries

 

 

one thing to be aware of- most, if not all, of these products cure with a residue. Usually some sticky, filmy feeling stuff is brought to the surface as the acrylic sets up. Just the nature of the beast. In almost every case, it can be easily wiped off with an alcohol swab, the kind used for first aid.

 

UV cured acrylics all have a specific range of frequencies they react to, so it is possible to use a light that is not exactly compatible with a particular chemical, and get results which aren't wonderful. Sunlight should do it for all of them though.

 

I'm sticking with Knot Sense for now, tough, flexible, and clear, in my experience.

[JRG 0]

Someone did a test comparing all the products and this one looked good but so did the other UV cures. Tuffleye shattered easy but the new flex fixes that. Also, the wader repair seems to be a better option to the Knotsense as it's a little more flexible. the only thing was the knotsense and the other similar product turned yellow after getting baked at 170 degrees where the tuffleye and clear goo remained clear. The tuffleye started out pretty yellow but cleared up after sitting in the sun for a couple days though.

[JSzymczyk 0]

good info. everything is a trade-off.

 

Sitting in a car in the summer could reach 170 degrees.

Most folks wouldn't want to leave their flies out in the sun for a few days.

 

Probably in the end, high quality, slow setting epoxy is still the best,

but we're all looking for shortcuts.

 

do you have a link to the test?

[JRG 0]

good info. everything is a trade-off.

 

Sitting in a car in the summer could reach 170 degrees.

Most folks wouldn't want to leave their flies out in the sun for a few days.

 

Probably in the end, high quality, slow setting epoxy is still the best,

but we're all looking for shortcuts.

 

do you have a link to the test?

 

Guy posted on a lot of boards.... trying hard to sell the stuff I guess

 

http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17908

[Clear Cure 0]

I wanted to follow up on some questions that where asked here. We are a very small "mom and pop" company like smalliehunter said, and I hope that chiming in here isnt considered poor form.

 

Clear Cure Goo was created by a friend of mine that has worked with resins, fiberglass and adhesives basically all his life. We feel like it is one of the better if not the best UV cured epoxy substitutes. It dries "water clear" it does not yellow, with exposure to sunlight, heat, or salt.

 

The product is very stable- It has a shelf life when stored at 85 degrees for a year, and that is with out showing any signs of decay.

 

There is no mixing- It cures in 3-5 seconds to the core

 

 

JSzymczyk said-

one thing to be aware of- most, if not all, of these products cure with a residue. Usually some sticky, filmy feeling stuff is brought to the surface as the acrylic sets up. Just the nature of the beast. In almost every case, it can be easily wiped off with an alcohol swab, the kind used for first aid.

 

This is true with as far as I know all UV cures. I can only speak about the residue that we have on ours. It feels slick but it does have some tack to it. The residue is needed to form a bond to any additional Clear Cure Goo that you may want to add to it. Think of that residue as glue.

 

He is also right in saying that you can simply apply some Hard as Nails or rub some alcohol on it to remove the residue completely.

 

Unlike some other UV cures, Clear Cure Goo will not ooze residual residue.

 

 

mark2olson-

Asked about the curing light. As has been mentioned by others, UV cured products react to a specific frequency of light. While a broad spectrum light my work- it will take much longer than a specific light made for a specific UV cure. For example, you will find that the Clear Cur Goo light will not cure Loons knot sense and a Tuffleye light wont cure a Clear Cure Goo product.

 

mark2olson- Also mentions batteries and said something about an assumption of fully charged battery, Clear Cure Goo uses 3 AAA batteries- you can use rechargeable batteries if you prefer and since the Clear Cure Goo cures in 3-5 seconds you dont need that much juice. You should be able to tie well over a hundred flies before you notice any increase in curing time. When the curing time takes too long you can continue to use the light or change/recharge the batteries and you are good to go.

 

Anyway if you have any questions feel free to email me via the site.

 

Thank you to all those who have used it, we appreciate it very much- We are a super small business and appreciate those who have ordered or taken an interest. If you have used the product and love it spread the word. If for some reason you dont love it, please contact us we would love to hear how we might be able to improve what we have.