Tacky Epoxy

[mybadhabit 0]

I have recently started tying epoxy flies and keep having the problem of leaving them on the drier for a couple of hours and having them still tacky to the touch. I try and keep the mix equal, but have never had it come out dry to the touch even after 24 hours on the drying wheel. What am I doing wrong? It is 30 min rod epoxy and I just can't seem to get it right. Can anyone give me a few pointers on what I might be doing wrong, please. Thanks for the help.

 

Blane

[skidoosh 0]

I have recently started tying epoxy flies and keep having the problem of leaving them on the drier for a couple of hours and having them still tacky to the touch. I try and keep the mix equal, but have never had it come out dry to the touch even after 24 hours on the drying wheel. What am I doing wrong? It is 30 min rod epoxy and I just can't seem to get it right. Can anyone give me a few pointers on what I might be doing wrong, please. Thanks for the help.

 

Blane

 

Its difficult to say. To fix the tackiness cover it with Sally Hansen's.

It might be good to experiment with the amount of each component you are adding to get the mix right. Humidity and temperature can also affect dry times and results

[Dezod 0]

Blaine

 

My experience is that rod epoxy is more fickle than other epoxies when it comes to getting the measurements exactly equal. I built a rod that came out with tacky finish. I remixed and put another light coat over the top and had no more trouble. I would be willing to bet it is your mixture that is just slightly off. The rod builders around here will tell you that they measure their epoxy with syringes so the mixture is exact. If you are sure the mix is exactly 50/50 then I have no idea what your trouble could be, but if you don't get a response here that fixes your problem I would recommend PMing Steeldrifter or posting the same question on the rod building forum and surely someone will be able to help you out.

 

C

[Peterjay 0]

A lot of tyers (including me) use Devcon 2-Ton epoxy. It may be a little hard to find, but it's worth hunting some down. If you get the proportions right, you shouldn't have a problem. I lay down two equal beads side-by-side on a glazed tile and mix thoroughly with a flat coffee stirrer. If the epoxy is mixed well, you shouldn't have any tackiness. It takes a little practice, but keep at it and you'll do fine. Like I said, the keys to success are proportions and thorough mixing, regardless of the type of epoxy you're using. FYI - ordinary rubbing alcohol does a great job of cleaning up.

[tidewaterfly 0]

When I've had problems with epoxy that won't set completely & remains slightly tacky, I'm reasonably sure it was because I didn't get the mixture correct, either by not having the proportions correct or not mixing completely. A coat or two of Sally Hansen's will work to eliminate the tackiness as skidoosh has said.

 

I recall awhile back that someone was mixing epoxy by weight using a small scale and having a similar issue, but it should be mixed by volume, and most that I've seen are a 50/50 mix. However, that may not be the case with all epoxies, so first be sure you're mixing in the correct proportions, then make sure you're mixing thoroughly. Not mixing thoroughly would give you the same problems as incorrect mixture proportions.

 

Try using a cheap, plastic bristle hobby brush to mix with. This is what I use most of the time, and feel I get a better mix this way.

 

Also, a drop of alcohol will help in mixing too, but will thin the mixture slightly. This is something I also do, particularly when coating popper bodies, jig heads or large fly heads, or fly bodies where I'm coating a base material. When I've made epoxy bodies with a form, & I've thinned it with alcohol, I'll wait for it to thicken a bit before using it.

 

I prefer ethyl alcohol when thinning epoxy, but others have said they get good results with isopropyl. Some types of fuels used for camp stoves is ethyl alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is either ethyl or isopropyl.

[nyFLYguy05 0]

VERY EASY TO CURE THE TACKY PART - USE ALCHOL WIPES OR FROM A BOTTLE AND JUST WIPE OVER THE ENTIRE EPOXY BODY, AFTER WIPING PUT BACK ON THE DRYING WHEEL AND YOUR GOOD TO GO

[Stippled Popper 0]

As has been stated by others thirty minute epoxy should not be tacky after 24 hours. However, even if the mixture is correctly balanced,

it can still be tacky after two hours. I try my best not to touch the epoxy surface for at least 10 hours. It can leave fingerprints. The

packaging on Devcon Two-Ton epoxy(30 minute) says the handling time is two hours. But my experience says different.

[LoorseMes 0]

That does sound like a thick coat. In my experience with epoxy, even a thin coat will smooth itself out. The last wood hull I did ended up with three thin coats and a very smooth IMO surface.

[TheCream 0]

I've had similar experiences with both epoxy and products like Loon UV Knot Sense (use it to coat some heads). I give a light, quick coat of Hard as Hull and that gives the heads a slick, hard coating.

[nightheron 0]

I must be the only guy out there that still uses Z Poxy but I am a little antiquated. The five minute works best for me, easy to control and the bug is fishable in three hours. Never had problems with tackiness. It will yellow after a couple of years but my flies are usually chewed up well before that.

[nightheron 0]

Just a Z POXY note. I keep a roll of aluminum foil in my tying bench. I cut out small squares to mix my epoxy on and use tooth picks for mixing and applying. If I want a quick fix on bubbles or to thin my mix I just pop a lighter under the foil and in about a second the bubbles are gone and the mix thins. When done I just wrap the pick in the foil and toss in the trash. I loved hearing you can use alcohol to thin the mix, looking forward to trying that.

[backcast66 0]

I too use the 30 minute epoxy, and have had the same problems. The ratio has to be just right. Here's how I do it: I mix the epoxy on post-it notes. I use a small diameter cylinder(usually the insert of my hair stacker)and scribe two small circles side by side by tracing the circumference of the stacker insert on the post-its. Then I slowly measure out equal parts of the mixture till the beads fill the circle outlines, no more, no less. Then I mix it thoroughly. It usually works out well using this technique.

[Peterjay 0]

As has been stated by others thirty epoxy should not be tacky after 24 hours. However, even if the mixture is correctly balanced,

it can still be tacky after two hours. I try my best not to touch the epoxy surface for at least 10 hours. It can leave fingerprints. The

packaging on Devcon Two-Ton epoxy(30 minute) says the handling time is two hours. But my experience says different.

 

I agree - I always dry the finished fly overnight before touching the epoxy. If it's still tacky after that, it's not going to cure. You can try the alcohol wipe - sometimes it works and sometimes it'll just make a mess of the surface. (you can also try another thin coat over the tacky surface) But you're far better off getting it right the first time. If you're in a hurry and you lose a lot of flies anyway, you can always use the five-minute stuff in a pinch - you can fish a fly that's only a few hours old, but just be aware that it's going to turn very yellow very quickly, especially if it's exposed to sunlight. For tying during the winter for the coming season, I've had my best results by far with the Devcon 2T. (and keeping the flies in a dark place until I'm ready to fish them) Once you get the hang of working with epoxy, the issue of tackiness is almost never going to be a problem anyway - practice, practice, practice.

[perchjerker 0]

Let me see if I can maybe clear things up a bit by explaining the chemical nature of the epoxies; at least the Two-Part epoxies.

 

Think about each molecule of each part being a little railroad car; but with a coupler only ON ONE END. Let us assume that Part A has a male coupler on it and Part B has the female coupler on it. The reaction is for every car of each type to 'connect' with it's counterpart. If all little cars are connected to a counterpart, the epoxy is 100% cured, and there is absolutely no stickiness. HOWEVER! If, there are extra, unconnected cars of either type, curing is less than 100%, and it will be "sticky". Now is where the 'fun' comes into the picture, it is a function of the number of 'unconnected' cars as to whether one can actually 'feel' the stickiness or not. Thus, with just a few 'cars' 'unconnected', you may not be able to feel the stickiness at all---NO Problems here!

 

Very clearly the VERY WORST THING one can do to try to eliminate the stickiness is to add more of either part, or a mixture of the two, to cover the sticky surface, as you DO NOT know which part(car) was initially present in excess. As has already been noted, simply coat the sticky 'bug' with Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails (SHHAN). Also,it can be 'washed off' with rubbing alcohol, but it, at least to me, is so much simpler to just coat with SHANN.

 

The best "CURE" for the problem is to use hypodermic syringes to accurately measure out the two parts! If you use the hypodermic syringes, DO NOT make an effort to clean them! They are reusable!! Just DO NOT use the one for Part A to measure Part B in the next batch!! If you mark them, keep them separated, and reserve one for Part A and the other for Part B, they should NOT setup, rendering the syringe useless. If kept as suggested, they should be good for many months.

 

For some of my applications of epoxy, I actually use the 0.5 cc insulin syringes for my measuring. However, a good all-around size is the 1 cc syringe; with the 5 cc being about the maximum size to get good accurate measurements, unless you are experienced at using such syringes (looking for the 'meniscus', etc.); at least in my experience with students in a rod building class that our club offers.

[MfishP 0]

Just one other note-make sure epoxy has not been sitting around.I use it alot at work and it can go bad.