SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 If you want to try UV on the cheap, google Solarez, and look on their website for the fly tiers combo, 3 small tubes - thick, thin, flex for $7ish, with shipping it cost me about $11. Cost/ounce isn't much different from CCG but you have a lower initial investment to try it out. The problem with Solarez is the long recommended cure time. They suggest an initial cure of 30 seconds to set the resin and 3 minutes for a complete cure. 3 minutes is way too long and having to put the flies in the sun is an inconvenience. 30 seconds should be long enough to cure a tying resin completely tack free with the flashlight alone. http://www.solarez.com/productsnew/fly_tie_uv_resin_thick.html]Thick Formula Solarez[/url] All Solarez tying resins contain the following instructions: "Apply all UV curable products in full shade or indoors, flash withSolarez UV Flashlight for 30 secs, continue working on fly. To completely cure resin, expose to sunlight or use flashlight for about 3 minutes." So does Solarez cure tack free in under 30 seconds? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peterjay 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 Peterjay mentioned maple syrup, this could lead to disaster! Jammer, maple syrup is a vital component of Bob Pop's surf candies. Guess the word hasn't reached you western dudes yet. (LOL) If you want to try UV on the cheap, google Solarez, and look on their website for the fly tiers combo, 3 small tubes - thick, thin, flex for $7ish, with shipping it cost me about $11. Cost/ounce isn't much different from CCG but you have a lower initial investment to try it out. Thanks for the tip Joe - I think I'll do just that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyFishin'Jam 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 I guess surf candies are banned in Australia, you fly there from Kanada and the 1st thing they ask is 'did u bring any maple syrup' and u say 'no' and then they say 'you are lying you are clearly from kanada and u have to have brought maple syrup, how else do u survive'. Anyway it is banned as banned can be, and i am no maple syrup bootlegging border jumper! Sheesh. Can't a Canadian just be normal and not associated with seal clubbing, heron, maple syrup rackets, and free heath care eh!? btw in Aus there is no ozone layer and these products cure in about 0.00001 nanoseconds and produce a LOT of heat which can cause serious injury...Just thought u would like to know i had a good laugh at a friend who got knot sense on his fingers in 45C middle of day, i had not see human flesh smoke like that before. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WoodRiverTroutBum 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 For those bringing up the price of lights, epoxy turners aren't cheap either. Also, if you pay $20 for CCG you are getting ripped off. Thick as well as thin is $15 at every place I have seen it. You can't compare the ptice of hydro to the price of epoxy because it isn't even close to being the same product. Thick or thin is the closest to epoxy so that is what the price should be compared against. I work hard to pay for my stuff and I prefer the CCG as well. The funny thing is, a lot of the people that complain about the price of products like this, fish rods and/or reels that cost as much as $700 or more each. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick2011 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 i pick up epoxy for about 10 dollars, ccg will cost me 12 dollars after the initial buy, thats not that bad when you consider alot less waste and your not under a time restriction like you are epoxy. pus if you just buy a black light from walmart for 10-15 then you dont need the 40 dollar flash light that comes with the kit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crotalus 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 . So does Solarez cure tack free in under 30 seconds? Not really, but the standard CCG doesn't either. The only apple to apple comparison I can make is CCG thin to Solarez thin, I don't notice much difference between them. I have been using them side by side and they both get a coat of CCG hydro or Sally Hansen. CCG has a much nicer applicator system with different sized caps. The Solarez is a tube, and for me he opening is too big. I just brought the Solarez up as a cheap test option since you can get three kinds shipped for less than one CCG bottle. Personally I'll probably stick with CCG due to the applicator options. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick2011 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 For those bringing up the price of lights, epoxy turners aren't cheap either. Also, if you pay $20 for CCG you are getting ripped off. Thick as well as thin is $15 at every place I have seen it. You can't compare the ptice of hydro to the price of epoxy because it isn't even close to being the same product. Thick or thin is the closest to epoxy so that is what the price should be compared against. I work hard to pay for my stuff and I prefer the CCG as well. The funny thing is, a lot of the people that complain about the price of products like this, fish rods and/or reels that cost as much as $700 or more each. i agree, my rod only cost about 150 total and that was after a couple years of using a $50 dollar outfit. the cost is almost a non issue Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snooker21 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 Just ordered a CCG light and a tube of the thick. thanks everyone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSzymczyk 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 Frankly, I don't care if somebody wants to coat their flies with maple syrup, I'm just looking for information I can use. Well, dammit you let THAT cat out of the bag.... Want to catch carp on a fly rod? tie a white woolly worm and soak it in maple syrup. As for all the lights, EACH one of these different compounds is catalyzed by a slightly different range of wavelengths in the UV band. Intensity matters also. That's why the sun works well, at the same time it gives you a sunburn. UV. Some (I forget which) of the fly tying repackaged stuff is catalyzed by VISIBLE blue light. BTW human eyes are incapable of "seeing" UV light. The purple glow you see from the UV lights used to cure stuff is wasted energy. All but the most expensive, highly specialized LEDs will produce a range of frequencies centered on the desired band. All these UV curing lights for fly tying do not use expensive, highly specialized LEDS. They use cheaper LEDS which produce ENOUGH energy in the desired band to catalyze their product while being convenient to the user. Most produce a very wide band and will catalyze most of the products out there. Overdriving them with excessive voltage changes the bandwidth and potentially the center of the band along with more intensity, more heat, and shorter life. No way around it. Research some industrial settings where these EXACT SAME PRODUCTS ARE USED for different purposes, and you will find high intensity, narrow band, very expensive curing equipment. $10 black light from WalMart? Maybe. Want to have a light which will cure every UV product out there? Get a 250W Mercury vapor lamp and the CORRECT ballast, cut off the outer envelope of the lamp leaving only the support wires and the quartz arc tube, and fire it up next to your flies. Make sure you wear welding goggles and SPF 100 sunscreen too. You might burn your house down or electrocute yourself, but you will have full spectrum UV out the wazoo. There are very few companies out there who don't charge extra dollars for shipping and "handling"... It always pi$$es me off when I get charged twice what it actually costs to mail something. It's obvious when some places ship for "free" and others ship for $9 when it costs $4 to send from either place. The shipping costs (and "handling") are accounted for in the prices of the products and everyone understands that, so why not be up front about it? Most places are not. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WoodRiverTroutBum 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 You will love it Snooker. Not sure if you guys know but the reason the CCG is tacky after curing it is so you can add another layer of CCG after it is cured if you need to. If it was smooth, the next layer would have nothing to adhere to. I personally make my surf candies in 2 steps when using the fleye foils. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heavynets 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 Hook & Hackle has Solarez at (3) 5 gram tubes for $7.45 total and a UV flashlight for $13. http://store.hookhack.com/UV-Cure-Head-Cement/products/1343/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimo 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 Just may have that curing system down.Kimo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peterjay 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2013 $10 black light from WalMart? Maybe. Want to have a light which will cure every UV product out there? Get a 250W Mercury vapor lamp and the CORRECT ballast, cut off the outer envelope of the lamp leaving only the support wires and the quartz arc tube, and fire it up next to your flies. Make sure you wear welding goggles and SPF 100 sunscreen too. You might burn your house down or electrocute yourself, but you will have full spectrum UV out the wazoo. Thanks for straightening that out Joel. I was wondering what I could do to burn down the old homestead now that heat guns, blowtorches, flammable liquids, power tools, soldering irons, molten tin, defective lamps, overloaded circuits, and magnifying glasses have failed. Just when you think you're tried everything, something new comes along. What a world! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSzymczyk 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2013 Bwaaaaa haa haaaa!!! Make sure you have someone take a video! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyFishin'Jam 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2013 Just ordered a CCG light and a tube of the thick. thanks everyone Good choice, enjoy that! And remember the sally. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
