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Goose77

deer hair popper face coating

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Just wanted to get you guys' opinions on this. For years I didn't coat them at all. I tried the uv set products and didn't like them...the part that soaks into the hair stays tacky after curing. Epoxy seems the most durable, but is pretty stiff. I'm currently going with a light coat of Sally Hansen's. When it is fairly dry a coat of Liquid Fusion is used. This is ok, but I wanted to see if you guys had any other ideas.

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I thought this was discussed in another thread just a week or so ago.

 

am I wrong?

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Give him a break, FlaFly ... he's only got four posts to his name.

 

Goose, go to the members tab above, and look for a member named "The Cream". If you go through some of his posts, you'll see his deer hair poppers.

He uses Fabric Fusion, I believe, with a plastic piece and parchment paper. He gets beautifully flat faces on his flies.

 

I think HE got the idea from Kirk Dietrick ... also a member on this site.

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I use fabric fusion for other tying uses... don't do hair-flies. If you want to buy it, it's called Aileene's Fabric Fusion, and is sold in sewing shops like JoAnn. Dries real clear, and makes nice heads.

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I used vinyl cement in the past. Used to be able to get it at most fly shops or online suppliers, but I believe because of it being highly flammable, and causing issue with being sent thru the mail some places stopped selling it. I did a search & apparently Hook & Hackle still sells it & the thinner. It can be shipped via UPS or Fedex, just not via USPS.

 

However you can also get it at many hardwares or plumbing suppliers & thin it yourself.

 

I've used thinned Shoe Goo & Goop also.

 

I never did well with coatings that hardened, as they often caused the hair to break, or they would make the front end of the hair bug too heavy. IMO you want something that stays flexible.

 

It seems that Fabric Fusion is the best way to go these days.

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Dave's Flexament seems to have been the standard until there was a glut of new glues for fly tying. It also helped keep half hitches in place after spinning clumps of deer hair & stacking them.

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When I want a deer hair bug to be tough and durable with a head that's pretty much waterproof -it's Flex-Seal for me... I apply it in one coat over the entire head with a small spatula, then allow it to soak in and harden until dry. Deer hair (particularly deer belly hair) soaks the stuff up like a sponge and along the way makes any magic marker/prismacolor coloring permanent.... On the downside there's times when I want a bug to absorb some water (mostly when fishing Muddler style patterns) and Flex-Seal is not the stuff to use.... Here's a pic of the Razor-cut Mullet (trimmed flat on the bottom very close to the hook shank before any other cuts are made with the razor....). You'll note that it's been colored on top and that the Flex-Seal has soaked in pretty well.... This bug is done up on a 2/0 or 3/0 Mustad 34007 hook (I also do it on a Tiemco 811 hook...).

post-30940-0-54192400-1439395921_thumb.jpg

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I use the brushable UV resin or LCA that SilverCreek sells here - absolutely no tackyness. I may use watered down Liquid Fusion on the bottom of a frog or diver to seal the cells and lengthen the buoyancy. DeerHairDan uses UV resin and Pat Cohen (the master) uses it as well for both face and belly.

 

ps - if you have been unimpressed with the 1st gen. of UV resins it may be time to give it another shot.

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I've always used home-made flexament (Shoe Goo thinned with toluene) brushed on. Then a flat piece of plastic from a milk jug with a slit cut in it, to slide on the hook behind the eye. Position it how you want it, and let it dry. The plastic comes right off and you are left with a durable, completely flat face on the popper.

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Thanks to all for your replies...some of these ideas are completely new to me. I apologize for missing the earlier discussion on this topic. I have followed this site for quite a while, and decided to join because of the quality-it is great. I've been tying for 45 to 50 years...the amount that be learned nowdays is truly shocking. Thanks again.

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As stated above many of my hair bugs have a naked face. I recently did coat the face of a couple of Taps bugs and I used Shoe Goo straight from the tube. I put a little on the end of my finger and I just spread it on the face of the bug. It set up quite fast and by the time I put the bug down the Goo had already firmed up enough that I did not need to put anything to hold the face in place. It does not produce as flat a face as Cream gets but it looks peachy to me. I have yet to fish one though. After the stuff dries a little it will peel right off of your finger.

 

I do agree that a hair bug fishes different when it gets soaked up with water and is sometimes more effective than a bug that floats high and dry.

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Hey..I tried some of the fabric fusion today on some popper faces. Cool. Better than my previous method in terms of getting a flatter face. Probably get them wet tomorrow. Thank you very much. Cheers

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