Joe Hard 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2005 I have better luck with a bodkin than a brush as I find it more precise. Apply clear water based or any penetrating head cement,let dry. When dry look closely at the head for a complete smooth coat, if not take bodkin with very small ammount of cement at the very tip and apply to any indentations leaving a smooth under coat. let dry completly. Now you can apply any colour or glossy type of cement, let dry. (Having the first coat will allow all other coats to run smoothly). When coloured or glossy coats of head cement are dry, apply one more coat of clear ( it should not take much,as it should run fairly freely. ) and let dry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fontinalis 0 Report post Posted February 13, 2005 Daryn: Not a bad idea, but this method with some other clear head cements can show air bubbles or minute particles in the head cement that are then amplified with a black background. On all my Ray Bergman show flies that I tye I use the following technique. 1 coat of Griff's thin and let it dry for about 5 minutes. Griff's thin is a good penatrating cement that is soaked up by the thread and material. Then either a coat of Hillie's or Griff's thick head cement and allow to dry for an hour. I then place on a sparse second coat of Griff's thick and you well see that when fully dry will make the head full and free of imperfections. By this I mean the head cement on the thread is symetical and has no indentations. You may see an air bubble or maybe some minute particals trapped in the head cement. After about two to three hours later I apply a coat of Black Pro-Lac. When this last step dries fully. The head is a pure shiny jet black. Look at forgotten flies in the wet fly section tied by my mentor. The heads are shiny jet black and look great when photographed. The idea you gave does work, but not for all products. The steps I just provided will work on everything. I am just looking at things a little differently. Fontinalis Fin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted February 13, 2005 i use 6" long needles that can be bought at any sewing or fabric store.I store em on a strip magnent that's taped to the desk. Brent Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
