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looking to get into some UV tying stuff got a new vise and what not :) any ways just wanted to see what every one uses for UV light im thinking i can go cheap as long as i can start the curing process with a light and move the flies outside in the sun for an hour or 2 i should be good but can some one recommend a good cheap UV light

 

one more thing any cons or pros for the Loon UV stuff ????? its what i decided to go with considering its price compared to Clear Cure GOO

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I use the CCG light and product, however, I have seen quite a few posts on this subject, many folks report good results with cheap UV lights from ebay.

 

I bought a UV light box ($30 or so) designed for uv fingernail products, I set the gel with a quick zap with the light and finish in the box. I've found that when using larger amounts of goo such as building heads that I get a more consistent cure. Quality can sometimes vary due to low battery power.

 

Enjoy the new vise….dave

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Having tried a few lights the best has been a UV laser. No more expensive than others and a lot cheaper than some that don't work as well.

Cheers,

C.

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The only UV product I have used to date has been Loon Outdoors. I started many years ago with the UV Knot Sense and Wader repair glues. My light is an inexpensive one I picked up for 10.00. It works well enough if the batteries are fully charged. I use rechargeable batteries, and have three sets so I always have a set in the charger. The sun does a fine job too.

 

I just ordered some of the New Loon Thin product, but the supplier sent me Clear Cure Goo. Since I have heard that you need a different spectrum UV light for the CCG, I haven't used it, and have asked for the Loon product to be shipped.

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I like the Solarez fly tying resins and new light myself.

 

You can't beat the price on the resins, its cheaper than even the loon stuff and works excellent. Their Cure light is the strongest and most intense I've seen yet, works awesome.

 

In regards to needing a different light for different resins, I haven't run across any of the fly tying resins that wont cure under any of the lights I have (ccg, scorpion, loon, and Solarez). I think most all of the lights on the market are a wide enough spectrum in the UV range that they work fine.

 

I did a quick comparison of the lights I have that include the CCG light, Solarez and a couple of the very cheap Scorpion lights out there, which perform really well at their price point.

http://azbythefly.com/articles/gear-reviews/75-uv-cure-flashlight-comparison

 

And another I did on the Solarez resins. http://azbythefly.com/articles/gear-reviews/64-solarez-uv-cure-fly-tying-resins

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I use the CCG products and I'm pleased with the results but I don't have any comparative knowledge with other products. I bought a UV light on ebay for less than $5 and it is an exact knockoff of the one CCG sells for $30 (if not the same exact light). I did a lot of shopping and investigating and was pretty confused about all the various types of UV products there are (outside the flytying industry especially). One thing to keep in mind, there are different products that are sensitive to different bands of UV light and they rarely tell you what band that is so they can sell you "their" UV lamp to go with "their" product...at a substantial markup of course.

 

If you are going to use sunlight to cure your product then why buy a UV product at all? Epoxy is much cheaper and will cure in the same time period. (All UV products will cure under natural sunlight because natural nsunlight has all the UV bands.) The big advantage to UV cure products is the almost instantaneous cure time.

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I didn't really. It looked exactly the same as the one in the CCG ads and I rolled the dice that it was the same one. I guess you could say I got lucky.

 

I also bought some other UV product meant for the craft industry that will not cure with the light though. I tried to set some flies tied with the product outside to cure in the sunlight. The stuff ran (sagged) and never completely cured and had a tacky finish.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, trying so save money with UV products is difficult but not impossible. But in the future I hope the market will change and the prices will reflect something resembling normalcy.

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I've using CCG with a cheap UV light I got at Ace Hardware. As long as the batteries stay fresh in it, it does just fine.

 

My fly shop guy likes the Loon product, he never uses a light thought, always goes to the sun, or goes and makes me stand in the sun for him.

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I'm using a cheap UV brand resin which is great but for my light im using a lamp Crackaig gave me, a 9v nail lamp. It works fine and I just leave my fly stuck in some cork under the lamp while I carry on tying, 5 min and no tackiness.

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I like the Solarez fly tying resins and new light myself.

I looked at their web page, looks like a great deal to say the least. I use a lot of CCG and the price difference is substantial, also like the looks of the 110V curing lamp. Sweet price.

 

Going to give the three pack a try to see how I like it, you just can't beat the price.

 

Is it tack free?

 

Thanks for posting the link…dave

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I like the Solarez fly tying resins and new light myself.

I looked at their web page, looks like a great deal to say the least. I use a lot of CCG and the price difference is substantial, also like the looks of the 110V curing lamp. Sweet price.

 

Going to give the three pack a try to see how I like it, you just can't beat the price.

 

Is it tack free?

 

Thanks for posting the link…dave

 

The 3 pack is a great way to sample their resin, just be careful when you open those little metal tubes, they tend to overfill them a bit and you gotta be ready for it :)

 

Their resins are not tack free until they have hit sunlight for a while, but a quick wipe with alcohol will wipe off the tack. Last I talked with them, they were working on putting out a tack free as well as a thinner resin more like the hydro.

 

The 110 bulb (its just the bulb, not a full lamp btw, incase you didn't know) works great for final curing. Its not as strong as you would expect with all the LEDs, it provides a nice big flood of UV even at just a few inches above the workbench. I make my own 3D eyes and use it to cure them fully before tying with them. I also use it to final cure flies, just toss them under the lamp when done zapping with the flashlight and move on to the next fly.

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