Tack free CCG is, well, tacky

[cameron 0]

I got tired of painting over my Clear Cure Goo with SHHaN, so I ordered som tack-free CCG. Well, it turns out that my bottle isn't tack-free. I can't tell that it is any less sticky than the normal stuff. Does anyone else have experience with the tack-free? Could it be dependant on my light (I'll try fresh batteries)? Or did I maybe get a bad bottle? I love not having to mix up epoxy, but if I am still going to have to wait on the polish to dry, I might have been better off with a turner and epoxy. If it has to be tacky it isn't any more convenient, just a different inconvenience. What am I doing wrong?

[flytire 0]

i'm with you. i really dont think any of these acrylic goos (no matter which brand) are tack free as the manufacturers claim. i use bug bond and i just overcoat with sallys.

 

remember if you dont get the epoxy mix 50-50 youre gonna have to overcoat with sallys too!

[Panama Red 0]

Tacky...still beats hell out of mixing epoxy for me. I use hand sanitizer to clean residue, fishi don't care about the extra shine nail polish provides when dry, all looks the same under water.

 

Adding Sally just makes it look better to other fisherman.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I've heard about that stuff being a little tacky but as Panama does, it can be overcome. I think the quick drying of it is its biggest attribute but also its biggest problem as far as totally replacing epoxy. Like many things, I think there are applications where one product is better suited than others. I think Clear Cure Goo is probably a good product for flat surfaces such as how Pat uses it on the underside of his deer hair bugs and others on spoon flies, nymph backs too, etc.

 

However, I think the slower curing epoxies are better suited for an even finish on rounded surfaces. I've seen to many examples of beautifully tied flies by different tiers where the rounded head of the fly is lopsided or has an actual sag frozen in place - I doubt the fish care, but with slow curing epoxy, it evens and levels out to the exact shape of the thread head or synthetic head while drying on some type of turner.

 

I can only believe from what I've seen in photos of Cure Goo finished thread heads that with the quick curing nature of Clear Cure, the sag or uneven dried shape is often cured in the sagging, uneven position - not always of course. Possibly with practice that can be avoided, don't know.

 

But I've seen plenty pictures of flies for me to say that Clear Cure is probably not a cure-all for epoxy phobia or its total replacement but a good tool for some applications. While I can't make the investment to try Clear Cure, I've epoxied thousands if not more flies and only had a handful at most cure with a sag and that was due to my lapse in attention to my turning stand. With people posting pictures of their best flies and they have a sag in the finish, I can only imagine that it occurs more often than not.

 

Maybe its the perfectionist tyer in me but those are my observations of others' use and examples of Clear Cure and my personal experience with epoxy.

 

Kirk

[BigBrownTrout 0]

I use it for heads and such and it is always tacky; like a magnet for marabou. I don't cover it with Sally's as I don't think it makes a difference once wet. When it comes to covering a surface on poppers or the like epoxy can't be replaced. The finish is more even and harder with epoxy. Each product has it's place.

 

Yeah, what Kirk said.

 

T

[carlp5351 0]

I have been ting with Deer Creeks Diamond Clear Tack free uv resin. This stuff is truly tack free. Also this stuff is clear

 

 

 

 

http://www.deercreek.co.uk/Diamond-Hard-UV-resin-kit.html

 

 

carlp

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Carl, those are beautiful! The clear is nicely uniform around the fly unlike most of the samples of flies using CCG, as I stated above. You must share your tips to those that tie with sags.

 

Kirk

[flytire 0]

is there a place/site that shows all of these flies with sagging CCG?

 

is the sagging inherent of the goo or the person applying the goo?

 

these goos dont just jump out of the bottle and onto the hook, they must be applied by some type of applicator

 

it sounds like youre blaming the goo for sagging when it could simply be the tyer not knowing how to apply it.

 

epoxy will also sag if not rotated to prevent it from sagging.

[cameron 0]

I don't have issues with sag, or with CCG not being a total epoxy replacement. My issue is that CCG is tacky...EVERYTHING sticks to it unless I put Sally Hansen's over it. That's fine sometimes, but since they have a tack-free version I thought, "Great, one step saved," and bought some. Turns out, the tack-free is, as far as I can tell, exactly the same as the original thick formula...it is still a marabou magnet as someone said. I didn't need that, as I have plenty of thick. If other's have the same issue with the tack-free, I'll chalk this up to misinformation in marketing (certainly nothing new). If other's have some tack-free that really is then I need to see if CCG will replace my bottle. If I didn't already have the light I could go with another version, but the light is the expensive part up front.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

is there a place/site that shows all of these flies with sagging CCG?

 

is the sagging inherent of the goo or the person applying the goo?

 

these goos dont just jump out of the bottle and onto the hook, they must be applied by some type of applicator

 

it sounds like youre blaming the goo for sagging when it could simply be the tyer not knowing how to apply it.

 

epoxy will also sag if not rotated to prevent it from sagging.

Flytire, You state about epoxy sagging, I acknowledged that in saying that my lapse in turning my turning stand attributed to a few cured flies out of thousands that had a sag.

As for blaming the CCG, I believe that I stated in my post that with practice, the sagging could likely be avoided. However, I do think it is the inherent nature of the CCG where when you apply the light and it cures, if you have a sag, then its cured that way; epoxy, you have much greater margin of error and time to avoid that. So, unless the CCG is evenly distributed around the fly when the light is applied, then you will have a problem.

Its funny you ask about the sags, there is a post here with flies tied by the guy with the pen name Clear Cure, here is one of his posts (I actually just cut and pasted my post above from that post, which got no response) and I've seen flies from others here and there on this site that exhibit sagging applying the CCG coating. http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=58314&st=0 Two of the orange and white flies in his first set of pictures have a sag on the top of the head, photo 7 & 8. Then on his second set of pics on page two of the post, the first pic has the sags pretty bad, the blue and white looks like it may have a little to. Now, if this is someone that either owns the company or is a distributor, I'd imaging he uses the stuff a bunch and for someone with that level of use of the material to still have flies like that, then It looks like a bit of practice would be needed for the tier to become proficient in its use.

In my post, I did not say the product is not good, I stated that it, like many other materials, has its place and that it is not a epoxy phobia cure-all.

Again, do the fish care, hell no.

 

Kirk

[carlp5351 0]

Carl, those are beautiful! The clear is nicely uniform around the fly unlike most of the samples of flies using CCG, as I stated above. You must share your tips to those that tie with sags.

 

Kirk

 

Kirk,

 

Not using to much resin helps in preventing sagging, Also rotating the fly a little before you hit with the torch helps.

 

carlp

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

...it is still a marabou magnet as someone said...

I guess you've tried this but if you wet any materials like marabou just prior to epoxying/CCG'n, that will tame them pretty good. I'm sure you knew that already but just thought I'd mention it.

 

Carl, that sounds like the way to do it. I wouldn't mind trying the stuff but I'm not in a position financially to shell out bucks for a torch/light to just try something. Maybe one day. I some applications where a quick dry resin like CCG would be beneficial to my tying but I would have to try it on the tying desk and then give it some field testing.

 

Kirk

[JJD 0]

I put the UV cure flies on a drying wheel just like epoxy and once I'm ready to cure I do several at once with the light while the wheel is turning. It definitively solves the problem of "sagging". Just my $0.02. The CCG seems to be pretty resistant to cracking on rocks and pilings which is why I've suck with it.

[JSzymczyk 0]

wipe it down with an alcohol prep pad (any of the UV cured acrylics) and you will have a quick end to the tackiness.

[cameron 0]

wipe it down with an alcohol prep pad (any of the UV cured acrylics) and you will have a quick end to the tackiness.

 

If I'm doing that it isn't tack-free. Since the tack-free is more $ I wanted more convenience. If it is the same as the thick but with a higher price, well, why would I want that? I like CCG, though I still use epoxy when it is the right tool. I guess that no one else has used the tack-free CCG to confirm or deny that mine should really be tack-freewithout alcohol or lacquer?