JasonJones 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 clearcreek, I haven't personally used that light so I can't say if it is in the right spectrum etc, but most likely it would work. If you have an Ace Hardware near you they sell a "Scorpion" light that works just fine in about the same price range. Here are a few that I had for a comparison article along with the new Solarez light and the Original CCG light... http://www.azbythefly.com/articles/gear-reviews/75-uv-cure-flashlight-comparison Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
clearcreekfisherman 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Thanks for the reply I will have to check into that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phg 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 It's UV, it should work. If it isn't a really strong UV, it might take a few seconds longer, but that would be it. Worth a try. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Solarez also sells a light bulb that can be screwed into a light socket. If curing outdoors, cover the inside of a shallow box with foil to set your bug holding stand onto so the sun will reflect and cure all sides without having to turn. Solarez does take the longest to cure out of all the resins I've tried but it is cheap and actually, if you go on Swim Bait Nation, they talk about Solarez for curing their large hand carved swimbaits. A friend of mine buys the quart for about $20 that is sold for surf boards, looks like the same stuff as the "fly tying" Thick formula that they sell; it sure smells the same. Speaking of smell, Solarez does have a potent odor. Here is a link to an article I wrote on my testing of four UV resins, epoxy and Liquid Fusion for durability and a spreadsheet where I recorded times, etc. http://onthevise.com/blog/10-clear-coat-durability-test-poppers Reflector box I made with Solarez bulb screwed into. Box closed for curing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JasonJones 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Kirk, the surfboard resin sold by Solarez stinks to high heaven, but its not the same as the fly tying resins at all. Their Fly Tying specific resins cure almost identical to the CCG and Loon products I have and don't really have an odor. The Polyester Resin I tried from them a couple years back took forever to cure, this was before they came out with their fly tying line. If you haven't tried their fly tying specific resins you might want to take a look at them. BTW, cool article! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Hey Jason, Glad you liked the article. The resins I used for the article were the ones for fly tying that Solarez sent me along with the lightbulb. The surf board stuff, my friend gave me a film canister full to try but I didn't use for the test. You're right though, Solarez does cure like the CCG, which takes a bit longer to become tack free, as I recorded in my testing. I have heard there is a reason for the "tackiness" that is inherent with these and some other UV resins, it allegedly to facilitate adhesion of a second coat. Which, if you look at the pictures in that article, one of the actually true "tack-free" resins, Deer Creek, you can see in the image how the second coating actually chipped off of the first coating. If that makes sense... Kirk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimo 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2014 Hi Kirk, Any issues with "yellowing" using Solarez?Kimo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Kimo, not that I noticed right away. So far, none of the resins yellowed. But they have just been sitting in my flybox since October and not exposed to sunlight. The Crystal Clear by Silver Creek also sold under other names will yellow according to Silver Creek if you hold the laser pointer UV light still without wiggling/painting with that light. Epoxy will yellow with exposure to sunlight after a period of time with 5 min yellowing within two weeks, not sure about the 30 minute however. Kirk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimo 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Mahalo Kirk! Please advise if anything changes. Also, FYI. Loon, CCG and DC will "cloud" if contaminated with "super glue".Kimo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Will do Kimo. Won't be for a while before I fish those little topwaters, its been unseasonably cold down here and the bass usually get my topwater attention early in the year. I've heard that about the clouding but I usually let my CA dry pretty thoroughly before putting anything over it. Kirk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stippled Popper 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Kimo, not that I noticed right away. So far, none of the resins yellowed. But they have just been sitting in my flybox since October and not exposed to sunlight. The Crystal Clear by Silver Creek also sold under other names will yellow according to Silver Creek if you hold the laser pointer UV light still without wiggling/painting with that light.Epoxy will yellow with exposure to sunlight after a period of time with 5 min yellowing within two weeks, not sure about the 30 minute however. Kirk Some of the poppers I've coated with Devcon Two-Ton Epoxy show a noticeable slight Pinkish Tan color after two or three years. Of course it is most visible over White and more pronounced where the epoxy is thickest. The popper heads I am talking about have been kept in my tying room(as I've not gotten around to tailing them) which has very little natural light coming into it. The poppers where painted with water based acrylic. . . don't know if there is a reaction here between the paint and the epoxy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Stippled, what about the light, maybe iridescent or incandescent exposure could do that or just time. I've had silver mylar tubing spoonflies develop a tinting over time but it was longer than a few years. Those were in a fly box in a fly bag so they weren't even exposed to artificial light. Who knows, maybe a chemist? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Kimo, not that I noticed right away. So far, none of the resins yellowed. But they have just been sitting in my flybox since October and not exposed to sunlight. The Crystal Clear by Silver Creek also sold under other names will yellow according to Silver Creek if you hold the laser pointer UV light still without wiggling/painting with that light.Epoxy will yellow with exposure to sunlight after a period of time with 5 min yellowing within two weeks, not sure about the 30 minute however. Kirk Since the subject of my resin came up, I need to explain the relationship between yellowing during curing and why this occurs. All these resins cure by exothermic reaction, which means that the UV light initiates a chemical process that releases heat. The faster the resin cures, the thicker the resin, and the more powerful the UV light; the hotter the curing process. If the heat cannot escape, all resins will discolor. I chose a resin that will cure without any tack completely and quickly with only UV flashlight. It does not need any light box or sunlight. Cure it on your vise and you are done. Only a fast cure resin can do that. When a UV laser is used with a fast cure resin, the laser cures the resin so fast that the heat cannot escape. The resin can cook and discolor. To prevent that, you do not allow the laser to stay in one spot on the resin but "paint" it by moving the laser light over the resin. The alternative is to use a slow cure resin that in my view wastes time that I can use to tie more flies. If you read Kirk's test of cure times, my resin cured completely and CCG and Solarez were still tacky even after 6 minutes in a light box with the special Solarez lights. The only other resin that cured completely was Deer Creek which costs 50% more than my resin. http://onthevise.com/blog/10-clear-coat-durability-test-poppers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimo 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 SC, Thanks for the explanation. It explains a lot with my methodology and the results I am getting.I do "paint" the resin with my laser and then turnaround and have it sit in my hearing aid curing box/nail curing box for 2 minutes, especially with heavy applications.I have not used your UV Resin but have tried out UV Knot Sense, CCG and DC.Kimo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2014 Kimo, I highly recommend Silver Creek's Crystal Clear UV resin. SC, didn't mean to single out your resin but glad you explained it more thoroughly than I was able to. Kirk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
