Jump to content
Fly Tying
george ayala

Why clear epoxy doesn't work underwater

Recommended Posts

image-20210226_225845.thumb.jpg.3ac278acf09d436ae9427155da7531f7.jpgHere are my thoughts on clear epoxy.  When i see this sow bug or scud pattern on my vice, I think about how a fish would see it underwater and ask this question, will the fish see the same profile that i see in air or will the fish see only the solid opec materials inside the epoxy?  I would think this scud pattern wouldn't look correct to a fish because it would not be able to make out the overall shape of a scud pattern body. 

What I begun to do is mix in a bit of dye into the epoxy in a dish then apply with a wooden applicator that i used to stir the dye with just to give it a bit of translucency of some color so that the fish can just make out the shape and still see the other materials.  The epoxy still hardens well even after the dye is added.  The epoxy dye can be found on Amazon as i found a nice set of 12 basic colors that can be even mixed to get more colors than the 12.  

So is anyone out there mixing dye to their epoxy?  I havent seen anyone do this on Youtube or found any articles on the Fly Tyers magazine.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I rarely use 2-part epoxy anymore, and have switched to UV resin. Same effect, easier to use.

Rather than buying different colors I also bought a set of dye off of amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z3R37WY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With the dye i'll add multiple colors to the resin but not fully mix to give a swirled look. It can give some depth to the fly when needed.

I also add glitter on occasion.

UV is addictive...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh.  My bad.,   i do use UV resin, just used the epoxy in place.  I use a really inexpensive resin i will add a picture of it and the dyes i use.  

16155147781091944417874.jpg

16155148450001749245423.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...