Stock up on Finishing Supplies, like Epoxy, brushes, and more here: http://www.mudhole.com/supplies-rod-building/finishing-supplies
It is now time to apply the epoxy to the guide wraps.
Just like the epoxy glue that was used for the handle assembly, you will need to have an even 50/50 mix to achieve proper set up and cure times.
Once you have your 50/50 mix into your mixing cup, you can just use the mixing stick to stir until complete.
TIP: It’s important to note here that you don’t want to whip it like pancake batter, that creates a lot of air bubbles. Just nice, even rotations when mixing. Usually it takes a 2 or 3 minutes, just keep mixing until it becomes clear and most of the bubbles are out.
Once your bubbles are out, we want to make one final check to make sure that our guides are perfectly aligned.
Once you’re happy and everything is straight. The last step is to go through and remove the marks left from the china marker to line up the guides originally.
Once the epoxy is ready we can go ahead and start applying it.
The epoxy finish is a relatively easy process, as you can see, the rod is rotating in our RDS rod drier. This is going to spin the rod at a constant 9 rpm that will allow the finish to self-level during the curing process.
The key is to coat the guide and the thread completely. You always want to start off by making a nice clean edge, and while you do this, do not force the brush flat against the guide wrap.
Just use your brush to push the bead of epoxy around making sure that it thoroughly coats everything.
Once you have your edge started, you can go ahead and paint up the guide wrap, towards the edge of the guide wrap.
Once near the end, hold the brush steady and allow the bead of epoxy to create another nice finished edge at the back side of your guide wrap.
TIP: One thing to note is that the thread will create two channels on either side of our guide foot. You want to take extra care and take a little bit of the finish and fill in those gaps to prevent any water intrusion later when we are using the rod.
Make sure to get a thorough coating, without overloading it. Too much epoxy will cause sagging and a balloon-looking finish, you just want the right amount.
Once you are all set and done with the finishing process, you’ll introduce some heat using your alcohol burner to level out the epoxy further.
TIP: We use denatured alcohol in our alcohol lamps because it is a clean burning fuel and it doesn’t produce any soot. Using a butane lighter can produce soot/contaminate that will show up in the epoxy.
With careful flashes of heat, you are going to introduce your alcohol burner flame to the epoxy. This process is going to eliminate any bubbles that may be trapped under the surface and also level the finish perfectly as it cures.
With just a couple of quick flashes of heat, you can see some of the excess epoxy that beads up underneath.
TIP: Finishing a double foot or a casting guide is the same process as the single foot, just a little more effort. We are going to make a nice clean straight edge. Just by pushing a bead around the wrap with the head of the brush. We can then fill in the rest of the guide wrap with the finish.
Once everything is thoroughly coated, use your alcohol burner again. Flash under the thread without leaving it under there for too long and this will eliminate the bubbles and level out the finish. That all it takes to successfully coat a double foot casting guide.
TIP: If you took the time to apply a custom decal to the rod, you want to protect that with the 2-part epoxy finish as well.
For more information on this video, click here: https://blog.mudhole.com/rod-buildings-4-ways-better-epoxy-finish/
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