Quest for eternally clear epoxy!!
Hello, fellow tyers!!
Personally, i like to tie my streamers using epoxy.
Nearly all the critters i tied in the last few years turned yellow in the epoxy-coating some day.
I tried a lot different brands ... some had this effect a bit earlier, some a time later. But all turned yellowish some time.
Some years ago i went to some flyfairs occasionally. Several times i was delighted to view Ruben Greonendijk, and mostly he was tying saltwater flies using epoxy.
Those flies which i purchase right from his tying desk remained clear until today ... and sadly i don't remeber the brand of epoxy he utilized.
So my question for help is, if anybody knows a brand of epoxy which doesn't turn yellow some day, i would be delighted if he could help me with a hint.
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Re: Quest for eternally clear epoxy!!
[quote:adfc6cbfef="snoekbaars"]So my question for help is, if anybody knows a brand of epoxy which doesn't turn yellow some day, i would be delighted if he could help me with a hint.[/quote:adfc6cbfef]
Snoekbaars,
I think your treatment of the epoxy is more important than the brand. My flies used to turn yellow too, and I think that was because I used to mix it on paper - typically post-it stickers - and even using a wooden toothpick to mix and apply.
At shows in the US I talked to several fly tyers using epoxy, and most of them said that paper and wood was absolutely no-no in connection with epoxy. It simply leaves residues of organic stuff in the epoxy and that supposedly turns the whole thing yellow over time.
In stead I now use aluminum foil or plastic scraps and plastic sticks, and that has helped. I still have some flies that turn yellow, but most stay nice and clear, although I'd still like to be able to tie some of those glass clear flies that many tyers produce.
Another advantage of the foil is that you can accellerate the hardening process by heating the epoxy over a hot lamp. This will at the same time help bubbles evade the mix, which also turns slightly more fluid for a moment, and result in clearer epoxy.
Martin
Hello Martin!
Hello Martin!
Thank you for the quick reply!
I do process epoxy exactly the way you described ... using post-it notes, but not only the yellow ones, and mostly a wooden toothpick, sometimes a bodkin.
I learned it that way from a fellow flyfisher from holland who introduced me to flytying a few years ago.
A few days ago, i went in a store where they sell everything for hobby crafting stuff (radio controlled small cars and planes, etc.) and asked a guy there for clear epoxy. He told me, that nearly all epoxies come yellow some day and they know that. And on a related manufacturer site in the net this is stated this way too.
I'll try it in future the way you proposed ... but wasn't it on a video of Page Rogers about the Topic where she used post-it sheets and ... ok ... some plastic-toothpicks?
From somewhere i heard that epoxy contains chemical substance like sulfur or iron which is responsible for the yellowishing process.
I dunno! !
Probably it is "in" the material itself ... and SOME day all epoxied flies turn yellowish. :)
Material for the job
Maybe I am lucky 'cause I've built about 250 flyrods so far...and...
I always mix more epoxy than I actually need ( just in case) and therefore at the end of finishing the wrappings I have lots of material that is unbeatable for fly heads if you ask me 8)
I am talking about "flex coat - regular"!! It turns out into a smoth as can be surface and it stays transparent. It needs some time to harden completely but it is what you need IMHO!
good luck
Tom
Hello Tom!!
Hello Tom!!
Thank you for your answer. I never tried something as near to flytying as some rod-building epoxy. Ok .. I'll try flexcoat. Could be THE solution.
... are you sure ... it'll never start to turn yellow?!?!?
OkOkOk ... I'll try ... and will report.
ThankYOU!!
try tuffleye
try tuffleye
www.wetahook.net
no financial interest etc etc
A
:twisted:
Now I know why it turns
Now I know why it turns yellow... I've tying almost all my flies for many years with epoxy using toothpics and mixing over a pape sheets!!!!
There is no problem with small or dark heads. For poppers I use an epoxy resin made for finishing furniture surfaces. It is more liquid than ordinary epoxy and cures in 45 min., but turning the fly it is O.K. It lasts absolutely clear for many years, no one of my poppers tyed five or six years ago is yellowed.
I buy it from an Art Store. It is used for a glass finish on tables and for "country art".
Great link the wetahook.com, thanks Anselmo.
Three months later...
Three months later...
Testing 5 min. epoxy mixed with a bodkin (steel needle) over an aluminum foil, it also turns yellow. Not too fast, but after one or two months, and a couple of times under the sun, it happens.
30 min. epoxy mixed the same way are almost clear after three months, just a little yellow.
Finishing epoxy for modelcraft (Working time 60 min. aprox.) is completely clear after three months. This is an epoxy made to cover painted surfaces. I use "Great Planes".
Hi,
Hi,
Maybe anybody of you have an experience with softex? :roll:
http://www.iconproducts.net/softex.shtml
I want to know for what patterns it is good to use this material, or maybe epoxy is better?
you guys'll love this strange, fun stuff
no financial interest here, just something i've come to love:
Clear Cure Goo: http://clearcuregoo.com/
it comes in several formulas -- i've tried them all and found them to be useful for different things. a little pricey to get into (i think the kit is around $US 40), but he ships pretty fast and so far i'm very happy with the results. this stuff really is quite fun, and no waiting around to dry either.
again, no financial interest, just something i've found that i love.
Hello. I found this thread
Hello. I found this thread when I was doing a google search. I'm looking for an epoxy/resin that won't yellow when baked at 230F in the oven for half an hour (I'm adding pieces of polymer clay to my projects, and this requires the baking). I need something as close to clear as possible. What would you guys suggest? Thanks.
try tuffleye
[quote:1138cdfc33="anselmo"]try tuffleye
www.wetahook.net
no financial interest etc etc
A
:twisted:[/quote:1138cdfc33]
Wow, that stuff looks awesome. No chance you currently have some and would be willing to stick a cured blop of it in your oven for me (230F for half an hour) and see if it yellows? I would just buy some, but I'm low on cash and would love to know if it can take the heat before spending. Thanks for the link.
gentlemen..I'm new to Ur
[i:858a432783]gentlemen..I'm new to Ur forum, however, you should look at this ..it will solve all the problems concerning colour fade, the name of the product is .."Clear Cure Goo"..and because I live out west in Canada the place to get this is.
. [url]http://www.nilecreekflyshop.com/[/url]
..I make at lot flies using this product, it comes in several ways..thick or thin, and the thin absorbs into what ever material you put it on, then under a UV light for 3-10 seconds and it is done. You owe it to yourselves to check it out...........AW[/i:858a432783]