Epoxy Thread Coatings

Dear RodMaker:

As a fairly new rod builder I am a little surprised at all the different epoxy thread wrap coatings out there. There seems to be a cottage industry for repackaging standard craft epoxies. Would I be making a mistake buying a two-part epoxy craft coating from my local hobby shop for finishing my thread wraps? What’s the difference, if any?

Garry Isling

The type epoxy most often offered for coating guide wraps is similar to the potting compounds used to encapsulate electronic circuitry. It’s a casting resin. Used in that capacity, it protects sensitive circuitry from shock, moisture and temperature extremes. From their initial inception it was only a matter of time before they trickled down into the craft field where they continue to exist today. One of the more popular uses for them is as a thick, clear coating for furniture – most notably wooden bar tops. Many rod shops and custom rod builders have indeed used these same epoxies for use as thread wrap coatings.

You’d be right in thinking that most of the various epoxy thread coatings being offered to the custom rod builder are either sourced or repackaged from a few of the craft and woodworking epoxies. But just buying whatever your local hobby shop offers doesn’t guarantee you the best possible product for coating your guide wraps. You see, most of the companies offering rod building epoxies have spent a great deal of time researching and working with epoxy suppliers to source the particular type epoxy that will best serve the specific needs of the custom rod builder.

Here’s a case in point – way back in 1981 I learned of a local rod building shop named P&M Bait and Tackle that had opened in Winston Salem, NC. Their rods certainly had a nice looking thread coating. The proprietors, Paul New, Bobby Smith and Mike Kidd, had settled on using a common craft epoxy as a thread wrap coating. It worked well and looked good, until it began to get a little age on it. At that point the coating would turn dark brown, craze and check and in many cases outright crack apart. As it turned out, that particular epoxy coating was never intended to be used in an exterior environment.

When you buy a product sold expressly as a rod building thread coating, you can rest assured that the seller has either acquired or formulated an epoxy product which is intended to excel in those areas which are important criteria where fishing rods are concerned. The attributes we desire include ease of use, clarity, hardness yet flexibility, long term durability and resistance to moisture.

Of course, you might get lucky and stumble onto a craft epoxy that works great as a thread wrap coating! But it may take you a long time, a lot of experimentation and a hefty investment to do so. Considering that the price of specialty rod building epoxies is generally not at all different than what you’d pay for an equivalent amount of hobby or craft epoxy, it makes more than a little sense to strongly consider them first, if not entirely. The specialty rod building epoxy suppliers have already done the leg work for you – why not take advantage of it?

Tom Kirkman

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Many companies offer specialty epoxy products for the custom rod builder. Here are a few good ones:

American Tackle – ProKote

http://www.americantackle.us/supplies.html

Pacific Bay – RodSmith

http://www.fishpacbay.com/products/rod-building/index.html

Trondak U-40 – LS Supreme

http://u-40.com/