ProKote not curing

[fishnfireman]

Replaced some guides - still tacky after 3 days....Used the little two piece tear packs.
Can I open the hardener on another pack and just put a very light coat over the tacky stuff ??
HELP please.

[D.O.C. 989]

I would mix up a new batch and make sure it is mixed properly then recoat and see what it does. The only other option you probably don't want to do.

[Jig_Man]

The first thing I'd do is take a hair dryer or a heat gun and warm it up to see if you can activate the hardener. I've done this lots of times with 2 part epoxy and bondo fiberglass resin.

[Heelman99]

I've had the same thing happen and honestly your only solution, to have the right outcome, is to carefully remove the epoxy and guides and accurately mix a new batch of epoxy and reattaching the guides and epoxy. The Procedure I used to remove everything is only remove one guide at a time so to keep track of the alignment. I used a sharp razor blade to cut through the tacky epoxy and thread freeing the guide. Then carefully removing remaining epoxy material on blank. Then you're ready to reattach and wrap guide onto blank. This complete procedure isn't difficult just time consuming. Remember just take your time and lightly use the razor blade to remove old material. You may have to use a heat source to soften epoxy but due be careful doing that in that you can burn the blank to two pieces.

[fishnfireman]

thanks guys will try the heat gun first. sad thing is i need the rods like Monday and don't really have time to reset them all..

[D.O.C. 989]

What ever brand you choose to go with i would suggest getting the bottles and use syringes to measure with. My opinion is it is much more accurate and getting consistent mixtures is easier. I personally have been using threadmaster for years. I have played with all the others and they are all good. When testing Pro Kote i did not like it as well because of two factors for me. Drying time was longer and it was softer than all the others, however Pro Kote is used by many builders with desired results for them.

[fishnfireman]

the heat gun cured all but one which was a little to thick to start with.. but it's good enough to go FISHING.

[KyLakeLunker]

Seeing how far south you are, another trick is to place the rod in a truck or car out in the sun. This will act as a drying box sort of. Inside of the vehicle should heat up....same concept as the drying box / tents that people use to bring the temp up. Be careful with a heat gun.

I use pro kote and threadmaster. Pro Kote is softer and longer curing time. Billy V talked about mixing PK and TM; I tried it and I usually use this mix now.

[BleedingBlue]

Your best bet will be to preheat the resin and hardener for two reasons. One, the resin tends to crystallize over time and the crystals will affect the rate and quality of the polymerization reaction. Two, is that pre-heating the materials will get the polymerization started faster. Most polymerization reactions have an optimal time/temp curve (exotherm) to achieve the best reaction. Preheating eliminates the possibility of being below the curve and having an incomplete reaction.

Preheating means a few seconds in the microwave or submerging in some hot water. It should be warm to the touch.