Epoxy

 

Quite a few flies call for the use of "5 minute epoxy". There are many brands available some are dedicated to fly tying and are quite expensive. Alternatively there are equivalent handyman products that are very good and a lot less expensive. My preferred 5 minute epoxy is "Sellys 5 minute everyday Araldite".

A few tips:

A
  1. Follow manufacturers directions carefully

B
  1. Keep your open tube in a zip lock bag

C
  1. Mix small amounts on a slip of disposable paper.

D
  1. If your epoxy does not run as freely as you would like it to, prior to mixing place the tubes of epoxy in warm water for a minute or so. The heat reduces the viscosity of the epoxy makes it easier to mix, allows the bubbles to come to the surface a little easier and allows it to run more freely on the fly  until it goes off.

E
  1. If you want to tint your epoxy use just a little powdered dye. The little pinch of dry dye powder just below the bottle is enough to colour the amount of epoxy shown.

F
  1. If bubbles in your epoxy are  a problem its probably because your mixing it too vigorously, and or the epoxy is too cold. Warm the epoxy up as described above and mix the two components together in a more subdued manner.Use tooth picks for both mixing and application.

G
  1. Several flies can be epoxied at the one time with the aid of a pin and a cork.

H
  1. It doesn't matter if your doing one fly or a few flies at a time but to ensure smooth uniform finishes you must rotate the fly or flies well before the epoxy starts to go off and then until the epoxy has gone right off. Its often better to do just one fly at a time and get it right than do several flies and stuff them all up.



Last Updated: January 5, 2011
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Categories: Free fly tying