Plasti Dip vs Loon UV Clear Fly Finish....

[Sage]

The quest for a hassle free alternative to epoxy with all the benefits of epoxy, sort of like the search for the holy grail!

Having read this thread, I was once again inspired to continue my search.

I was particularly intrigued with this Crystal Clear Liquid Fusion and being an out and out fly tying component junkie I decided to track down some of this stuff.

I found some at my "local" overseas, online dealer Lakeland Flytying (www.lakelandflytying.com) It costs £5.90, agreed, it's a tad expensive. But my overwhelming desire to acquire this product made me throw caution to the wind and now I eagerly await its arrival in the new year.

I'll post a report when I've tried it out.

Happy tying

Regards

Paul

[JanK]

Look forward to the report Paul!

[PikeFFArticles]

There is a new product out in the Uk which you guys might not have heardo yet called Bug-bong UV cured resin.I've been using it on my flies for a while now and its better that anything I have used over the last 8 yrs ...and believe you me when I say I've used them all.
Here's a link if any of you are interested
http://www.bug-bond.moonfruit.com

[JanK]

Thanks for the heads up Simon - had a look at the site...the stuff seems pretty similar to the Loons UV Fly Finish that I am currently using.

Sets in any UV source - daylight sun being the most obvious, but if you want to tie at night (or on a cloudy day) Loons also do a "Power Light" with 3 UV LED's.

Will post pics here of some of my salty flies using this stuff soon (i.e. find the time to take the pics...).

[PikeFFArticles]

All the flies in the gallery I uploaded yesterday are all with Bugbond...well the ones where bug-bond was needed.....Used loon for a year then opted for Bug-bond as its easier to apply than the LOON UV product.
Also the curing time is cut down by half so the batteries last a lot longer in the torch and Bug-bond has no sticky residue like Loon has.
I'll have a rummage around for a link to another forum topic with a complete guide to UV resins..except bug-bond...very interesting read it is....just need to find in my bookmarks that's all..

stay tuned.

[Gerrit Viljoen]

UV torches, these small ones are a load of rubbish. Get yourselves one of these UV lights that nail technicians use to cure nails.

Small,compact and works with electricity. Nice add on to a tying desk or station.

[PikeFFArticles]

The only problem with that is each Uv resin brand is set up specifically for their own torch UV's light intensity.Using a Loon torch which is supposed to be used for their products really is not effective when say...using tuffeley's UV resin....and visa versa. The resin wont set and will take ages to go hard,not only that but becomes extremely tacky or in some case makes the hardened resin brittle.

Here's that great write up on the different products....Unfortunately Bug-bond isn't featured
http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17908

[JanK]

Wow - some "science" in the fly tying...

Interesting read.

The article mentions Loons Wader Repair - I have used that as well as the Knot Sense, and am currently on the UV Fly Finish. According to my Loon rep, all have a slightly different make up to suit the purpose they are designed for.
The article mentions that the Wader Repair is too thin and runs, but I find the Fly Finish is great - stays put (unless you put too much).

Unfortunately I have to agree with the sticky residue - but the Loon rep says it shouldn't do this...gonna give me a replacement tube to try. It seems to go away after a few days, but hey - who wants to wait?

So the Bug-Bond looks good but it's not cheap. And now you say that I gotta buy another light as well. Oy vey...

[PikeFFArticles]

With Bug-bond I like to apply the Heavy clear between the eyes and then run a thin coat of the Original which is thinner, over the eyes. Yes its a bit expensive but once you have the torch refill bottles of 20ml usually lasts me around 150 flies. It all depends on the fly tier as well though Jan.

With some of the surf fry I have tied in my gallery. To save on materials I like to wrap 4 or 5 layers of holographic Xmas tinsel around the hook shaft then I only add on coat of the original. I couldn't believe how much the chap had used on his flies in the Post I left as a link.....am sure you thought the same as me.
There was more resin than any other material and absolutely no need for it.

One could see how he had applied it by the way it was bulged along the hook shaft. To alleviate this problem,If you have a rotary vise that is....run an even spread along the top of the hook shaft then slowly rotate the vise until the whole area is coated.Once this has happened then speed up your rotations a little. it eventually will have an even thickness.also doing it this way allows you to free up your other hand to hold the torch thus giving even light to the resin as you rotate it.........2 - 3 seconds with Bug-bond and no tackiness at all.

If you do decide to get some eventually, the cone applicator heads that come with it only need to be trimmend ever so slightly. Once you've done applying and hardening the resin. take some sunlight soap and a dish brush and clean the cone applicator head thoroughly inside and dry with some toilet paper.......Most chaps can't be arsed with the whole cleaning issue and so eventually end up with clogged heads thus having to buy more.

More on this once I have some images downsized and a better tutorial uploaded on Issuu.

Si