Ceramithane

Randy,

I have found that between 75 and 80 degrees is the optimum for me to apply my epoxy substrate and clear coat on my cues. On epoxy application, if it is over 80, things can get funny and by the time you get to the butt cap it is too hot from the chemical reaction at that specific parameter. I don't microwave my poly clear!!

With epoxy, if it is a little too hot after the microwave, I just lay the bottles on their side on the concrete floor and that works as a great heat sink to get to the proper temp. I would be lost without the instant infrared thermometer gizmo. It takes out all of the guess work and I can operate within my procedural guidelines without wasting time or any hassle.

I learned the hard way not to mess with guessing on temp of my chems. I would do a cue and get wonderful results and then a few months later do the same process and get dog shit results before I realized how important temp monitoring was concerning outcome in a four seasons climate that I live in. Too cold is what you really need to avoid as you have a problem later. Too hot will give you instant feedback because it sets up too fast while applying.

JMHO of coarse!

Rick
 
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scdiveteam said:
Randy,

I have found that between 75 and 80 degrees is the optimum for me to apply my epoxy substrate and clear coat on my cues. On epoxy application, if it is over 80, things can get funny and by the time you get to the butt cap it is too hot from the chemical reaction at that specific parameter. I don't microwave my poly clear!!

With epoxy, if it is a little too hot after the microwave, I just lay the bottles on their side on the concrete floor and that works as a great heat sink to get to the proper temp. I would be lost without the instant infrared thermometer gizmo. It takes out all of the guess work and I can operate within my procedural guidelines without wasting time or any hassle.

I learned the hard way not to mess with guessing on temp of my chems. I would do a cue and get wonderful results and then a few months later do the same process and get dog shit results before I realized how important temp monitoring was concerning outcome in a four seasons climate that I live in.

JMHO of coarse!

Rick
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Thank you Rick. Once again I learned something:)
 
Lexicologist71 said:
I added coats over several days time. I've also read that I should limit my coatings to 2 per day. Any input there?
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Recoat the 2nd coat in about 1 hour. If you wait until the next day, you must sand it first.

2 coats ... sand tomorrow ... 2 more coats ... wait at least 5 days... sand and buff...

Kim
 
Thanks Kim. I just checked a cue that was last coated about 5 days ago. I could still make an impression with my thumbnail. I guess wait another 3 days?

Concerning epoxy in the microwave, I followed Joey's advice and gave mine about 10 seconds for each part prior to mixing. The bubbles came out much more quickly than previous applications.
 
Lexicologist71 said:
Thanks Kim. I just checked a cue that was last coated about 5 days ago. I could still make an impression with my thumbnail. I guess wait another 3 days?

Concerning epoxy in the microwave, I followed Joey's advice and gave mine about 10 seconds for each part prior to mixing. The bubbles came out much more quickly than previous applications.
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Joey,

Do you have to heat them before mixing or will it be just fine after mixing? Didn't know if it would speed the curing process up too much and make it no good to work with. Although CueCoat stays fine after hitting it with a torch.
 
opiesbro said:
Joey,

Do you have to heat them before mixing or will it be just fine after mixing? Didn't know if it would speed the curing process up too much and make it no good to work with. Although CueCoat stays fine after hitting it with a torch.
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Never after mixing
 
opiesbro said:
Thanks Joey! I will give it a try next week when I get on ready to be finished.
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I meant not heating the mix btw after mixing it.
I have heard of the blowtorch or cig lighter over the cue once it's applied to get rid of bubbles. But, I've never had much use for that .

I've seen bubbles when a put a heat lamp close to the cue while drying.

I just heat the cue a little with the lamp before spreading the epoxy now.
 
JoeyInCali said:
I meant not heating the mix btw after mixing it.
I have heard of the blowtorch or cig lighter over the cue once it's applied to get rid of bubbles. But, I've never had much use for that .

I've seen bubbles when a put a heat lamp close to the cue while drying.

I just heat the cue a little with the lamp before spreading the epoxy now.
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I've finished one cue with the cue coat so I am no expert by any means. My experience with using the torch and flaming the epoxy after it was applied gave me good results as long as my lighting was good enough to see the bubbles before it dried. The only issue that I had with it was how to rotate is slow enough to not throw it off the cue since the flaming lowered the viscosity. I ended up finding that a rotisserie setup for a grill was just perfect for speed.

I've been thinking about what Joey said about heating the wood before using the epoxy on it and I think I'm gonna build a closed loop controlled oven. That way I can heat soak the wood at about 100F before spreading the epoxy on it.
 
I checked the finish again today. I can still dent it with my fingernail. Is it finish stripping time? Ugh...6 cues. I think I'm going back to Cue Cote.
 
Just out of curiosity,but could this stuff be sprayed with an airbrush? Tommy D.
 
Tommy-D said:
Just out of curiosity,but could this stuff be sprayed with an airbrush? Tommy D.
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The trouble with an airbrush for cues is it doesn't deposit enough finish. It would take very many coats. A detail gun works better.

I've experimented with Ceramithane lately. On my own cue, I put on 2 coats in fairly quick succession by brush, on the lathe, about an hour apart, with no sanding in between coats. This took pretty long to dry, I could not really say harden, so I tried a bit of heat. I held it in front of a space heater a few minutes and got it pretty hot (yipes!), but it hardened up pretty well, still not really rock hard, but hard enough. Then I sanded it flat and gave it 2 more coats, as above, waited a couple days, cooked it as above, sand, buff...done.
It gave me a very clear, shiny finish. If I had been more patient I could have made it better with more sanding and buffing and a couple more coats but I kind of bailed at "good enough", which is actually quite good.
So all in all, it gave good results but was a lot of work.
I may experiment more but I feel no pressure to do so since the finish I use now works great and is faster.
But it cleans up with water and it is very clear.

Robin
 
My finish with CA and Cue Cote were both far shinier than I've achieved with Ceramithane. Those Ceramithane cues STILL aren't particularly hard. I can still dent it with my thumbnail.
 
There were several posts concerning heating Cue Cote in the microwave. Today, I heated mine before mixing and I had almost no bubbles at all. It went on smoothly and thickened back up as it cooled on the cue. In another hour I should be able to turn the lathe off and let it sit the rest of the night.

Could someone fill me in with the details about posting pictures? I'd like to post some of my work but have failed thus far.
 
to post pictures you may need a picture hosting web site. I use photobucket.com

If you sign up you can upload pictures there and copy and paste the url address for the picture into the forum. If you need help just PM me
 
Lexicologist71 said:
Could someone fill me in with the details about posting pictures? I'd like to post some of my work but have failed thus far.
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When making a reply, just click on the "manage Attachments" button down near the bottom then a popup window will open where you can click upload to post your pictures.
 

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Common problem with direct upload. It won't allow much for file size. Best to use an image host. I have gmail, comes with an image host and file storage. :thumbup:

I wouldn't bother with direct upload. The file size restrictions suck.
 
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