UV tacky

[Flaswimbaiter]

I only use UV resin for correct mistakes and filling holes but also fixing chipped clearcoat. I have a plug-in light in a very strong flashlight, but for some reason even if I put it directly on the light and let it sit for 15 minutes it’s still will be tacky on the surface. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?

[bryanmc]

Depends on the resin and the light.  Some resin needs 365nm and some needs 405nm.  Sometimes if the thing you're curing gets warm it will feel tacky but will be fine after it cools off.

[Flaswimbaiter]

4 hours ago, bryanmc said:

Depends on the resin and the light.  Some resin needs 365nm and some needs 405nm.  Sometimes if the thing you're curing gets warm it will feel tacky but will be fine after it cools off.

Could you please clarify “nm” so I have a better understanding? 

[Nathan]

I don’t know how big a area you need to cover but if you brush on a little clear hard as nails finger nail top coat it will take care of that tacky feeling..Nathan

[azsouth]

Tacky means it is NOT Fully cured. So more time under the light and closer to the resin will help dramatically

Unless you are going for a light matte finish, then just put on a glove and run over the tacky resin then fully cure before it has time to gloss over.

[Flaswimbaiter]

11 hours ago, azsouth said:

Tacky means it is NOT Fully cured. So more time under the light and closer to the resin will help dramatically

Unless you are going for a light matte finish, then just put on a glove and run over the tacky resin then fully cure before it has time to gloss over.

That’s why I don’t understand the tackiness. I put the light right on top of the resin and leave it for at least 10 minutes. And these are very small amounts. Maybe my light is too weak. 

[seakarp]

What's shaking Flashy?

Seems that either you have a bad/expired batch of uv resin, or your light source is not generating

a sufficient amount of the wave length needed to cure the resin you are using.

Take some of your tacky baits and hang them outside in the sun for a while and give them a turn at some point. If after an hour or 2, or so, they are cured and no longer tacky then the problem is likely the light source.

If after the sun exposure they are still tacky it's likely the resin itself is no bueno.

Let us know what happens.

Good luck.

[azsouth]

Easy way to figure if you have the wrong light....put it out in the direct sun for 10 minutes.

[Flaswimbaiter]

Thanks guys, will try sunlight to test the resin. 

[bryanmc]

On 6/26/2023 at 2:46 PM, Flaswimbaiter said:

Could you please clarify “nm” so I have a better understanding? 

Nanometers....  It's  how the wavelength of the light is measured.

[Flaswimbaiter]

18 minutes ago, bryanmc said:

Nanometers....  It's  how the wavelength of the light is measured.

Thanks, my light is 396 I found out. 

[BobP]

I’ve tried a few different uv polyester clearcoats, most recently Chinese resin from Amazon.  You don’t really know the quality of this stuff, which is sold for amateur jewelry making.  Having the right uv light source is important.  My fingernail uv lamp from Amazon was not a good match and I had to set the lures out in the sun on a lure turner to get them hard.  After storing them for a few months, I found the clearcoat was becoming somewhat tacky again.  I gave up and returned to using KBS moisture cured polyurethane, which yields a hard very clear tough coating.

[bryanmc]

On 6/27/2023 at 10:13 PM, BobP said:

 Having the right uv light source is important.  My fingernail uv lamp from Amazon was not a good match

I originally used one of the LED nail lights with varying results.  They are generally 395 - 405nm.  I switched to one of the fluorescent tube type nail lights that are 365nm and they cure the Chinese resin in about 6 minutes.  I also found some Chinese resin on amazon the claimed to be "fast cure" but it actually cured slower than the regular Chinese resin from amazon.