Posts by Wishihadgills

Its a fake

Ill try that next time. I got a very good gloss coat on my gun after I started with the acetone. The only flaws were particles of dust that landed in the epoxy while it was wet.

Capt offshore

I loved the way even the teak looked with the epoxy. Just wait until you get the gun in the water on a sunny day it will look like its glowing. Especially the paduk.

When I was working on my epoxy coat on the gun I was building last year I had just about every problem you could experience. The first few coats had bad fisheyes (despite wearing gloves) and I had started using the cheap home depot foam brushes but they start to dissolve pretty quick so I switched to a natural fiber brush and since it was the first use it lost a few bristles but I was able to find them all. I was still getting fisheye problems and somebody had recommended wiping the blank with acetone before coating the gun so I tried that and it resulted in the best coat I had gotten yet then a day later I found a bristle embedded in the epoxy :frustrated2:. I had been using west systems epoxy because this was before Phil's epoxy was available and so I decided to go to west marine to see what they had for applying epoxy. I found that they had some better quality foam brushes and started using those. They didnt deteriorate like the cheap ones but they did get soft and after a couple more coats I realized that if I used a new brush about midway through I got a better coat. I must have put a dozen coats on the gun and I sanded it back to bare twice.

Heres my method for what its worth:

1st Sand Gun. - (I used 150 grit but I have heard between 80 and 200 are ok)

2nd Blow Off Dust - (An air compressor is best but I didnt have one so I resorted to using a dry CLEAN shop cloth. Also gloves are recommended from this point on.)

3rd Hang Blank - (I hung the blank vertically with the muzzle up. I used a wire hanger and put it through one of the band holes.)

4th Final Wipe Down - (I did not do this initially and I dont know if it was a product of teak being so oily or the oils from my hands but I like to wipe it down with acetone. I also let it dry for half an hour to make sure there was no solvent left. I also made sure to smell the blank to make sure I didnt smell any solvent. Mixing solvents with epoxy is not recommended by any of the manufactures that I know of although some people have done so with good results. After wiping down the blank I wanted to make sure there was no remaining solvent.)

5th Change Gloves and Mix Epoxy - (Between the oils and solvent on the gloves I decided to change them, probably unnecessary but after all the trouble I had I didnt want to take any chances. Mixing the epoxy is pretty strait forward, just follow the directions and mix thoroughly. Vigorous mixing creates a lot of bubbles so dont over do it.)

6th Apply Epoxy - (I start from the top down. At this stage I wasnt concern with applying it too thick I simply wanted to makes sure all surfaces were covered.)

7th Remove Excess Epoxy - (Not that all surfaces are covered I used a new brush to brush off excess epoxy. Starting from the top I would try to make one stroke run the length of the entire gun making a smooth and consistent distribution.)

8th Back Away - (At this point the epoxy has started to cure and there isnt much more you can do but mess it up. You can give it a once over to make sure there are not major gaps or pieces of dust etc but its time to clean up.)

9th Sand and repeat (To create a good moisture barrier and tough finish you need between 3 and 5 coats. I sanded in between coats with a 150 grit and it creates A TON of dust. Dont sand too much unless you have a bad fisheye. The purpose of sanding between coats is to roughen the surface so the next coat of epoxy can make a strong bond and to remove any imperfections such as low points or high points etc.)

A couple notes and Things I plan on doing differently next time:

I plan on setting up a "paint booth." Last time I hung the blank in my shower because it was the least dusty room I could think of. It also has good ventilation witch is mandatory if your working inside. It was the closest thing I had a real paint booth at home. Dont do it in a garage unless you live in CA or the middle of the dessert. I live in miami and a garage is way too humid and there is a lot of dust in the air. For the next gun I build I plan on setting up a small dust free environment using some visqueen plastic, duct tape, a pvc frame and a fan with a HEPA filter.

There are also a couple different finishes available for epoxy coats. The Hi-gloss which can only be attained from cure epoxy is the hardest to perfect. There is a gloss that can be achieved through a lot of sanding. starting with about 200 grit and working up to 2000 wet sanding and then going to a buffing compound and eventually even waxing the gun. Then there is a satin finish that is similar but you dont sand with as high of grit sandpaper. For the previous two techniques I would recommend a couple extra coats of epoxy (in the 4-7 range) to account for what will be removed with all the sanding.

I am by no means an expert at this and have only built and epoxied one gun. I did a lot of research talked to a lot of people including Phil in order to get this information. I then applied what best suited me and adapted what worked and didnt. I had an idea in mind of what my finish would look like and went through a lot of trouble to get as close to that as possible but at some point you have to step back and just be happy with what you have.

Good Luck

Also if its teak it is a good idea to wipe the entire blank with acetone before applying the epoxy. Also if you use the same foam brush for too long it will start to deteriorate. Dont use a bristle brush. they have a lot of dust and if a bristle falls out you probably wont notice it until its too late ( ask me how I know)

What kind of finish are you looking for? High gloss or satin etc?

3 20 would be way too much! 3 16mm with a 8 mm shaft should be a good combo. make them a little tight and it will shoot smooth. I have a shorter gun with 3 14mm bands and a 8mm shaft and it has almost zero recoil but is much shorter than a true blue water gun. If I wanted to go off shore with it I could easily power it up with 3 16mm bands but as it is its laser accurate to about 15' and I havnt tried farther than that and dont want to on any reef fish.

Awesome mutton!

Awesome vid but I want to see the FISH! I really like that ledge in the first half of the video too. NIce work.

Having been born and raised in the clear open ,not to mention warm, waters of South Florida Ive never really wanted to dive in California but the more I see pics of yellowtail and WSB the more I want to try it. I dont know what it is about these pictures but it really makes me want to go dive CA.... It could also be that I havent dove in over 2 months.

Needless to say beautiful pictures. Looks like an awesome trip.

That sucks! check out west systems website. They have a a lot of great info about their products. Also make sure that you follow west systems recommendations to the letter. they know their product better than anyone. something you may consider doing is ordering the measuring pumps that they make as this will guarantee that you have the proper ratio.

Makes sense.

Thanks Dan but Im never going to be happy with the dust in it. I plan on making a paint booth in my shower, complete with filters and everything, for my next gun. I know but for what I have planned I really want it to be perfect.

Also if your looking for another way to square a blank you can make it extra large and run it through a table saw. This may waste a lot of material but it would work.

Quote from mrmike

I need it to be somewhat streamlined so that I can swing it side to side to track but I prefer a gun to be taller than wide for carrying purposes while I'm swimming with it, because unfortunately I spend more time carrying my gun than I do tracking.

Is there a reason that people dont just rotate the gun 90 when they carry it? When I built my gun I went with wider than taller for better tracking and I will admit that holding the wide part is uncomfortable especially when loaded but when Im in the water i just hold it sideways and its the same as if it was taller than wide.

I hated the feeling of ruining all my work every time I went to make a cut or drill a hole etc. It was really hard to overcome the quest for perfection. I spent weeks trying to perfect a gloss epoxy coat that im still not 100% happy with but after nearly 10 coats and hours of sanding Im not going to try again until the next gun. However one of the best things about working with wood its easy to fix mistakes and make changes.

Good luck with the build the feeling of getting the first fish with a gun that you built is unparalleled.

Thats an awesome video. I saw it a few months back. The reasoning for staying on the bottom is that it leaves one less direction for the shark to come at you and they dont often hunt from above. They like to attack from below their prey. (shark week still has some good information)

You can use regular socks but they dont hold up well. after a few dives they get torn up. Another option would be a 1 mm neoprene or a lycra dive sock. I use a 1 mm and I love them. Where are you located that you are having trouble getting socks?

The Ulusub reels are nice. I would definitely recommend them. I know wong also makes a 100 meter reel.

Well as man of you predicted building one gun isnt enough. Im already planning my next project and Im looking to take on a few more challenges in this build. I really like the enclosed track on my first build and Im looking to put one in my new project. The question I have is, how do you determine the proper depth for an enclosed track so that the top of the mechanism is flush with the rest of the gun?

Also has anyone used a reverse mech with an enclosed track? I dont see a reason why it "shouldnt" work but I might be missing something.

Alex

The fin may be too stiff for you. A lot of people that buy the 2000's end up returning them for the 3000's which are much softer especially on long shore dives.

If your looking at high end greek fins you should also check out M-technics. Ive heard some good things about them.

Went out last Sunday for a relaxed day on the water with family and friends. My girlfriends brother asked me last minute to bring my guns and diving gear. the first reefs were pretty but no fish and lots of jellys. Ended up heading to the sandbar for a little. After a few hours and a little rain we pulled up and decided to head over to a spot that I had nearby. Second best decision of the day. After about 10 minutes in the water we had landed a small hog and the fishing was looking good. Then I see a cloud of silt so I swim over and see a big hog on the end of my girlfriends brothers line.
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At this point I was a little Im still looking to get my first fish of the day and first one on the new gun. I see a familiar set of rocks where Ive seen some fish before and there or hundreds of snapper and grunts all over. I swim over and see a nice sized black sitting in the open . I shoot it and it runs into the rocks.... An hour and a half and countless dives later I finally get him out.

Ended up being a great day of fishing.

Well after much too long I have finally gotten a chance to post pictures of the final product. I finished the gun at the start of the summer and it has definitely been a learning experience. Im also completely hooked on building guns. I want to give a huge thank you to Jeff (Tinman) and Bill (WoodGuy) for all of the help they have given me through this long process. Sorry if I asked too many questions. I also want to mention Don Paul and Phil Herranen for the info they contributed.

You can go to a 2mm neoprene sock. It will take up some of the extra room. I find them a lot more effective than the lycra.