[MagicBob]

Don't know what went wrong, I sealed with a sanding sealer (oil based), and then sprayed with Createx . When I applied the topcoat of Envirotex everything seamed fine cause it seamed to be setting up good(stopped getting any runs) now two days later it's still a gooey mess. Does anyone know away to strip all this back to wood. This is a big trout lure that Iv'e got 4 days into I don't want to throw it away. Thanks

[robert giberson]

i am know pro, but on the first set of baits i did ,this happened to me as well, so i just mixed up another batch of enviro tex and it worked great!!! this stuff works great, but if your measurement are off just by a fraction it will not fully set,2 days later my bait was not cured so i precisely(sp?) measured another batch and put it over the top of the not cured enviro and it worked fine! hope this helps! Rob

[MagicBob]

Sounds like a good idea except I'm not sure it will work on this bait 'cause it has a couple of close fitting joints and the Envirotex may get too thick??

[Siscoe Kid]

Magic Bob, the most important step when working with epoxies is accurate measuring and thorough mixing. If you you do these two steps to a tee, I can assure you that you will not have problems. Enviotex lite is an excellent product. Continue to use it as stated and you will love it.

[Hughesy]

It might have something to do with the oil based sealer.

[MagicBob]

Thanks everybody for the replies. I tried your suggestion Robert we'll see how it turns out. I think everybody was right. I was in a hurry and its winter so it's cold and damp and I think that affected the sealer. Then I hurried through and painted over that so it may have become part of the problem. Then I mixed the Envirotex without measuring as carefully as I should(in a hurry). I did stir long enough 'cause I always do that, but I guess I always assumed that if you were a little off with the hardner it only affected curing time. Never had this problem before, but I learned my lesson.
Thing is what I'm curious about now is whether there's any way to strip back to wood from here?

[out2llunge]

Siscoe Kid nailed it. THe mix must be 50:50 or else that will happen. It happened to me years ago and boy do I understand your frustration.

[MagicBob]

Thanks again everyone for the responses. Robert your idea of another coat of Envirotex seems to be working so the lure was saved. Still I'm curious for future reference if anyone has ever tried removing gummed up epoxy. I can't figure out whether to use alchohol for the epoxy or go to some stronger solvent to remove verything at once. Trichlorethane maybe? Ideas anyone?

[out2llunge]

I tried epoxy thinner and it worked sort of okay, but your best bet is not to let it happen again.

[jtexas]

Haven't tried it on gooey epoxy, but I believe MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) will do the trick.