   Much has been written and discussed about 5 minute epoxy finishes. It's a good way to finish a cue without spraying automotive clear coat. This is one method of finishing a cue but requires time and patience. We will relate a little story. We have a friend and co-worker who is apprenticing with us. Now, Brian is a great guy and is willing to learn. Well, it seems that Brian read a cue building book written by some 'cue man' out there somewhere. After reading this book, Brian is now an "expert" in the art of cue building because he read the 'book'. We asked him if we could see the 'book' and as such skimmed through it. It is most certainly a worthwhile endevour and includes a lot of useful information. There are some things which we disagree with but that is a matter of preference while we did find a couple of outright and in our opinion, mistakes. Overall is is an excellent beginning into the art of cue building. Ok, so now with all that in mind.... Brian was up to the step of finishing a cue and he says, "hey Dude, (now, I'm a dude) we can finish the cue using epoxy". I say huh! Are you nuts. Why? I've been doing things, my way and they work, so let's leave well enough alone. However, I forgot that Brian is now an '"expert" because he read the 'book'. So he says, "Dude, the 'book' says you can use 5 minute epoxy". And so, I say, really now. And, what brand epoxy can we use? Brian, intelligently says, "Devcon". Devcon, I reply! You've got to be kidding. Brian says, "no Dude, here let me show you the chapter in the 'book'". And so I read it and yes, it does indeed state that you can use Devcon for finishing the cue. I sat there and tried to explain to Brian that you cannot use Devcon because it yellows. I also stated that you cannot use G5 or West System for the same reason, which of course Brian already knew (he read the 'book'). "No Dude, the 'book' specifically says that Devcon doesn't yellow", he replied. Oh, Devcon doesn't yellow which is news to me. I thought I knew it all but the 'book' does indeed state that it doesn't yellow and I guess it must be true (but I know better). I try and try to explain to Brian that Devcon yellows but he insists. After years of using and experimenting with epoxies, Devcon, West and G5 all yellow. I will repeat that. Devcon, West and G5 all yellow. PERIOD, end of conversation; there are no ifs, ands or buts. But, Brian knows better (he read the 'book' and is now an expert). And as such, I had to prove my point. I placed Devcon, G5, West and our own finishing epoxy on a white sheet of paper. Once dry, I exposed all of them to UV light and the results are seen on the inset photo of this page (top right photo). If you look at all the samples, what do you see? Devcon, G5 and West all yellowed. Do you agree? Of course you do. You plainly see that all of them (including the Devcon), yellowed. Do you see that Brian? The Devcon yellowed. End of conversation. The only one that did not yellow is Cue Components brand of epoxy. Now, we did not put this little story up to sell our own brand of epoxy. We did it to prove a point. However, now that we are writing all this, we think that we will offer it to those of you who want a non-yellowing finishing epoxy. Thank you and I do hope you enjoyed reading this and have gained some experience in cue building. And, the moral to the story is, don't believe everything that you read. The upside to all this... After showing Brian the above test he has finally put the book away. We can't even bring it up to him as it's a sore subject. However, as you can see by the goofy photo above, Brian has finally realized that despite what he reads and hears about building cues, we really do know better. And, after using Cue Components Finishing Epoxy he was one happy camper (you'd never know it by looking at the photo). How do we know, "Dude, you were right and this stuff goes on so much easier". And, "look at that shine Dude; it's off the hook!". Uh, yeah Brain, we know, now put it back on the hook and hang it up. Gotta love todays slang. :-) Application: Just mix it up and smear it on with your hand (using a glove of course). Try to put it on evenly and have the cue rotating after it's applied. You can set-up lights overhead to aid in drying. Let the cue sit for 24 hours prior to sanding. Then sand evenly until all rough and shiny areas are gone. Then, just wipe on 5 -10 coats of Thin Cyanoacrylate and let dry overnight. Once again, sand all rough and shiny areas off, wet sand up to 2000, then buff as usual using your favourite compounds. Special Note: While we specifically state that Devcon, G5 and West System epoxies all yellow when exposed to UV light, this in no way means that they are unacceptable for building cues. To the contrary, all mentioned epoxies are excellent for building cues. They are just not good for finishing cues where the epoxy will be exposed. They are perfectly acceptable for joining component parts when building cues. In fact, we use all three. |