Any and all opinions about this finish appreciated and what kind of respirator do you use. Thanks, Bob

I love the stuff. It takes a LONG time to dry though. The satin is my favorite.

Its a great finish. Fills and rubs out good to. The only down side is the drying time. I use a good cartridge type respirator

CanadaBowyer,

Jim Godden of Mississippi Lake Longbow in Ontario, wrote an article about brush finishing with Thunderbird Epoxy.

The article was in Bowyers Journal, I believe, summer, 07 issue.

R.W.

I allow 24 hours between coats.  I do 3 full coats then splatter the last coat.  Finishing a bow ties up the shop for 4 days.  Certainly is durable though.  

I use an airbrush now because it goes through 1/3rd of the finish an hvlp goes through.  Stuff isn't cheap.  Chad

Thank you all,I just finished two longbows with it and really liked the job it did.I cured it in the heatbox at 100 degrees so only 4 hours between each coat. The odor was stronger than other epoxys I have used in the past so I am wondering which cartridge is the proper one.  Organic Vapor or acid gas? or possibly another that I don't know about.   Bob

The vapor is the thinner that you use.  We have a cartridge for paint, not the dust one.  Works great.  We have been using it for eight months now and have been very satisfied with he performance.  You can't find a tougher finish.

Mike

I contacted the owners of Thunderbird epoxy and the correct cartridge is"organic vapor with charcoal". I am brushing the finish and it works easy with a minimum of sanding between coats.The artical that R.W. mentioned is a good one.It is in the Summer 2007 issue of "The Bowyers Journal".Thank you all for the input. This is what makes the "Trad Gang" so great.   Bob

I also use it with superb results...once its taken a full cure the stuff is nearly bullet proof....I also cure mine in my heat box around 90-100 degrees. Like regular epoxy, its supposed to make it harden better with heat. It also makes it go a little faster!

Bryan

MMM problem I have with all the slow drying finishes is lint and dust. What do you do about that with a finish that takes a full day to dry?

Sixby,I wipe down the bow with denatured alcohol after sanding and then after appling the finish I put it in the bow oven at reduced heat to dry.About 4 hours at 100 degrees F. I keep the oven as clean as possible by keeping it closed up when working in the shop and wipe it out once in a while.Any minor dust flecks can be taken out after the finish cures completly with #0000 steel wool. Hope this helps, I am still learning myself and this forum is great!!   Bob