UV Resin Shootout

2891 Views 16 Replies 10 Participants Last post by FinLuver, Jun 2, 2016

c1eddy

Discussion Starter · May 21, 2016

I've been looking for more information and reviews on the various brands of UV resin, and came across this:
http://www.flyfishfood.com/2015/10/uv-resin-shootout.html

Reactions: 1

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

GAT

· #2 · May 21, 2016

Okay.... as far as I can tell, Loon won his shootout.

However, I'm not all that concerned with the durability test. The flies I tie with a UV coated head do not slam into anything hard... seldom do I hit them with a hammer. I guess it might be a consideration if I fished rocky rivers but I don't.

Smell? Well, I don't know how the products smell underwater so I don't know if that makes a difference to a fish or not. Yes, yes, I know, fish have a very good sense of smell and the reason the bass guys spray smelly crap on their lures but I don't know if the smell of a UV coated head on a fly underwater is significant enough to turn the fish away from the fly.

I know what we, as humans, can smell in the open air but I'm not so sure fish smell the same thing underwater.

That said, after reading the article I plan to trash all my UV resins and buy a boatload of Loon products

Not really... to tell you the truth, I'm not all that obsessed with the characteristics of UV thread coating resins

...but it is an interesting article.

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Stonefish

· #3 · May 21, 2016

Just like the 5 & 8 wt rod shootouts, these type of things are pretty subjective in my opinion.

They mentioned durabilty as being an issue with Silvercreek's cure. I just haven't seen that based on my own experiences. I've tied 100's of clousers and can bash them on the beach with my backcast with the best of them. The eyes get dings in them or a hook may break long before the cure will crack.

The most important quality in a UV cure to me is that it cures tack free. I tried one of the leading brands "tack free" products and it was a major fail.

I think what a person needs to do is try some different UV cures and lights and use what works best for them for the type of bugs you like to tie.
SF

FinLuver

· #4 · May 21, 2016

One word...

"Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails"

Ya I know, but you get the drift.

Reactions: 1

GAT

· #5 · May 21, 2016

FinLuver said:
One word...

"Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails"

Ya I know, but you get the drift.

Pretty much. If I'm tying a fishing fly it doesn't need to look cool but catch fish. I'm not really so sure a head coated with UV resin works that much better than Sally's. However, as fly tying is a sort of "art", whatever you want to use is fine with me.

Reactions: 1

clarkman

· #6 · May 21, 2016

FinLuver said:
One word...

"Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails"

I dunno, I'm partial to L.A. Girls quick dry top coat

only cause it was cheaper....

in all honesty though, if I'm building up a head on my salty flies, I love Silvercreek's stuff...works great for my needs...my LA Girls stuff is great for finishing most of my smaller flies just to make sure they don't come undone...

Reactions: 2

weiliwen

· #7 · May 21, 2016

I haven't tried all of them by any means, but I use Silvercreek's UV cure; it's always hardened quickly and completely, no tackiness.

FinLuver

· #8 · May 21, 2016

Randall Clark said:
I dunno, I'm partial to L.A. Girls quick dry top coat

only cause it was cheaper....

in all honesty though, if I'm building up a head on my salty flies, I love Silvercreek's stuff...works great for my needs...my LA Girls stuff is great for finishing most of my smaller flies just to make sure they don't come undone...

I was in L.A. once...some of the Girls are cheaper!!

Reactions: 1

tackleman

· #9 · May 21, 2016

Quit using SHHN because of the odour.
I don't know about the fish reacting to it but when I open a flybox and think I'm standing inside a beauty parlour, I'll opt for less smell!

Reactions: 1

c1eddy

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 21, 2016

The author's fourth test, where he placed a sample of each in the "Dash of my car" for 24 hours, did not appear to be figured into his final scoring. To me, it is as important as any of the other factors. In fact, it's probably where I'll start my "process of elimination", as I have a number of discolored (yellow to amber flavored) Surf Candy-type flies that incorporate epoxies. Right or wrong, my confidence in them is diminished due to their discoloring.

GAT

· #11 · May 22, 2016

Discoloring is a valid concern for a clear coat head.

Stonefish

· #12 · May 22, 2016

tackleman said:
Quit using SHHN because of the odour.
I don't know about the fish reacting to it but when I open a flybox and think I'm standing inside a beauty parlour, I'll opt for less smell!

Haven't found odor to be an issue in regards to fish catching with either Hard as Nails or UV cure. Prior to using UV I damn near bathed the diamond braid on clousers with Hard as Nails.

Chris,
It seems the quicker drying epoxy seems to yellow more quicky then the longer drying stuff.
SF

Reactions: 1

c1eddy

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 23, 2016 (Edited)

Thanks for the heads-up Brian.

landlocked

· #14 · May 23, 2016

I know both Cheech and Curtis from that site pretty well. I'm not sure if either of them has a "real" job anymore, cause they are always screwing around with stuff like this!

Cold

· #15 · May 24, 2016

GAT said:
Okay.... as far as I can tell, Loon won his shootout.

However, I'm not all that concerned with the durability test. The flies I tie with a UV coated head do not slam into anything hard... seldom do I hit them with a hammer. I guess it might be a consideration if I fished rocky rivers but I don't.

Smell? Well, I don't know how the products smell underwater so I don't know if that makes a difference to a fish or not. Yes, yes, I know, fish have a very good sense of smell and the reason the bass guys spray smelly crap on their lures but I don't know if the smell of a UV coated head on a fly underwater is significant enough to turn the fish away from the fly.

I know what we, as humans, can smell in the open air but I'm not so sure fish smell the same thing underwater.

That said, after reading the article I plan to trash all my UV resins and buy a boatload of Loon products

Not really... to tell you the truth, I'm not all that obsessed with the characteristics of UV thread coating resins ...but it is an interesting article.

That was a lot of tying for not caring...

Nick Clayton

· #16 · Jun 2, 2016

If the smell of SHHAN turned off fish then I would never catch a damn thing. I swear I put about half a bottle on every Clouser I tie.

Reactions: 1

FinLuver

· #17 · Jun 2, 2016

Nick Clayton said:
If the smell of SHHAN turned off fish then I would never catch a damn thing. I swear I put about half a bottle on every Clouser I tie.

Bet ya get skunked too...

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