Wednesday, August 24, 2011

U.V. Resins Review. Clear cure goo, bug-bond and clear cure fly finish.

Photobucket

U.V cure resins.
 The introduction of these product to the world of fly tying has made a major impact. They hold 1 great advantage over epoxy and that is the cure time. Each one cures in a matter of seconds. Other advantages are no mixing. No in between time to get the resin on and cure it. Because you use uv light to cure the product, you have limitless time to shape, spread and coat your creations.
I use these products for making cases on nymph backs, doing "epoxy back flies", and for coating fly heads.

 One of my patterns in particular uses the resin over the entire back of the fly. I used this pattern to test out each of the resins. I fished the pattern with each product on them for 4 weeks straight,(total 12 weeks) and got results that I want to share with everyone who cares to read my blog. I will cover price to product quantity, performance, ease of use Ie containers and applicators, and availability.

 There are 3 competitors in this market of new interest to fly tiers. They are loon uv clear fly finish, bug-bond multipurpose uv cure resin, and clear cure goo aka c.c.g. I think everyone knows of the company loon. Loon as you already know or may not know is an excellent company. There products are well researched and come at good prices. Bug-bond is a relatively new company. Based over seas in the U.K., from what I can tell they are only in the u.v. game. Clear Cure Goo, is also a relatively new company. They popped up in recent years and are being pushed hard as a U.S. based company. They push there product mainly as a salt water fly product. But they also promote fresh water applications.

 Here are the numbers for cost and quantity. All prices are full retail price. And I listed them in order for most product for the best price.

 Loon- 59.15 ml for $22.88- Loon does not have a kit available. There light retails for $34.95 but you can find it cheaper. So your looking at a possible kit of $57.83.

 Bug-bond- 20ml for $25.50 at white water flies. There kit goes for $47.95. The kit comes with a 20ml bottle and a u.v. light. Bug bond also makes a power light. It is much more powerful than the light which comes with the kit. They call it there uv torch. It retails for $57.73 and I believe is only available in the U.K.**** update, white water flies now carries the torch light, you can even get it in a kit.****

 C.C.G.- 10cc/10ml syringe for $13.50. They have a 15ml bottle for $17.00. There kit retails for 49.99 and it comes with two syringes so you get 20mls and you get there light. There light retails separately for $30.00.

 Summary- Its quite simple to tell that Loon crushes the competition with 59.15ml@ $22.88. compared to bug-bond at 20ml@ $25.50 and c.c.g. at 15ml@ $17.00.
Loon- $0.39 a ml
Bug-bond- $0.79 a ml
Clear Cure Goo- $0.88 a ml

Here I will cover ease of use and availability

 Loon- The resin is very easy to work with. The bottle is large and is easy to handle. It sits perfectly up right and is easy to have on your bench. A brush of okay quality is included as well as a cap to make the bottle a squeeze bottle. The brush works well for large jobs, and the squeeze bottle adapter is very convenient for the small jobs. Both the brush and the squeeze bottle applicator screw on to the bottle. Loon can easily be found on-line and in many fly shops across the country.

 Bug-bond- Bug bond resin itself is very easy to work with. The bottle is a small to medium size bottle that is easy to work with and easy to keep upright on your tying bench. The bottle itself is a squeeze bottle applicator. You simple snip the tip and your ready to start. The brush is a screw on cap for the bottle, and the squeeze bottle tip is apart of the bottle and the cap screws on securely to cover. They also make a brush applicator that is an okay brush. And it is the same as the loon. Bug-bond is a product of the U.K. so its availability in the U.S.A. is very limited. Although a quick search on line and you can find it, with free shipping to boot. I am unaware of any actual store front fly shops that carry bug-bond here in the U.S.A.

 Clear Cure Goo- Clear cure makes several different consistence of resin. Each one is easy to use and work with. The syringe are very uncomfortable to use and next to impossible to store or keep on your bench. There bottles are small. They are easy to use, store and keep on your bench. They have several different application bottles, there is one with no applicator, the method would be to use your bodkin. They make a squeeze bottle applicator, which is nice and easy to use. They also make a brush applicator bottle. The brush is the same story as the loon and bug bond. The syringe and the squeeze bottle have a little rubber cap to cover the application tip, it does not screw on. C.c.g. is taking the country by storm. You can find the product very easily on-line and and many fly shops are starting to carry the product.

 Summery- Loon's bottle has it all in one, and is easily found. Bug-bond's bottles either come with a squeeze (very nice) or brush, and is not so easily found here in the U.S.A. C.c.g. syringes are very inconvenient. There bottles are nice and you either get a squeeze bottle(nice) or the brush bottle or no applicator bottle. The rubber caps to cover the tips are easily knocked off and do little to keep excess goo form oozing out.

 Here I will cover the performance of each product. I cured each product with there own light and fished the pattern fly for 3 weeks straight. Bouncing bottom the whole way in the rocky streams of eastern pa and western N.J. (yes, it got snagged and yes I went swimming. Brr was that cold in the winter)

 Loon- Loon cures is fully cured in under 8 seconds with there power light. It adheres to nearly anything. Goes on clear, cures clear with no residues. In my fly testing loon performed flawlessly.

 Bug-bond- bug-bond cures fully in less than 5 seconds with there torch. 10 seconds with the standard light that is included in the kit. It will adhere to almost anything. Bug-bond when cured has a slight residue left behind. It is not sticky and will evaporate in a short time. About the time it takes you tie another fly. In my fly testing bug-bond performed flawlessly.

 Clear Cure Goo- C.c.g. cures in less than 10 seconds with there light. It will adhere to almost anything. C.c.g. when fully cured does leave a residue behind. It's slightly tacky, so dubbin particle will adhere. It doesn't seem to dissipate in any quick fashion. This is true for both the thin and thick. The flex cured with a slightly oily residue, not sticky at all, very similar to bug-bond residue. In my fly testing c.c.g. had problems. The flex came clean off the nymph. Both the thin and the thick turned white after only a 2 days.

Summary- Loon performed great, as well as Bug-bond. C.C.G. didn't do so hot.


 I hope this helps anyone who is interested in purchasing u.v. cures. My results say much about the companies and there product. While I do like bug-bond a lot, I will be sticking with loon clear fly finish. That is if I ever finish the bottle. 59.15 ml has lasted me many dozens of flies and I think I may have finally put a dent in the bottle. As for c.c.g. I say buyer beware.

Tight Ties
Johnny Utah.

Additional info- I have continued use of the u.v. resins. Still working on finishing that loon bottle! I recommend with all the resins you give them more cure time. The times i listed above are all manufacture cure times.  I have found that each one does take additional u.v exposure to fully cure. 

 1/18/12  I have a bottle of bug bond thin on the way, and will be purchasing the c.c.g. hydros to test out through the next couple of months. I will report back the details.

26 comments:

  1. Thanks a lot for this review. It has made my decision easy. Loon it is for me, I mean what a great deal!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your welcome. Yes indeed loons clear fly finish is of great value.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for spending the cash and doing all the research ,it's very helpful for us young guys strapped for cash.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your welcome. Thanks for reading.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great review! These are the kind of reviews I like. Honest! Everybody raves about the clear goo stuff and I gotta agree with you J.U. I thought it was a flop also. I'm gonna try the loon.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for taking the time to do the research and the report. I think I will be purchasing the loon. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great job on the research ! I will be purchasing some loon at the show.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello All Consuming! Let me say hello and just say one thing - don't be scared of resin! Your first pieces should be just for fun and ideally you work in something inexpensive like a bottlecap before you use good bezels! Just be extra careful that you mix exact 1 to 1 ratios and there is no reason why you shouldn't have success! Keep me posted!
    UV Resin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Juhi, what are you talking about? None of the 3 products that are addressed here require 2 part mixing unless you consider the liquid as 1 part and the UV light as part 2.

      Delete
    2. I have only used the new Hydo and the Flex tack free CCG so I don't have any experience with the others. Have you used these new ccg products. I have no problem changing to bug bond if it is truly better than ccg's new products. The Hydo is amazing. It cures in about 5 seconds and is totally tack free. It can even be used as a top coat for the thick or the thin which are a little tacky. I find the tack free even a little tacky for about an hour or so after application.

      Delete
    3. Johnny- Can you comment on the bug bond lite? If you tried it, what brand's light did you use? I have heard Bug Bond's pro torch cures all the brands, but other lights uv frequendies are designed for compatibiliy with their branded resins only. Great review and I will look at Loon before deciding. Had been leaning towards BB.

      Delete
  9. Johnny, hope I am reaponding to your posted comments. It appears that my earlier attempt actually responded to comment by Juhi. So, John, have you tested the bug bond lite resin? If so, any thoughts to share? Have you tested whether the bug bond pro light cures the resin brands featured in your review?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Johnny, thanks for the review. I see this was written/reviewed last year, but I want to be sure to let you know that Loon Outdoors now has a UV Fly Tying Kit available (http://www.loonoutdoors.com/uv-fly-tying-kit.html), which includes two viscosities of UV Fly Finish (thick & thin) and a UV Power Light. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wet A Hook Technologies also has 'Tuffleye' which is another light-cured resin out of Texas. They really promotoe that the resin cures in the blue light spectrum which is allegedly safer, but their new formulations will cure with UV light as well. I found the Bug-Bond and Tuffleye makers to be exceptionally helpful about their products as well as the Loon rep. I hope to try out Bug-Bond sometime and have never tried CCG.

    ReplyDelete
  12. how can i e mail you a picture i,m looking for some refective scud back material it is 1/8 in wide and it seem to be 3 colors silver, shiny green and at times red thanks ted varshine

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey Johnny, I bought some of the Tuffleye last year and like it but it has a residue also that I remove with a little rubbing alcohol wipe. My question is, does the Tuffleye light ( blue UV I think) work to cure the Loon products in the same way? I'm having a hard time finding the answer to this question and I surely don't want to blow a bunch more coin to buy a new light if I don't need to. Anybody reading this that can help me with this question, will you please email me at dmusser0815@gmail.com. Thanks ya'll so very much.
    Dave The Wave.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good review. Your words are inspired me to use this resin and I hope this will be a quality epoxy adhesive product.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks a lot man super helpful for a guy new to tying!

    ReplyDelete
  16. bug bond is now being sold by Orvis

    ReplyDelete
  17. thanks so much for your testing - I'm new and its expensive getting started,

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the review. I recently picked up ccg for nymph backs and I have the syringe. It is hard to work with. Hard to squeeze only a tiny amount out. I have used it on two occasions and now I can't even get the syringe to even squeeze. Too much pressure inside or it jelled somehow. Gonna take it back to my fly shop and see about replacing it. May try some loon.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Johnny
    Over here in the UK we can get both Bug Bond and Loon but BB seems to predominate.
    I purchased several blue UV torches through eBay before I realised there were diffent light frequency's but all seem to cure the resins with no problem or any that I have noticed.
    We also have several generic brands obtainably and all seem OK although I have not tested them to the same extent as you have.
    Do you know of the best easily accessible solvent to thin down these uv resins.
    Kind regards
    Geoff Palmer. UK

    geoffwpalmer@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Johnny
    Over here in the UK we can get both Bug Bond and Loon but BB seems to predominate.
    I purchased several blue UV torches through eBay before I realised there were diffent light frequency's but all seem to cure the resins with no problem or any that I have noticed.
    We also have several generic brands obtainably and all seem OK although I have not tested them to the same extent as you have.
    Do you know of the best easily accessible solvent to thin down these uv resins.
    Kind regards
    Geoff Palmer. UK

    geoffwpalmer@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Nice blog and absolutely outstanding. You can do something much better but i still say this perfect.Keep trying for the best. Rental bond cleaning Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello,

    Thank you very much for the reviews on the U.V. Resins, I have been reluctant to use them as they are expensive,(fixed income) but I'm definitely going to try the Loon resins.

    Ralph

    ReplyDelete