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3. Thinners for Popular Cements

Anybody have ideas on the best thinners to use for Fleximent and Hard-As-Nails? I'm tired of buying the little bottles of fleximent thinner that are almost as expensive as the cement, and fingernail polish-remover seems to break Hard-As-Nails down rather than thin it.

Think that fleximent was a composition of shoe-goo, and Toulimine? (SP?) And I was told where you can guy the Toulimine if that is the spelling, but can't think of where. Maybe Toulimine was a photo processing substance?? Dunno about Hard as Nails.

Hi,
Don't think it is toluene that thins Fleximent, but not positive. It's another somewhat toxic chemical used in cleaning fluids whose name escapes me. I've used paint brush cleaner purchased at K-mart, and it thins Fleximent.

Hard As Nails thins with pure acetone which you can get at the hardware store. Don't use nail polish remover. While it contains acetone, it contains other things that will cloud up the polish. I put a small brass bead in the Hard As Nails to help mix it.

Mark

Hi Mark,



Ah! Thanks Mark. So that's the reason...I never tried Acetone because I thought that's what the remover was. I've got about 5 or 6 bottles of the stuff in various stages of viscosity that I can now revive. The brass bead is a great idea. Think a regular copper coated BB would work or will the plating mess with something?

Regards,

Kurt

Don't know, Kurt, Try it and see. It does help to mix it up, for sure. If you can get a glass eyedropper at the drug store, it'll help you add the amount you need. You will be surprised how well pure acetone works.

Mark

Mark, can you recall the name of the stuff you used for Flexament thinner? I'm with Kurt on wanting an alternative to the expensive Flexament thinner option.

I called today our local flyshop where I heard the answer to the Fleximent thinner years back, and didn't get a knowledgeable person on the phone. I do know tiers can make their own...shoe-goo, and the thinner. I think softhackle may have mentioned the thinner, but I will find out here soon. Right now, I have a project to work on...cleaning two roosters my best buddies, KJ, and Sitka assisted on today! Tomorrow, the turkey gets spared. We eat pheasant.

Thanks Sayfu. Looking forward to what you find out.:) A happy turkey (pheasant) day to all!

Regards,

Kurt

Hey Spence - Go Lions!

Okay, the product I used to thin Flexament is E-Z paint brush cleaner. I have made my own using this product and Shoo-goo. It comtains many poisonous products and should be used with caution, and as long as you use it carefully in a well ventilated area, you should be fine. The ingredients listed contains toluene, but the other product I was thinking of was Methyl Ethyl Ketone. It has been used as a thinner and cleaning agent.

Mark

I'm sure now that the topic I listened to in the flyshop of making your own Flexament, and illiminating Witlock's proprietary fee for the most part was Shoo-goo and thin it with toluene. I was sure the thinner started with a "T".

Ok, I was in WalMart of all poor information places, and saw a guy, Leroy Cook, a flyshop fellow that also likes to mfger his own stuff..carves balsa wood plugs, and fancy paints them, makes up flylines. He was making up a deep water flyline dredger for browns that lay under this bridge hole...bridge holes are always deep. He was using a section of lead core line, and told me he uses Pliobond rather than Flexament, but had some toluene that he'd give me, and had used shoo-goo, and made his own flexament in the past. I'm not questioning softhackles post, just confirming, I guess, that I've used lots of toxic thinners in non-ventilated places.

Sayfu,
If Toluene works, that's great! I've worked with Toluene as a petroleum analyst is the U.S. Army. That was many years ago. It just did not strike me as a chemical that would thin this stuff, but I could easily be mistaken. If it works, it works. I would consider Toluene less toxic than Methyl Ethyl Ketone.

Mark

Hi Guys,

Well, I went out and bought some acetone at the local Ace and it works beautifully Mark, thanks. I learned something though. Don't put air rifle BB's in it! As I suspected, the copper coating is not plating, but some kind of finish. I was looking at it this morning and discovered that an orange residue was at the bottom of the bottle. Upon mixing, it is all now the color of tung oil varnish with a shiny steel BB at the bottom.:) Since I only use this stuff for some applications on nymph wingcases, quill reinforcement, or painted eye protection, it is now useless to me. Good thing I've got a bunch more bottles to revive.:)

As to Fleximent - In CA, the stores don't seem to sell any of the other stuff you guys mentioned. All I can find are mineral spirit based paint solvents, acetone, and some undetermined substitute called "industrial finish solvent" that replaces MEK, Carbon Tet, Toluene, etc. The label doesn't say what it is. I'm hesitant to buy it for fear it will work about as well as our approved bug sprays, drain cleaners, and dish soaps.

Regards,

Kurt

Kurt,
Use a brass bead head. That's about the best I've found for mixing. I use Hard As Nails as a regular head cement. It works well, and when thinned to the correct consistancy, it penetrates the head well. It can be purchased in almost any drug store or department store, is reasonable in price, and it's easy to find thinner for it. A can of pure acetone will last a long time, but keep it capped tight. It evaporates quickly.

Mark

George Harvey liked to make his own Flexament using Shoe Goo and toluene. He writes about it in his book, Techniques of Trout Fishing and Fly Tying. But I'm not sure the formula is the same, or that toluene is the best thinner for Flexament. I guess it's worth a try, though, and I'll also look for E-Z paintbrush cleaner.

All the fellers in my area that make it from Shoo-goo use toluene. But you have to factor in they're from Ideeeho....Idahoooligans. :)

The "T" thinner you are looking for is Toluene. However, Xylene will also work just fine. It should also be mentioned that both of these solvents should be handled with care.

Bummer. Is there a good thinner that can also be consumed? You know, for when I run out of other spirits? (Cabin fever is setting in. Hey, wasn't it last year about this time that everybody started getting a little weird, and cranky?)

Thanks, Derek. And welcome.

Derek...I got that one right, and broke my string of failures, and ruined my reputation in doing so. I'm down to using the dollar stores $1 bottle of fingernail polish. Works fine, and go ahead, and gum up on me, see if I care. :) I even bought a bottle that has some sparkley flakes in it. What a "trigger" that stuff is going to be.