Tuffleye - Does it work?

[razorz]

In the March/April '07 issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters on page 78 there is an article about a new epoxy alternative called Tuffleye. Have any of you tried this out yet and, if so, can you confirm if it works as it claims it does?

I am personally sick of waiting for epoxy to dry and dealing with the drip problems.

Let me know what you all think of Tuffleye.

:bouncy:

[jake61198]

From what I've heard it works great. I haven't tried it yet because of the price. I went to order it and even though twenty bucks for 30 cc's is a bit steep, I thought it was still worth a try. Then on top of that they want to hit you for another twenty for shipping plus they say that a UV light won't set it and you need their special " blue light ". For the battery powered light ( which they say isn't as good as the AC one ) they want forty five bucks and for the AC model the hit is seventy five. For that kind of money, I guess I can put up with epoxy for a while longer and hope that somewhere down the line the price drops a bit.

[razorz]

Yeah, that is a bit much for some "glue."

I haven't seen it at any local fly shops yet either, I guess I'll just wait and see what becomes of the stuff.

:gr_cheers:

[jake61198]

As far as I know, the only place to get it is directly from them online. I googled tuffleye and got their site. Hopefully they will start selling to some shops and the price will come down some. It really does sound like a pretty good product.

[longshot]

Loon Outdoors makes the same stuff for a lot less money.It's marketed as UV Knot Sense OR UV Wader Repair.Both are the same and work very well.I never use that UV light either.I prefer to just stick the fly in sunlight.Works just as well if not better.You will need a little alcohol wipe to take off the slippery film that is produced from hardening.

[mike hamlin]

its a bit expencive to buy at first i thought that too. but if you can get buy the first investment its is worth it. It goes off in about 20 sec. and is clear and hard. i use expoxy for many years and its a lot better than that. you need to go to there web site and read all the information there. The blue light is the hardest thing to get over but once you have that it pretty cheap stuff and is easy to work with.
I think to buy the plug in light it in the long run best.
Mike

[wtpdosa]

I haven't tried Tuffleye yet, but I have been working with Loon's clear Hard Head while making albacore flies. It dries fairly fast and builds up nicely. What else I like is that there is no mixing, and it comes with a brush attached to the lid, so its very easy to apply. It also comes in black.

[Barry]

I've never used the material myself, but have seen it used. It's a lot more user friendly than Epoxy but I'm not sure that the extra cost is worth it.
Lately I've been using DAP instead of Epoxy with good results. It goes on white but gets crystal clear as it sets. The DAP isn't as tough as epoxy and it's a little lighter in weight, but it'll never yellow with age.
As soon as I get familiar with adding photos, I'll post a few pictures.

[wetflyguy]

Barry,

DAP I don't mean to sound dumb but what is this?
I have used Loon Hard head on my Thunder Creeks for the salt.

Wet

[broglin]

Yes the tuffleye material does work..It is a type of acrylic that is used in dentistry. THe dentists use a form of it every day when they do " white fillings"...also dental labs use a form of it called "trident" that comes in a sheet and is used to make custom trays,etc...i watched a rep at the gulf coast conclave in Louisana use it and i asked him if it was the same stuff cause it looked the same and he said yes it was a dental material and it was "modified" by a friend whom is marketing the material now and he is a dentist from texas. ONE caveat to this material is does it float? sink? I used a form of it in the lab and when tossed in a bowl of water it FLOATED....and yes i am a dentist also....Our materials could be used for a lot of items on flypatterns such as crabs but its so expensive it wouldnt be worth it to use. As to the curing lights they need to be used to Hardened the material but if you sit it on the desktop in the light it will set up but takes a much longer time.minutes instead of seconds....The triad material i mention above even comes in a black/brown plastic pouch to protect from any forms of light. I have use the loon sense and its great. I was using a spoon fly once and after several speckled trout the epoxy layer would break off...BAM i would add a layer of loon sense (back to the sun) and hardenend it with the sun, and i was good to go...i caught over 10 specks on one spoon fly and i repaired it 2 or 3 times....Hope this helps some....
Destin, FL

[jnicosia]

I have been using the loon's hard and soft head which works great alo I have used angler's choice brand of some type of silicone/epoxy thats already mixed and works great for building heads.

[low land fly werks]

everything i have read says its great.....but the cost is pretty high. i like softex, and the old standby 5 min. epoxy

[ShoreBird]

I just received my kit from Orvis. I'll let you know how it goes. I bought it to
make Surf Candy, I'll try it on some clousers I have ready for epoxy

[Flyjunkie]

I have used Tuffleye for over a year Now... And it does have it's applications..but I still use Epoxy most of the time...

Here's a few Shortcomings i have noticed with Tuffleye :

It Does Yellow.. and sometimes faster then epoxy will. I had a Baitfish pattern made of SF Blend.. and After applying the Tuffleye Core and hitting it with the curing Light I would leave it for a few days before coating it with the finish (I was Busy and just never got to finishing it). When I was Going to use the Tuffleye Finish I noticed the Core had already started to yellow abit. After Putting on & Curing the Finish, I Cleaned off the Residue with Rubbing alcohol. The Next day I was going to coat the head with hard as Hull (simply because i like the Shine on my Flies) and Noticed that The Head had really Yellowed up...

I just recently did some Ultra Shrimp in White and thought I'd Tuffleye their Carapaces.. After Curing the Core and cleaning it with Rubbing Alcohol I noticed the Tuffleye had begun to Yellow ever so slightly...

Another Downside of Tuffleye is that It Breaks/Cracks/Shatters too easily when Fished around Rocks.. At Montauk last October We were fishing Turtle Cove and I was going thru SurfCandies at an alarming rate because of the Flies simply hitting Rock Reefs off the beach.. I was forced to either Repair the Candies with UV Knot Sense right on the Beach or Wait until The Stripers moved in close enough and then cast, as opposed to working the Surfline...

I Also Fish the Los Angeles/Long Beach Breakwater for Calico Bass alot.. i use a Fly called a Jetty Ripper.. The head is coated with Epoxy to protect it from being thrown up against the Rock breakwall.. I tried some of the Jetty Rippers with Tuffleye and noticed the heads where cracking/Shattering after only a handful of casts.. So Now I am back to coating the heads with epoxy for fishing the Break walls...

I Like Tuffleye and think it has useful applications.. But I certainly do not think it is the replacement for Epoxy...

[Buddy1]

For more than a year now I have been using a product called Clear Cure Goo. It started out being Grass Rat Goo. It's a UV light cure

http://clearcuregoo.com/index.html

It works great and has never yellowed on me. Great stuff

[Flyjunkie]

BUDDY,

Thanks for the Link to ClearCureGoo... I ordered it, and after some slight difficulties (Brian, who sells it, missed my Order..but was very kind about getting it to me and even threw in an extra Core to make up for it, Too Kind!!!) I now have it... Gonna give a try soon and i'll post the results..;)

[Fred H]

Yes the tuffleye material does work..It is a type of acrylic that is used in dentistry. THe dentists use a form of it every day when they do " white fillings"...also dental labs use a form of it called "trident" that comes in a sheet and is used to make custom trays,etc...i watched a rep at the gulf coast conclave in Louisana use it and i asked him if it was the same stuff cause it looked the same and he said yes it was a dental material and it was "modified" by a friend whom is marketing the material now and he is a dentist from texas. ONE caveat to this material is does it float? sink? I used a form of it in the lab and when tossed in a bowl of water it FLOATED....and yes i am a dentist also....Our materials could be used for a lot of items on flypatterns such as crabs but its so expensive it wouldnt be worth it to use. As to the curing lights they need to be used to Hardened the material but if you sit it on the desktop in the light it will set up but takes a much longer time.minutes instead of seconds....The triad material i mention above even comes in a black/brown plastic pouch to protect from any forms of light. I have use the loon sense and its great. I was using a spoon fly once and after several speckled trout the epoxy layer would break off...BAM i would add a layer of loon sense (back to the sun) and hardenend it with the sun, and i was good to go...i caught over 10 specks on one spoon fly and i repaired it 2 or 3 times....Hope this helps some....
Destin, FL
Hi Broglin this is Fred H from Lake Charles and I own a dental lab and can attest to the fact the Triad system was a bust . The same faults I found with the Triad material are present in the loon and tuffleye material . too brittle.However Bob Pop was touting a new soft material that has promise.
It is said to be flexible and stay clear.I'm just getting around to trying the sample he gave me. I could make you some flexible and unbreakable spoons
out of Valplast material , but i think it might be a little cost prohibitted.LOL
Fred

[petegray]

das FLEX...works for me...
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/Phracas/IMG_7564.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/Phracas/IMG_7566.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/Phracas/P1290143.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/Phracas/P1280135.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/Phracas/P9270252.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/Phracas/IMG_7498.jpg