LONG
1.) Get a gallon of epoxy resin and a quart of hardener. Pick you poison on this one 'cause you'll hear a hundred opinions about West Systems vs. the others. Personally, I dislike the pumps which is typically the selling point for West. I use Everstar epoxy
www.evercoat.com. Just make sure you get a 4:1 system.
2.) Purchase yourself a package of bondo squeegees (looks funny is that right?) from you local Autozone. You can go to Wally World, but I prefer the others. Purchase plastic mixing cups, popsicle sticks, lots of papertowels and then go to Hobby Lobby or something like that and get a 1" cheapo white pine, white bristled paint brush or a handfull.
3.) Ready your tubes by sanding them down real well with some 100 grit or so. Then wipe them off and mark a straight line down the tube.
4.)Make up some couplers that will fit in the end of your tubes and wrap a layer of wax paper around them (hold the wax paper in place with clear tape - the kind your wrap gifts with). Then slide these in the end your tubes leaving a couple of inches sticking out. The wax paper needs to be up in the tube as well so you can get the coupler back out.
5.)Then set up your work area with the tube hanging on a rod between two ladders or one clamped to the bench - again, choose your weapon.
6.)I use 6 oz for 6" tubes and up with two layers. For smaller tubes I use 3.75 oz cloth from
www.aircraftspruce.com This is a really nice cloth for a smooth finish later. Find a nice clean area, roll your cloth out and measure off a section of cloth that is an inch or two longer than your tube on BOTH ends. Then cut enough off to wrap the tube twice with an 1" or so extra. Carefully fold the cloth and place it next to your working area.
7.) Now comes the fun. Mix up your epoxy in a 4:1 manner (4 parts resin to 1 part hardener). No need to be in a big rush here but work steadily and lay up a couple of cheaper tubes first just for practice and getting a feel for how much you need. Bash an Estes.
8.) Apply liberally to the entire tube a layer of epoxy. It will be a nice glossy look. Now here is where I separate myself from most - I DO NOT slop it on so that it is dripping off the tube. I just gloss it up real nicely so that it will almost run like a crappy paint job.
9.) Take your cloth and line it up with the line on the tube an gently lay it acoss the tube being careful not to pull and tug on it. If you must adjust it, do it with the brush and NOT by lifting an pulling. You'll see why after a tube or two. Take the brush and gently roll the tube while working the cloth down carefully trying to avoid bubbles. If you get one and you will just work it out with the brush. DON'T PANIC and grab it with your hands. As you get toward the ends of the tube let the cloth bond to some expoxy that has been brushed onto the wax paper. It will help keep the ends down. Here's the trick - as you work it outward take your brush and roll your wrist outward toward the end. Basically, you should only use your hands to roll the tube. Be the brush...
10.) You will notice the cloth is "wetting out" giving it a transparent look. A lot of people will have quite bit coming through at this point justifying it by saying that it will be soaked up on the subsequent layer. Some is OK, but less is better. Your ultimate goal is to keep the ratio of cloth to epoxy at a 50/50 ratio. Now as you roll the tube around and the second layer is being placed you will use the brush to work it down kind of pulling it around and smoothing as you go. This action forces the expoxy UP and through the next layer without minimal excess.
11.) After you've smoothed it out you may notice a few white looking spots and this is OK. Simply DABB and ROLL a light layer of epoxy on these areas to wet them out.
12.) At this point you may or may not see really shiny areas along parts of the tube. Grab your squeegee (I've got to be spelling that wrong, but for now who cares!), start at your line and pull the squeegee around toward you skimming the excess off into an empty cup after each swipe. The cool part starts here!! Your glassed tube should go to a semi-gloss look and you will be able to see the glass pattern very easily. Keep working this around and around until you've skimmed the entire tube. Use the squeegee to pull in excess to other area if you need to. It almost appears to be drying. This is good.
13.) Now the only thing you'll have to watch is to make sure that the ends don't buckle up a bit in places. You'll have to watch it for 30 minutes or so. No big deal if get a raised spot - very gently use your finger to push it back down. Again, the wax paper and some epoxy on that will mostly eliminate this pain.
OH YEAH - WEAR NYTRILE GLOVES. Latex will do in a pinch, but epoxy will eventually wear it down. I also use a respirator. Anal? Yes.
FINALLLY, after it has cured over night (don't give into the temptation to pull it off the rod early...I know it looks really cool, but don't...you can do this in the morning after a cup of coffee. Take the tube off the rod and pull out the couplers (may be tough, but you can knock them inward a bit and they'll pop loose. Then remove the wax paper if you want. I then take a very sharp hobby knife and run it along the end of the tube cutting off the excess cloth. You should have a crappy looking ring when that is done but a very nice looking tube.
I guess the best thing to remember is to do this when you have plenty of time so you don't rush. It's fun, but it takes practice and patience.
Good Night and Good Luck!
Shane