Since I was complaining about this stuff on the last board, and several people have e-mailed me to find out if I had uncovered the secret, I thought it only fair to post my findings here, where everyone can see them.
This stuff is fairly easy to use. It's certainly easier than epoxy. The hard part is figuring out how to use it. I was trying to smooth out the bodies with a match stick, and that is a big mistake.
As someone mentioned in their response to my post, the real key is to squeeze it out carefully, then not mess around with it. The goo's shrinking action will make a smooth body all by itself. If you want to move the stuff a little bit, use only the tip, not the side of your dubbing needle!
Another big help, is to put the fly in a rotary vise, while squeezing out the goo. Get your fly at just the right height, hold the bottle in your right hand, and brace your right hand with your left. Before you start squeezing, shake the bottle vigorously, and finish by shaking the bottle down towards the nozzle. This gets the goo near the end of the nozzle, and minimizes the chances of air bubbles, which make a real mess. Squeeze the bottle against a paper towel 'till you see the stuff oozing out.
Hot Tip: This stuff works a lot better if you don't have three cups of coffee first!
Squeeze the goo out onto the fly in thin strips from front to back, and try to stop squeezing at just the right time so the goo stops coming out as you near the nose of the fly. Start with a strip at the belly, then one strip on each side, just touching the belly strip, turning the fly in the vise each time. Then turn the fly over so that the top is visible. If the area left open is thin enought to fill with your back color, then place one stripe down the back. If the strip is too-wide, make more strips of the belly color, until the remaining space is the right width.
Carefully use the end of your dubbing needle to move the goop around to correct any big lumps. DO NOT attempt to smooth the body out, as the goop will do that on it's own.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The goop seems to lose about 40% of it's volume during the drying process, so make the body bigger than you want the final result to be!
I paint on eyes and gills after the stuff is dry, then give the whole mess a final clear coat of Loon Hard Head. Windram does not coat the stuff with anything, and his flies look great, but if you're going to paint eyes and gills, I don't think they'll last long without the clear. The clear also really improves the sparkle action.
Sounds easy enough, doesn't it?
I found that after about six flies, they started coming out respectably smooth, although not as nice as Windram's. I'm pretty sure the bass won't care.
I tied sandeels, and deep sandeels, with painted mini brass eyes in sizes 2XL and 4, and colors; olive over white and chartreuse over white, with four strands of pearl crystal flash, between the sparse layers of bucktail. The size fours, can be tied from about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in total length, and they are the best tiny sandeels I have seen yet. I even tied some number fours with the brass eyes!
Larry B. got two of my earlier ones, so you can ask him how they look.
For maximum production, I would recommend setting up an assembly line. Tie six or so flies first, then apply the EZ-Goop. Let them dry overnight, then paint the eyes and gills, then when that's dry, clear coat 'em.
Total time for each fly is about five-minutes tying, three-minutes EZ-Goop, two-minutes paint, one-minute clear. In all, I find it much easier than epoxy, and it looks better. If you want fatter bodies, you'll probabaly have to let the stuff dry overnight between coats.
Thanks to those who helped me out, and I hope this helps someone else.
Jay