rob,
Didn't mean to hijack your thread with my question...and perhaps I asked it poorly.
While I understand the process and realize what factors need to be present for bees to cap honey, proper moisture content, etc....I had never heard of being able to tell when that is about to take place. I'd never heard of any clear indicators that a frame was about to be capped. I thought it was a case of "it looks ready to cap" but then you just have to patiently wait, and it happens when it happens.
From what I've heard at my LBC's it seems like a lot of folks are having issues with a lot of partially capped frames. Other than the obvious answer, that, that section of the frame isn't ready to be capped...any reason why this would be a regular occurrence in an area.