rod varnish a blank

[corey90]

anyone varnish a blank before building

[Chris Catignani]

1 hour ago, corey90 said:

anyone varnish a blank before building

I have varnished a blank where I had to strip the guides off before hand.

[corey90]

1 hour ago, Chris Catignani said:

I have varnished a blank where I had to strip the guides off before hand.

does varnishing give the blank a sleek look

[spoonplugger1]

There is a bunch of varnished blanks in the rod rack at you closest sporting goods store, what do you think of them?

[Chris Catignani]

11 hours ago, corey90 said:

does varnishing give the blank a sleek look

Yes...makes them shiny looking versus the matte look.

...and in the case of a refurbish...it will hide the scaring from removing the guides.

[MickD]

I never add any finish to a factory blank.  Like Chris, I will finish a rebuild with Permagloss, a very thin, light, hard but flexible, UV resistant rod finish.   For graphite or glass rods it is a much better option than traditional varnish, if that is what you are specifically talking about.  It cures very fast, and has a nasty vapor, so you need good ventilation and a special technique.  Here is an instruction from one of my rodbuilding friends, one of the most skilled and experienced rodbuilders I know: 

 

"I use a foam cosmetic pad. Pour out some permagloss into a small measuring cup use the foam pad to soak up all the perma gloss. I take the saturated foam pad fold it over the blank and swipe it up and down the blank very quickly, takes less than 30 sec but not more than a minute. I wear nitrile gloves when applying. All you want to do is wet the blank with a very thin coat. I hold the blank in one hand and swipe with the other. Start at the tip and move down to the butt. When finished I just lean it against the wall with just the tip touching. The permagloss will not sag because of the thin coat. If you get sagging you applied to much! Let it set for a 1/2 hour or so and repeat to make sure you have complete coverage. If your humidity is very low (like in Southern Cal) may take a little longer. This works extremely well. Like Tom said, I have found it almost impossible to get a good finish by brushing it on. Instead of a foam cosmetic pad you can cut the foam off of a foam paint brush and use it, this also works very well just more expensive. This process gives a very nice finish that is extremely hard and will never yellow. Hope this helps."

[Seaworthy81]

CPXTRA from voodoorods.com 

 I’ve refinished probably 10 blanks with it. Apply as fast and as thinly as possible. I used a sponge and long wipes, but a brush can do it too if you know where the guides will fall. 

[JHTR20]

On 2/7/2023 at 9:44 AM, MickD said:

I never add any finish to a factory blank.  Like Chris, I will finish a rebuild with Permagloss, a very thin, light, hard but flexible, UV resistant rod finish.   For graphite or glass rods it is a much better option than traditional varnish, if that is what you are specifically talking about.  It cures very fast, and has a nasty vapor, so you need good ventilation and a special technique.  Here is an instruction from one of my rodbuilding friends, one of the most skilled and experienced rodbuilders I know: 

 

"I use a foam cosmetic pad. Pour out some permagloss into a small measuring cup use the foam pad to soak up all the perma gloss. I take the saturated foam pad fold it over the blank and swipe it up and down the blank very quickly, takes less than 30 sec but not more than a minute. I wear nitrile gloves when applying. All you want to do is wet the blank with a very thin coat. I hold the blank in one hand and swipe with the other. Start at the tip and move down to the butt. When finished I just lean it against the wall with just the tip touching. The permagloss will not sag because of the thin coat. If you get sagging you applied to much! Let it set for a 1/2 hour or so and repeat to make sure you have complete coverage. If your humidity is very low (like in Southern Cal) may take a little longer. This works extremely well. Like Tom said, I have found it almost impossible to get a good finish by brushing it on. Instead of a foam cosmetic pad you can cut the foam off of a foam paint brush and use it, this also works very well just more expensive. This process gives a very nice finish that is extremely hard and will never yellow. Hope this helps."

Can permagloss be applied without removing guides?  I have a couple rods that look beat up but still fish fine, guides are all intact.   Thanks in advance

[MickD]

Yes, it can go right over the wraps.  Clean it with something like windex, pick or sand away anything loose, and then Permagloss can go on.  

[JHTR20]

On 2/23/2023 at 4:46 PM, MickD said:

Yes, it can go right over the wraps.  Clean it with something like windex, pick or sand away anything loose, and then Permagloss can go on.  

Thank you!