Glasstoration Project.

[Greg]

Very nice. I've built a couple of rods and can appreciate the effort that went into that rebuild.

Greg

[Buzz]

I was fortunate to see this restoration up close today and believe me, the pictures don't do it justice. Great job Kevin.

[Wheatenheimer]

Hey thanks Buzz! I sure did have a blast fishing with you guys, we will have to do it again real soon!

[Buzz]

Hey thanks Buzz! I sure did have a blast fishing with you guys, we will have to do it again real soon!

Yeah, it was a great day. I know we'll do it again. Next time we'll have to get Flysmallie to come along.

[Rolan Duffield]

The rod looks great, though I have a comment for you.

Don't use any of the commercial laquors or furniture finishes for coating any type of Fishing rod. Many of these type coatings become hard and very brittle over time. A Fly rod flexes during use and the brittle finishes will crack and peel over extended use.

Go to your local Fly Shop and buy a small container of Flex Coat or any finish designed for this application. These finishes have plasticizers incorperated in them and are designed to permit flexing during use.

The best way to apply these finishes is to dip a couple of your fingers in the finish and rub the finish on the rod. It will smooth out easily.

Rolan

[Pflugradt]

Or you can skip the cost of the flex coat and go with the good ole' spar varnish that they have been using for decades on bamboo fly rods and even used for putting a sheen on fiberglass for a bit by several major manufacturers. Much cheaper and it will actually give the blank a slight yellowish patina that will make it look aged but in a brand new sort of way. I personally have used spar on many fiberglass restorations and several that I fish personally and I am HARD AS HECK on my gear and have not had any problems with chipping or scaling in more than 4yrs. Now I am not saying that the flex coat will not work nor am I saying that the polyurethane would be a good choice. I'm just saying that commercial varnishes will work and have worked for years, how do you think they did it before plasticized sealers and finishes. Also the plasticized sealers in my opinion you have to build them too thick to get a coating that will be durable and I like a very light thin coat that you couldn't tell it was there if it wasn't shiny. the Valspar you used should be just fine for many years to come, though I prefer an oil based like Man O' War or Varathane.

Steve

[Rolan Duffield]

Why take a chance with any of these general finishing products. Your work and efforts are important and you don't want to see problems appear later.

You can apply a good rod finish by holding the rod between your thump and first finger (which have some rod finish on them). This can be applied very thin and will cover easily. It only takes a couple of minutes to apply the coating to the rod.

A good rod varnish only costs a few dollars and can be used for many rods.

Rolan

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Bumping and old thread. I am going to try this and will report back. Not sure if I want to do it now or wait til winter.

By the way Wheatenheimer - what did that rod start out as, do you know ? Manf. ?

Grand job... I hope mine turns out anywhere near that good - Brian

[Wheatenheimer]

Hey Brian!

I don't know what the rod started out as, it was given to me by an ex-girlfriends Grandpa 15+ years ago. There was some really faint writing on it that I couldn't make out.

Thanks for the compliments! Good luck on your project! Keep us posted on the progress!