Good morning,

I bought two American Tackle IM-6 fly blanks model 802 (8', 5 wt) in the clear coat gloss. The glossy finish ends about 1 inch to 1 1/4" away from the end of the female end of the ferrulle and also at the butt. The butt doesn't bother me a bit, but the ferrulle does. I will either have to wrap the ferrulle at least an inch to cover the area (which is way too long IMO for this rod), or figure out how to match the finish. Has anyone else seen this, and what did you do? What could i use to match the finish without it being noticeable? Permagloss?
This is the first time i have tried the Amtak blanks, anyone have an opinion on the quality and finish?

Thanks,

Carrington Tate

Carrington,

I have done a few of those blanks and the 9' 7 wt is one of my favorite rods to cast ever. I don't remember whether the ferrules were done that way or not. Either way though, I wrap a 1" or so ferrule wrap most of the time anyway, so I probably didn't notice. I've never seen one that was crooked or that wasn't good to great.

A quick qipe with permagloss or two should do the trick for you. Use some scotchbrite to get a WBF condition and to blend the area you're covering and wipe a thin coating on and back off with a coffee filter. Should work just fine.

Thanks,
Rick

I had done two Amtak 9' 2 piece rods earlier this year; both had finish all the way on both pieces???

It seems you had a 'second' fobbed off on you. Send it back for a replacement. Ralph

The rod may not be a second. I've ordered these blanks from Netcraft and have seen the same unfinished potion. I don't think Netcraft would be selling seconds without making it known to the customer. I have not had any problems with any of the blanks. In fact, I think they are quite good. Maybe you'll get lucky and be able to put a guide by the ferrule and combine the wrap.

James

Some companies do not apply finish on those areas they expect to be covered by handles or reinforcement wraps. What you have there is not totally uncommon.

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what i have learned from watching over this board is that the standard for a ferrule wrap is a length twice the diameter of the ferrule. To cover this female end of the ferrule is going to take atleast 1 inch. I'm thinking that it will look funny compared to the wraps on the small single foot ceramic guides. I emailed Joe Meehan from American Tackle. He said that i can do the wrap whatever length i wanted, then put a thin coat of epoxy on the rest of the ferrule and it would blend in with the gloss coat. What are your thoughts?

Joe is right , I built a 6 wt and the finish looked the same as you described . I coated the spot on the female furrel with PG and then wrapped it . I wrapped up to the end of the "matt" and covered it completly anyway , but it matched the rest of the tip section fine before I did . I liked the rod when I test casted it before I gave it to its intended owner. The price is right on those also. JD

Carrington, try wrapping the uncoated ferrule with thread that matches the blank - Gudebrod colors such as black, charcoal, medium gray, or dark gray (Rice) may work and blend nicely when coated. I do this a lot on multi-peice rods to "hide" the ferrules.

Also, if your guide spacing allows a guide to be on or close to the ferrule, you can start your wrap with a gray, then switch to your wrapping scheme color. If a guide does not fall on the ferrule, you may want to add a guide to your set, then adjust accordingly to get a guide to sit on or near the ferrule. May be worth a try...

Best, Ladd