Hi guys I have a old vintage solid fiberglass rod thats about 52 inches long and its translucent clear ivory color...I plan to remove all its guides(only 3 guides and a tip)...and wanna clean it up so that its as good as new...the problem is that the blank right now has some scratches here and there...they are like dirt and surface paint scuffing against the blank and thus transfered to the blank...the good thing is that the blank has no chips or indentations in it...It looks like it has a thin clear coating over it right now...

Is it safe to just lightly sand the whole blank to remove those paint/dirt marks and the old clear coat? I am thinking the blank is somewhat ivory colored because of the clear coat turning a little yellow...Since its a solid blank...lightly sanding it wouldn't weaken the blank right?

My goal is to get the blank to be as clean and as translucent as possible before I lay new guides on it...I have a new bottle of permagloss that I have yet to try....
Any pointers?

A nice sanding with 600 grit sandpaper and water. Lots of water. will give you a nice surface for the permagloss.
Do a search on applying the permagloss. It is a little tricky. There are several ways to apply it. Try on a scrap blank first to get the idea of how to.

Kenny,I revived one that sounds similiar in color however it turned whiter and lost the translucient look.Road test the photos although they are not to clear the blank seems to glow.[www.rodbuilding.org]
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2005 12:44PM by Fred Yarmolowicz.

Thanks I will try the sand paper with water technique...hey Fred...that rod you built looks cool...I like the thread wrap colors...what handle does it have on?
Do I have to turn the rod even if I put on permagloss thinly? I plan to get a 4.8 rpm motor soon...

Kenny ,The handle is the old standard wooden boat rod handle.The rod came from an uncle`s father in law.The for grip uses the tapered front to wrap up instead of using a hossel.I used those colors to try to keep the older look of the rod.This is basically one of many old wall hangers that started out as practice rods.

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)