For those of you who use the rubberized 3M Safety Walk tape for surf rod grips, you may have shared my opinion that it is just a little bit too rough on the hands for good all day comfort. I've tried sanding it down to reduce the roughness but that doesn't really work.

I recently discovered that if you hit the grip gently with a torch, you can effectively knock down the roughness to a point where it becomes very comfortable in the hand. The heat acts to round-off the jagged rubberized texture, giving it a much nicer feel in the hand. It also improves the appearance, giving the surface a little bit of a sheen and makes the tape edges almost disappear, making it difficult to tell that it is actually tape.

Thought I'd share that tid bit since it's so simple and makes such a big difference in this particular grip material.

Just remember... go easy on the heat... take your time and don't overdo it.

Erik

Thanks for that info Erik , Im a surf caster from Cape Hatteras visiting my son in Oregon. Been looking for a new grip for my rod.

What about a nice coat of clear over it to fill in some of those ridges and smooth it out?