Hello Rodbuilder from germany,

need some some help from the pro's !! ;-)

I am already rebuild 2 older carp fishing blanks, they are made by DAIWA Great Britain and called AKN 13 H, they measured 13 Feet and got a
testcurve up to 3lbs.

These Rods have really beefy fast taper and I don't want to slow down the action by blastering the blanks with varnish.

How do you finish your blanks, without using a paintbrush and which kind of varnish do you use ??

Thanks a lot and have good time

Joachim

PS: Hi Tom, better now ??

Reading the instructions always results in a better, well... result.


..............

You can't slow down the action unless you cut the blanks shorter but you don't want to overload them with added weight. That's for sure. . An article on finising blanks is in the library on this very site! You're in luck.

Also I tried Tom's idea on using a foam brush soaked in Permagloss. It works really well. If you do a search on painting and finishing blanks you can find all sorts of info in the archives on this site. Lots of guys refinish blanks and they've come up with all sorts of ways to get good looking jobs.

Joachim,

I would not worry too much about the effect of slapping on a bit of rod finish on 3LB test curve carp blanks. I have noticed that weight or reducing it seems to be of a major priority on this site and on fly rods and ultra light weight blanks I go along with it , but at times I think we go over the top with mass reduction and forget there are oher aspects that need to be attended to as well in rod design. The small amount of weight will not be noticed one jot. I know this as I use rods like this myself so I am not coming at this from a theoretical angle. Having said that makes no sense to slap thick coats of the finish on.

If the Perma Gloss will go on ok that would be my choice to.

Regards

Mike O.

you can get a very nice finish by hand rubbing some diluted marine spar varnish. putting it on with fingers lets you rub it out very thin. steel wool out the first coat with 0000. for the second coat you can polish it with some auto polish and some auto scratch remover. works great on old glass rods i have done.

Just fooling around one day, following Tom's suggestion about the foam brushes. I hit on an idea of just taking a piece of sponge and cutting a slit in it. Then dippinng the slit end in spar urethane, (were rubber gloves kind of messy), the wrapping the slit part around the top part of the hanging rod run the sponge down the rod slowly. Then let dry overnight. Look at the rod the next day to see if you missed any spots, then give a second coat. Works great!!

Bill in WV

Hello over the little pond,

thanks a lot for helping.

OK, maybe the weight on the tip is not the only reason. I don't like this heavy fatty glossy finish.

Yesterday I tried the sponge method, but I wasn't satisfied with the surface. So I cut a small hole in fingerpart
of a medical latex handglove and pull it slowly over the blank. Guess what ?? Lets see this evening.

I'll keep you in touch.

Have a nice day

Joachim