I am going to refurbish two graphite rods and need to know what is used to completely strip the original finish

TIA

dick

I have used Stip-eeze from the hardward store. Takes several coats and takes the finish off down to the bare blank.

Dick, there's some good information in the archives. I've stripped a number of fly rods (including Sages which have about the toughest finish amongst fly rods) very successfully using a square metal edge as a scraper. I use a craft blade, tape off the sharp edge and use the back of it as the scraper. Short lengthways strokes will remove the finish back to the cured graphite 'skin' of the blank without damaging the surface, which you might do using a knife (and slipped) and certainly would do using a chemical such as acetone (not recommended). It will certainly give your finger muscles a workout, but the finished article looks excellent and can then be left raw, or repainted with the finish of your choice - in my case, a thin coat of clear acrylic car paint. happy scraping! Jim.