I'm new to working with wood and I just turned out my fourth handle for a fly rod on my lathe and was wondering what people use to get that really high gloss look on reel seats?

Would it be a good idea to do this on a wood handle? I have been using Tru Oil and it just isn't all that glossy.

I use MinWax Polyurethane High Gloss on all of my reel seats and wood handles. I can leave it on to give it a high gloss or wipe it off with a cloth after applying it to the wood to give it more of a satin look.

You're probably going to get all kinds of opinions on this but here's my two cents worth. I use FlexCoat Low build on handles (not reel seat inserts). I apply it just like I do on guide wraps -- with a brush on a motorized home-made rod lathe. I lift any bubbles by blowing gently (stubborn ones get a quick pass with an alcohol burner) and let the thing dry on a 6rpm drying motor. The handles come out looking great and are really resistant to that nasty boat rash. For inserts I'd stick to a good polyurethane just because it is a bit thinner.

I do the same as Russ-works fine.

Dave

I use spar high gloss and it comes out great. I have also used minwax semi gloss and that comes out pretty nice too. About 4 coats does it nice.