I was thinking about cutting off the guides on an old pole and re-buidling the rod. Thing is I would like to uses different guides that will not be in the same position as the current ones. Is it possible to remove all the expoxy from the blank so that you will not see where the old guides were?

Hi Jim
I use Acetone to clean of old epoxy and finish.
Mark Crouse- the munich rod man

Very carefully, heat the epoxied area with the flame from an alcohol lamp. DO not get the flame on the blank where there's no epoxy. Scrape off with your fingernail, then clean with with alcohol or acetone. Acetone is stronger stuff and may damage the finish on the blank, so be careful if you use it.

--Rich

Hi Jim,
You can also check the FAQ and library sections of this board
for additional info.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Another method I use is a hair dryer and put my hand behind the blank. When it's too hot to keep your hand there scrape with a fingernail. It's tempting to use something sharper but you will only scrape the finish off; then you have to find a way to touch up that mistake up. I try to do it all the time and haven't suceeded yet. :-) Slow learner.

le

If you want to make it like new, scrape the old finish off the entire rod and regloss it with a urethane spray made for exterior use. Takes a while to fully scrape a finish off the entire blank, but if you really want a like new look, it's the way to go.

Don't cut into the rod, use a flat edge scraper or even a razor blade held on edge and work slowly. You should see white colored shavings coming off. That's the old finish. When no more white stuff comes off, you're done and ready to spray on a new clear coating. Let that dry and then rewrap with your new guides.

Larry uses the same way I do except I bought a small craft heat gun at a local craft store. It's the same one Ken Preston uses in his video. Doubles well for "flaming" epoxy to get the bubbles to pop also.

Bill in WV

I use a hair dryer to heat the epoxy to remove it more easily. Also the cheap plastic putty knives that come three to a package make excellent scrapers. Sand the side edge to a sharp, leave the bevel at 90% but make the edges sharp instead of rounded, edge.Take your time, use your patience. Oh, by the way, Raymond Adams, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I'm trying to be flattered, but all I can do is laugh. Nice signature. Ralph

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2005 07:27AM by Ralph Jones.