I've planning to refinish an old bamboo baitcaster. I have used paint strippers in the past but I decided to try the 3M "Safest Stripper" stuff recommended in the Sinclair book. My local hardware store didn't have it. Can anyone recommend a source?

Keep looking- It should be available. I bought some a yr or so ago for a traditional wood refinish project but don't recall if it was Home Depot or Lowes or it could have been wallyworld. By the way it worked well for me and not as nasty as many of the other wood strippers.

I got it at my local Ace Hardware in the paint department. As Al said it is very easy to work with and no fumes or rubber gloves, cleans up with water. Have used it to strip the finish off of five old bamboo rods and quite a few other wood working projects.

Be careful using any kind of stripper on Bamboo. The glues that hold the section together may delaminate.. You may also damage the enamel of the Bamboo. I always used a peace of old window pane. I held it at about 85% and lightly scraped the varnish finish. Let the weight of the glass do the work and try and keep it level as not to roll the edges

Bob,

You're correct, of course. One does have to be careful with any type of stripper on bamboo. But I know of thousands of rods which have had their finish removed with 3M Safest Stripper, and have never heard of even a single problem. Another good product for bamboo work seems to be the various types of citrus based strippers.

Harry

Hi Harry. I do not do many Bamboo rods I just put my thoughts in, just incase a newbie wanted to redo a Bamboo rod. Also for those that thinking about doing grandpa’s old rod may want to find out all they can about the rod before working on it. They might find out it is a collectable item and may destroy its value by working on it
Good Wraps Bob