Dear all,
I sometimes use an old fly rod to rebuild a new one, needless to say that I have to sand the blank carefully, then to apply a matt varnish that is normally used to protect your “garden furniture” against the wind and the rain, and to give it a perfect finish I apply a polish that is normally dedicated to your car; of course I don’t do all this steps in one shot and it takes normally two days to have it finished.
I guess some of you may laugh reading this but the result is very nice and the blank looks like a new one, I have done it for 4 rods and the oldest one is now 4 years, I have fished a lot with it and it still hasn’t got any scrap on the polish/varnish.
I like this method very much but the drawback is that I can give the rod just one colour: matte charcoal because this is the original colour of the blank after I sand it.
I was wondering if you had any idea about how I can give another colour to my blank, no a frank one but a transparent one, green or red.
Furthermore, if any of you have any other process to make an old blank looks young I would appreciate his help, hoping that I would be able to find the products you are using, here in France.

Thanks

Frantz

Tint Perma Gloss with Testor's Enamel paint (first drain the liquid from paint) to the color you like. Perma Gloss dries very quickly. It can be thinned with Isopropyl Alcohol for a thinner application. Mutiple thin coats will yield a very durable surface. I have been applying it with a brush while the blank is spinning on my rod lathe. This enables me to spread the material very evenly. A foam brush makes a good applicator too. Each coat is fully dry within minutes. It is desirable to apply the following coats soon after the previous one has dried. It is best to run a trial test to determine the number of coats needed to get the finish and tint you desire. Even if you choose to apply many coats they can be applied in a single day.

You would never sand a blank. That can weaken it to the point where it will fail at some point.

Permagloss isn't available to Frantz in France. I assume that he is only sanding the old finish off and is not actually sanding into the blank. Possibly adding a tint to the varnish would work. Many also use various auto paints in spray cans covered with a clear coat also. Try doig a search on this site for painting blank and check ALL DATES. You should get a lot of info



Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Try tinting the clear that you use to clear your blanks now. A little experimenting on scrap.
I figure since that clear works for you now it should be easy for you when tinting or coloring.

Wouldn't the tints the girls use for varnish and glazes in your home work? According to the girlfriend they work in both oil and water based products. Scrap blank test #334 to follow. Why did you have to bring it up? LOL.

Not long ago someone stated here that MudHole ships Perma Gloss overseas. It's worth checking with them to see if that is true.

Thanks for all your advices I think I will try all the different methods mentionned and let you know which one meets my expectations.
Henry, you are right you should never sand a blank ...and I never do it, I am only only sanding the old finish off and as Mike said, it's not actually sanding into the blank.
Anyway I will see if I can find the products you are talking about.

Never sand a blank ??

At present my most prized blanks are a bucket full of Lamiglas Sanded 7 foot popping blanks! I love the finish on the nautral graphite surface and they really look nice with any thread combination. One neat thing is that after heavy use the finish on the blank does not scratch! Maybe the factory guys at Lamiglas will chime in and tell us how they do it!

Gon Fishn