I'm new to rod building so I was practicing inlays, wraps,& applying flex coat.
I wrote some letters on the blank, [ practice, WHEW ] I let the writing dry one
hour while a small flood light was shining on the blank. When I applied the
Flex Coat [regular] I noticed what I first though was bubbles. It turned out to be
very small flecks of green from the green gel pen. The pen was a Pentel, Metallic
[green] Gel roller, made in Japan. I had purchased it from Cabelas,[they should
send me profite sharing]. Anyone have advice for writing on blanks? I

Try a Sanford uniball gel fine. They are available at micheals and online. Just write your inscription, dry a few minutes, spray Krylon fix a tiff over it and apply your finish coat. Easy! You can see how it looks in the photo section under handles and grips. Page one. Mine say's first flyrod. Doubleclick on photo to enlarge. Tom

George
You might try putting a coat of CP over your inscription fist, then epoxy

Dave von Doehren
PRRODS......If man built it , man can fix it.and if man built it man can break it !

Many of the gels have a problem with smearing. The fix-a-tiff that Tom suggested will 'lock' the gel in place without ever touching it with a brush. Have fun!

Jay

GEORGE, SHARPIE MAKES PERMANENT MARKERS IN COLORS, BUT THEY HAVE RECENTLY COME OUT WITH BOTH GOLD AND SILVER, AND IN FINE AND MEDIUM POINT. AFTER APPLYING A COAT OF COLOR PRESERVER SHOULD HELP TO PREVENT ANY RUNNING FROM THE EPOXY COAT.
KEVIN BOGAN

Any of the gel pens will work. The trick is to spray some thing over let dry then clear. A lacquer clear spray is good. Dust Coats, not wet or the pen will run, maybe two. I run a hair dryer over it and then clear. Does the wife have any laquer hair spray.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2006 05:40PM by bill boettcher.

I quit using gel pens unless I spray them with fix-a-tif or other clear sprays. I tried the CP route and still managed to get the smudges. The combination of liquids (CP or epoxy) and brush strokes really compound the problem. But if a spray is applied first, the ink has a protective barrier between itself and the top coat. Best of luck!

Jay

I have also heated the gel pens with a hair dryer several times and used finish over with no problems. I use a lacquer spray now cause it is easer.