I am in the process of restoring an old rod . After I strip the old varnish off the rod I am going to recoat it with Gudebrod rod varnish. My question is what should i coat the guide wraps with? Shoud i use the same varnish? I want to stay with the period the rod is from and not use a finish of today like a high build.
Thanks Rick

What type of rod are you restoring, bamboo, glass or graphite? The methods used depend on what it is.

For what it's worth, I refurbished two old bamboo rods this season, one I coated the wrapped guides with one layer AMTAK Clear Coat and the other with four coats of Gudebrod Rod Restorer. These rods will only be displayed. IMHO, the four coats look much better, they cover the wraps but don't look "bulky" like the AMTAK which is in keeping with the overall look of a fly rod.

if this is an older fiberglass or bamboo from the 50's the wraps are likely finished with varnish. it may also have used a color preserver. i use either testors laquer, aerogloss laquer or olympic water based urethane as a color preserver depending on the effect i want. i use three thin coats being sure to fill the guide foot tunnels. i let this dry a day between coats and suggest you let it dry completeley for a couple of days. i start out the varnish of the wrap by putting my first coat on with my fingers so i get a thin coat. once that dries you can brush it on or use a spatula but keep the coats thin. build it up slowly. i use marine spar varnish. you don't want that high build look. just enough to cover the thread. most older rods were like that.

Sorry guys the rod is an old fiberglass rod with a wood handle my guess is from the 50's. the rod is only going to be used as a keepsake and not used.