I have several old Zebco rods that I just love the action of, problem color, they are about the same as the UGLY OLD YELLOW Eagle claw rods .

I have already stripped and light sanded the blanks, removeing the guides and all, I want to mix some black and silver to make a charcol black color, is enamel paint like Testor's ok to use?

The blanks are farily stiff and not much flex in the top section.

Read the article in the library page on how to refinish blanks. Just tint the Permagloss before you begin to get the color you want. You can do it with the heavy pigment from the bottom of a jar or testors black enamel. Pour some Permagloss into a small gloss mix cup and then just keep adding a drop or two of black pigment until you get the shade you want in the mix cup. No need to mix two colors.

Go the hardware store and buy a can of epoxy spray paint. It comes in several colors, black is one of them. The stuff goes on easily, dries hard and flexible, and is chip resistant. The paint is design for use on appliances.

I may go against the grain with some folks on this, but I had problems with durability issues when I used permagloss as as blank coating. I used it as a blank coating over a period of about a year, refinishing maybe 6-8 rods during this time. I was correctly prepping the blank surface, and applying the permagloss at room temp in a dust free room. I used a clean natural hair brush, did not overbrush (a no-no with permagloss since it will hold brush marks), and took care not to contaminate the blank surface after removing the old coating. The stuff leveled beautifully to a clear smooth clear coating.

Unfortunately about one year later I got the first blank back for a guide repair and saw the that the coating was chipping moderately. Without being asked by the owner I refinished the areas between the guides and butt wrap with clear hobbypoxy two-part epoxy paint after first removed the flaky coating. This second coating has held up well over the years, I get to see one of these rods every year when I fish in my buddy's boat. I am able to tint this paint with the usual tints mentioned here on this board, but have not had a need to use anything other than clear and black.

Lou