Just a hearty thank you to all that offered information regarding the use of Flexcoat to restore the finish on older rods that I am rebuilding for practise.

I did receive a number of answers that were both pro and con, however I have decided to go with Jesse Buky's advice and go with the Flexcoat finish. After all he has been using it in his business for quite a few years and has never had any complaints. One thing I would like to know from Jesse (I promise not to give away any trade secrets) is, do you scuff the rod before application. I intend to do this before I apply Flexcoat.

Thanks again all!

Just keep in mind that I think Jesse builds and repairs mostly saltwater rods that are relatively heavy and powerful compared to freshwater rods. Therefore, the addition of weight from a full coating of flex coat might not be that noticeable and would provide some protection from abrasions and dings. If you are doing lightweight, low power freshwater rods, the trade-offs may not be to your advantage.

I have made old freshwater rods look nice and shiny again using Gudebrod rod varnish (cleans up with water). Easy to use and has held up great. Permagloss is a tougher finish but a little trickier to use and you need very good ventilation. Great product though.

Whatever finish you use, you should scuff or degloss the existing finish with a grey Scotchbrite pad before coating.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2006 01:07PM by Steve Kartalia.

Almost all the rods I build are salt water and the ones I coat the entire blank blank with Flexcoat are the trolling and heavy boat rods. I don't coat the blank on the spinners and bait casting rods. In fact, I like the raw sanded rods, you know, the kind that don't get scratched very easy. When scraping epoxy from a blank heat it [gently] and it comes right off, don't heat it and you have one hard job ahead of you. On re-builds I coat the blank most of the time, in fact, as we speak I have a set of 13 trolling rods I am reworking for a guy , all were white blanks and I'm changing them to black by wrapping the entire blank with black thread, and coating them with Flexcoat. 1/8" Gold Tape for trim bands (3 per guide, Aftco Bigfoot and Wind-on) and a 6" Fancy wrap. Now he has rods he will be proud to have on his new 35' Carolina Classic Boat. Jesse

There is an article in our online library about obtaining a "water break free" surface. It will tell you all you need to know.

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