There was some discussion recently (and there is chronically) about how many coats of finish to use, and the responses were pretty much the same as my own experience...it always seems to take 2 or 3 coats. Mainly though, it seems that I am putting the second coat on guide wraps just because the finish "runs downhill" off the guide foot, leaving visible thread ridges in the finish over the foot. So, my question is, if I decide I don't care about this cosmetic defect (i.e. those ridges), is there any harm in not putting on the second coat? The thread is still completely covered by finish, so perhaps I am just adding unnecessary weight (?)--however slight it might be.

As long as the finish COMPLETELY SEALS the thread 1 coat is fine.

DR

i dont know how your prepping your guide feet but when i started prepping the guides alot better then i used to it stopped all that

I use one application only, except on the very heaviest of saltwater rods.

Once the thread is coated to the point where a fingernail can't really discern the individual threads, additional applications aren't really doing much of anything for you.

............

Are you packing and burnishing your threads? Try and put the finish on by going in one direction. Also apply some pressure when applying finish. After you have applied finish on all the guides go back and just put a dab of finish on the foot of each guide and level it off, or move the finish from the underside of the guide back over the foot and level it off. You are using a power dryer are you not? Is your power dryer motor a step motor? By this I mean if you stop the motor with your hand while it is turning, just for a second it well, reverse its direction and go in the opposite direction, from a counter clockwise direction too clockwise direction. PacBay driers do this. If do this it well pull the finish back over the guide This well also help eliminate footballs. You may have wike off some extra finish that may build up on top of the guide foot.
Good Wraps Bob

Pateric you have a hidden email. If you had a email someone could give you a more complex answer.
Good Wraps Bob

There's no harm if you don't care about how it looks. As has been said above, if you can't actually feel the threads under it then it's pretty well done.

What it looks like, though, is a "thin" spot. It might actually be "thinner" at the very edge than the rest of the coat but that's also a stress point (i.e., where the finish coat turns a relatively sharp corner) so it's going to look thinner there, the same as any finish on any surface (for example, stain over the corners on a block of wood). Will it wear more there? In general, that's not a "contact point" that's gonna touch anything if you drop the rod. Does it matter? If it doesn't bother you or whoever you give it to, then nope, it doesn't.

Some of the suggestions above discuss "chasing" the thin spots on the first coat. For me personally, unless i can actually see it being truly thin (say, under magnification) I just let the second coat take care of it. But in all cases I do indeed apply all coats in the same direction, as evenly as possible. But then, that's just me being me. I very rarely go to a third coat unless it's an offshore rod that needs the "Key Largo" treatment.

Now, before everyone starts jumping on me for advocating "less than perfect" workmanship, understand that for a lot of folks this is a hobby, and their pride in their rods is in no way less for them if there's anomalies like this. Notice I didn't say "defects", because I challenge any of us to tell me that they have built even one "perfect" rod. Is there less thrill to catching a fish (which after all, is the point, isn't it?) on any rod we've built, or watching someone catch one with one of our rods? I think not.

Did any one of you ever use a build for a while and then tear it down and upgrade whatever you think could be done better after you think about it? Call it practice, or just a drive to do it better.

It's all fun.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Patrick After rereading your question. I believe your threads were not packed tight enough and were not burnished. As for Russ's comment about finished workmanship. When I first started building rods just for myself (just plain Jane rods). I took pride in what I built. So if a rods finish or thread wrap did came out right. I tore it off and redid it. That pride started my side business of re-wrapping friends rods. Eventually that work got me into custom rod building. Friends seen how I took the time to do it right and wanted me to do their rods.
Good Wraps Bob

Bob, I pack my threads tight (using the flat side of a small Swiss Army pocket knife blade). However, I only burnish where I pull the thread through at the end of the wrap to flatten it out. Are you saying you burnish the entire wrap? Am I an "outlier" if I don't burnish all of the thread? I've never read where that was commom practice, but I'm always learning.

Regarding the craftsmanship issue, I think there are many ways to define that term. Is a rod with less finish on it (and a less than mirror like surface in the epoxy in one tiny, unnoticeable area) that outperforms one with a lot of finish (and a smooth appearance) better crafted? Who knows. I am sure that once the rod is complete and I'm off fishing it, I will never go back and inspect the underside of the wraps for a cosmetic defect. Of course, if the wrap fails, then I will be looking closely. Hence the original question.

Regarding the other questions, I use a single direction 4 rpm drying motor. I prep the guide feet as instructed in an article in RM with a disc-sanding attachment on a drill.

There's absolutely no problem, if you're happy with it.

That being said, I'm never happy with the small starved spot that inevitably occurs on the sharp corners of a guide foot. By the way, this can--and does--happen even when packing and burnishing properly, especially if you're really trying for that "perfect" amount of finish (i.e. just enough to cover the thread wraps, without being able to FEEL the thread ridges with a thumbnail). Here's how I combat it.

Once I have my finish on the wraps, I do the "let sit, wick, turn 180, let sit, wick, turn 180, etc." trick, then I hand turn it for a few minutes to make sure everything levels back out to my satisfaction. Then, I turn the rod, while watching my left over finish epoxy. As my finish epoxy is really starting to thicken up, I take a bodkin (i.e. fly tying needle), pull a string of finish off my foil, then lay it on top of the thin area. The epoxy is thick enough at this point that it doesn't run anywhere else on the wrap. It'll level itself out right on top of the guide foot, and you'll end up with the perfect thickness. It takes a little practice to learn how much to apply, and how to drop that string of epoxy on the top of the guide wrap, etc., but it's pretty easy.

By the way, this is also the perfect time to pull a string of epoxy off the foil, and make your "overlap" on the edges of your wraps. If you do it right, you can end up with a perfectly straight, evenly thick "overlap". And, it goes pretty quickly, once you get the hang of it. This is a good way to make sure that neither of your edge threads are slightly starved.