G'day Guys,

I have just started doing the underwraps on a boat rod I'm re-building. I had previously stripped the rod of its original black paint and painted it with Tamiya PS in Metallic Blue, followed by 2 coats of PG.

Unfortunately, as I've been doing the underwraps and placing masking tape on the blank to hold various bits of thread and pull throughs, some of the paint has been pulled off by the tape. I was quite surprised because the other rod I re-painted in the same way did not have this problem.

This rod was missing a fair bit of its paint when I got it and I can only surmise that it may have been exposed to something that has impregnated the blank and caused the paint to fail in some places. A good work over with a finger nail shows that the paint around the patches is adhered well.

Unfortunately the only fix I can think of, apart from stripping the rod again (and I'm not gonna do it because the rod is not worth spending the time on) is to cover the bare areas with a wrap of metallic blue thread. I have done this and it blends reasonably well but does look a bit out of place. However it won't affect the way it fishes.

Next time I have to re-paint a blank and I'm not sure of its history I think I might hit it with degreaser before painting.

Oh well, you live and learn. I've got to say that I am really looking forward to starting with a blank straight from the factory so I can avoid all these annoying little issues.

Cheers

Jason

Jason,

Did you prep the blank and create a waterbreak fee surface for the paint to adhere to?

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Mike,

I sure did! Gave it a good going over with Scotchbrite and actually ran it under water to check.

This blank was lying around in a shed. Don'[t know how long for either. It could have been exposed to all sorts of things.

Jason

That's a darn shame!!!!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Tell me about it. I put in a fair bit of work, stripping, prepping and re-painting this blank. It might have been a good candidate to cover completely in thread. Anyway, my next rod will be on a nice shiny new blank, so no problems then - hopefully.

Jason

This same thing has unfortunately has happened with nearly all of the rods I have painted to some degree or another until I started using automotive grade paint and an airbrush. The finish is then baked CAREFULLY in a hot box at about 180 degrees. The only process that has been reliable for me so far. Believe me when I say I am VERY retentive when it comes to prepping my blanks as well. I found a couple of hobby paints I am experimenting with on blank scraps that I bang around on occasion and so far there are no chipping issues.....YET.

This is what we have to deal with when we want pretty blanks I guess. One of the experimental paints is metallic olive green......I have PLANS for that color if it works.

Derek

Your only option at this point might be to wrap the rest of the painted areas with metallic thread. As it is a boat rod I don't think it would make much difference. At least the blue will be all the same color.

I wrap the entire blank with thread rather than painting them all the time. As I tell the customer, it's faster than painting, cheaper than painting, and holds up better than painting. Jesse

Thanks for your comments Guys,

Bruce, I'm not sure its worth my time and effort to wrap thread on this blank now. I think I'd be better off to just wrap on the small sections of paint that have come off and live with the ugly look.

Jesse,

I had read your previous posts about completely wrapping the blank with thread. If I had known the paint would come off like it has, I would proabably have done that. Maybe next time!

Cheers

Jason

I have discovered that after painting, letting the rod "bake" in the sun for a day, turning it so all the paint can "cure" properly, makes for a much tougher finish. I guess the UV light and the warmth helps everything bond properly.

Why not touch up the paint and let the rod bake in the sun for a day, before wrapping?

-TH