I'm now redoing a number of tuna rods I originally tied up in the 80's and 90's. In those days I was quite exuberant with the Flex Coat finish, and probably put on 5 coats or even more.

The issue now is removal of the flex coat.

Aged with time and the elements, the finish has become rock hard and hard to slice into, even with a fresh razor.

I am thinking heat might soften it up, but worry that I will mess up the fiberglass blanks as well. Perhaps this fear is misplaced.

Anyway, your kind comments and experiences welcomed.

Whit

Comments are not kind but been there done that! New glass blanks will be cheaper than the time, mess and frustration! Torching potential damage, singed hair, chance of burning shop down and increases in insurance tates should tip the scale to ordering some new ones. If you finished the entire blanks you will need to also thing about wrapping the scarred beauties all the way from butt to tip to hide all the nicks and dents. If you end up stripping four of five of them take a picture of your shop when all the debris is on the floor. Are all the components worth saving?

Some heat like a blow dryer on high will not hurt the blanks, will help in removal, however if your trying to save the guides and such, get a little dremel knock off from harbor freight. The 12 volt tool with the diamond wheels, extra, will grind, cut and get the FC off. Start at the base of the foot and work to the foot end, the thing about the knock off is it does not have enough power to do much damage if you slip, and if you try to use to much power it will stop, I use mine all the time for rod stripping and it has not failed me yet. But like Bill says sometimes it's not worth it, but if you want to just because for what ever reason by all means strip the rods and have a great time. If you haven't done this kind of thing before, you will learn something new and little tricks you can try on the next rod you strip. Have fun above all, this is your addiction so enjoy! If you have any questions email me.

I use an alcohol lamp and GENTLY flame the wrap, then slice with razor blade over the foot.. With so many layers, you may have to heat a couple of times..once you get the guide off, you should be able to "pop" off the remainder of the finish.

Give one wrap a try,, you got nothing to loose,, the worse thing is a new blank,,, and that is what is stated above.. So have at it,,, all goes well, you will have them all stripped in no time.

Heat gun should soften it up enough to get it off if you used epoxy. Some varnishes are very tough.

Best wishes!

-TH