My son Patrick and I have been using LS Supreme for our finish. But now after 3 - 4 years of a lot of fishing the wraps have dulled and yellowed, especially on the top of the rod where the sun hits it. What can be done to save the wraps? These are the first rods Patrick built and really would hate to redo these things. Do you think a light sanding and a recoat of finish would restore the wraps?

We get a certain amount of rebuild/restore work for older rods. Usually, the finish has cracked, chipped, peeled, and/or of course yellowed.

We usually take a razor-blade to the old finish and VERY GENTLY peel it off, hopefully not touching the threads in the process. If the threads were well-sealed with CP, this works better than if they were not. It's like working on an old piece of furniture - you want to take off the layers of finish, but not mess with the underlying wood.

If a wrap isn't yellowed but just scratched, a new coat of finsih might work, provided the original wrap will accept the bond. That's a question other folks might better be able to answer than I can - we generally try to stay with the same brand, if we know what it was, and your case, you do. I might think of doing the new coat using the "Lite" version, though.

I'll leave it to others to discuss sanding and surface work on the old wraps, because while they can be cleaned up, that won't fix the yellowing (which is usually due to UV exposure). Without seeing the rods I can't guess how bad it is or whether it would show through any new finish.

Sorry I can't be of any more help than that - - -

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2007 05:44PM by Russ Pollack.

When I replace a broken guide with a new one, I of course wrap it, and apply epoxy, as usual, but when I see all the other guides cracked, yellowing at the edges, dull, etc, I mix enough epoxy to coat all of the wraps... somehow it soaks in and the whole rod looks like new again... it has been quite a selling point,,, I don't know if it will work with your rods, but I think it is worth a try... I have no idea what finish is on the rods I get in so it seems to work on all of them.

Good luck.

Fred, what particular flavor of epoxy do you use . . . ?


–smc–