I was wondering if there is anyone in the rod building business that will recoat or refinish graphite fly rod blanks. I have two blanks that I would like to change the colors of. I'm somewhat familiar with the process, but I do not have the means to do it myself. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Bill H.

Bill
Whenever I refinish, I use the following:
1. Use slight heat and a scraper to remove the bulk of the finish. I generally use a single edge razor blade scraped at 90 degrees to the blank. That way the blade will not catch graphite and peel if up.
2. When the finish is about 80-90% gone I will use progressivly finer grades of sandpaper to finish the job.
3. Normally, I do the sanding on the rod lathe, because it goes much quicker. Since I am spinning the rod at high speeds, I use enough steady rests - running on masking taped sections of the blank to properly support the blank and to keep it from whipping and destroying itself.
4. When I am down to about 600 grit paper, I will go to a cloth to get all of the residue off the blank.

Depending on the blank, I will often stop at this point and or use a hard wax to finish the blank with its ultra smooth matt finish.

If I am going to paint, I will go ahead and use permagloss to complete the painting finish. However, for most blanks I prefer to not use any finish, but rather leave the blank in a buffex wax finish both for cosmetic reasons as well as to avoid weight build up.

Note:
Obviously, when the blank is being refinished, all of the guides and wraps have been removed first - again with slight heat and a razor blade.

Take care
Roger

Just as a thought contact Lamiglas, might be expensive, but compared to trying it yourself your better off.

Bill:
use the search on this site in the red bar. Type in refinishing blanks. Some guys use a mild stripper to take the paint off. A lot of info there. I scrap with the razor blade, then WET sand with about 320 - 400 wet dry paper. Spray with an auto color, then clear.

His looking for someone to do it for him!!!!!

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!!

Bill:
Try here to find a builder close to you. Call or email and ask.
[www.rodbuilding.org]