As i have said with the countless topics that I'm sure you guys have heard from a hundred noobs, I am new and am wondering about the preferences of those of you who have been wrapping, successfully for quite a while. I was about to order some high build flex coat and realized that I should probably ask you guys if that is something that a lot of you prefer. I have heard that flexcoat is a safe bet, but there are four types of flexcoat that I have come across so far. The high build, the lite and the UV resistant high build and lite. and of couse a dozen other brands and types. Even though I am asking what everybody's preferences are, I would also like to know what everybody thinks would be the best for a beginner, obviously I want the best, but not if it will look like trash because I don't have enough experience.

I have a great uncle who has been wrapping rods for years, but he lives a long ways away, not very easy to talk to and pretty stuck in his ways so when I asked him this next question he dismissed it instantly. So I will ask you guys who seem like you are a little more open minded, I was doing some research a while back and ran across this acid or spiral wrap. I noticed that the acid rod sight that i got this info from is a sponsor here, but what do you all think about wrapping casting rods like this? I don't think that I would do it on lighter freshwater rods, but on saltwater rods I think that if what they say is accurate it might be worth it, eventually since I am new. What do you all think?

As always thanks for the help guys!
James

Hanapa'a - Ancient Hawaiian for Hook Up!!

James please click on the Search feature at the top of this board:

Enter the word - spiral - in the search window

Change the date to All Dates

Click on Search

There are 235 pages of information on the subject of spiral wrapped rods of all types.

James,

Rod finish's are much like cars, you just have to try out a few and see which one fits your needs the best, they all work. I prefer Aftcote or Threadmaster.

Spiral wrapping a casting rod has many advantages in my mind, and I spiral wrap 99% of the bass rods I build NO matter how heavy power or light power the rod may be. .

DR

I wrote the copy for the Flex Coat catalog. Get yourself the standard high-build Flex Coat and give it a go. It's easy to use, works fine and will do about anything you would want. This is another one of those areas where you need to follow the directions, don't get fancy and try not to bother the finish too much. It knows what to do.

All casting rods with guides on top will be inherently unstable. All casting rods, spiral wrapped, will be inherently stable. Casting distance between the two is a practical wash. Sensitivity is the same. Decide if you prefer a stable or unstable rod and go from there.

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

Perfect, exactly what I wanted to know. Thank all of you again, and I was wondering what all of you were talking about with the search, especially since until just now I had not seen the search button, thanks, now I don't have to bother everybody with the same questions I'm sure you have heard dozens of times. Thanks
James

The finish question. Always lots of opinions on brand favorites.

I started with Flex Cote high build and decided to try Flex Cote light, which I liked better. Threadmaster came along and it was sort of between FC high build and FC light, but too heavy for my tastes at the time. However I liked the better UV protection. Threadmaster lite came out and it's my go to finish now, although I've experimented with Swifty Diamondite and like it as well. The TM has a very long cure time so if I have a quicker job, I'll use Diamondite. I recently took back a rod for repair that I did with FC lite. It's yellowed pretty badly, even after 3 years of only occasional use in the sun.

On spiral wraps. I do all my boat rods and saltwater rods in spiral wraps. They spend a lot of time under load trolling or fighting bigger fish. The more time the rod is under load, the more advantage you have with a spiral wrapped rod. Casting rods spend much more time casting/retrieving and not so much under load so it becomes a personal preference. Claims of casting distance increases are mixed.

Good luck.

Terry

Finishes are personal prefence. I finally settled on Threadmaster because of it's exceptional clarity and ease of use. I use Simple Spiral on 95% of my casting and trolling rods

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!!