I have a 9' what appears to be a boat rod, based on the type of guides. its in bad shape, chipped and scratched all over, no breaks into the fiberglass itself that I can see.
customer says it belonged to his dad and wants it refinished, getting the guides off was no problem, (amazing what a little heat will do)
Now my question or problem is its black but in several areas I am down to what appears to be the original color, resembles yellow.
do i take it down to that color all over, or smooth and repaint, and what type of paint should i use,
did not see anything in library that i can use, the volumns that may have what i am looking for i don't have.

Jim if your customer wants it the same as it is now then feather sand the dings and lightly scuff the rest of the rod, paint with Krylon Plasticoat one or two light coats then a couple of coats of clear gloss, same brand. If you have the time let it sit about a month, I have found that's a good wait time then rebuild the rod, if you don't have that much time wait a least 3 days. Another way is to find an auto painter and get them to paint it with the new plastic auto paint, most of the time it gets very costly to do it this way. I'm sure other will chime in but thats the down and dirty of it.
You can also do a search here and get more reading and info.

thanks tim for the info, this is just a hobby and i only intend to charge for the supplies, I have all the time i need, but i will try the krylon method.
I am a long way from even considering charging for my work, this is something to do when i can't fish or need some relax time from work.

I like to use the Krylon for Plastic to achieve the desired color, but I do the clear coat with Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane (Clear Gloss). It is a trick that I learned from Pat Vinzant and it dries well, gets SUPER hard and it is a marine grade sealant ... holds up super and stays clear.

After prepping the blank, take it somewhere overspray isn't an issue and setup a "painting booth". A portable rod dryer (Pac Bay type) and a nice length of cardboard will do the trick. Poke a hole in BOTH ends of the "box". Put your dryer outside of the "box" and stick the rod into the chuck. Put the other end (tip) of the rod through the box (top 2-3") as well. Now turn on dryer and POOF ... instant spray booth with very little possibility of runs. Use light coats ... 3-4 light coats will do a MUCH better job than 1-2 heavier ones. Don't be overly concerned about a dry spot or two on the first pass ... you WILL eventually get good coverage from tip to toe.

BTW, there is no need to paint where the grips/reel seat will be ... as matter of fact, you will get better adhesion with the components if you don't. So build your "box" just to accommodate the length to actually be painted.

Have fun! Wear a breathing mask AND old clothes.

Jim,

I saw on a DVD a way to change the rod color, and I have never tried this so some one more experience please chime in.

I "think" you can mix up two part epoxy and mix the color pigment in the mixture adding a little pigment as needed. Then brush it onto the blank and then with a latex glove on your hand spread it as evenly as you can. You would then put it in your rod dryer. It should level it self as it does on your regular wrap. You would have to be able to mix enough epoxy to do this in one coat.

I doubt if you can do this on a casting rod or fly rod because of the added weight. I would think a boat rod it may be OK.

It seems this would prevent any chips from showing if the rod gets banged around.

Please, for those of you in the know set me straight if I am wrong.

this may not be the easiest method, just another idea.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

I'd be a little concerned with adhesion over the entire rod using epoxy, I think the painting method would work best so long as a flexible enough paint was used. I've done a few odd color rods simply using automotive acrylic paint with good results. I first did a one for myself as a test subject to see if it would hold up, then I gave one to a rather abusive buddy and the color has stayed on just fine. The key is to make sure the paint is well cured before continuing. I flex the rod a bit to make sure it's well adhered too. I've done a lot of older restorations that way with good results. Make sure you use a good quality paint, some cheap paints will fade and be very prone to softening with even the mildest of solvents. I ad a minimal amount of flex agent to the paint, not as much as I would if painting say a rubber car bumper but enough to allow some flex in the paint.
An old timer told me that he used lacquer to paint blanks years ago and never had a problem, he said that lacquer had better adhesion and bonded better to the fiberglass thus being less likely to lift of crack even though lacquer is a harder type finish. It also dries much faster.
I've not tried that myself, and lacquer is hard to find these days anyhow. It is very resistant to chemicals though and I would think it would self etch into the blank, but again, that would only be a tolerable result on a fairly heavy old glass boat rod.
Joe




(Also, Bill, I believe your quote in your signature was by Doug Larson of the Green Bay Gazette.)

Joe,
I Googled Doug Larson Green Bay Gazette. You are right!!! How did you know this??

I now give him credit in my signature.

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Someone a few years back had given me a plaque with that quote on it, it used to hang on my office wall. I left it there for my successor after I left.