To the Pannel,

Im trying to remove the finish on a G.Loomis 12'4" casting factory rod. I have removed the guides, no problem, but the remaining finish is proving to be very difficult.

Is there a way to remove that is fast, and that will not damage the blank?

Thank you, and look forward to your insite.

Greg

Softening the finish with a citrus based stripper and then scraping works best. Use a utility knife held perpendicular to the blank and scrape away, use scotchbrite for a final smooth finish. This will leave you with a nice bare graphite finish that I like so much I have been stripping brand new blanks.

If you only want to remove the old epoxy left from the guide wraps, try using some gentle heat to hopefully soften it just a tad and then use your thumbnail to pick and scrape it off.

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The best way I have found and I have done many is to use a small breakaway blade knife and scrape back and forth to remove the finish. Dont lay the blade down any as it will cut into the graphite, hold it vertically with the blank laying horizonally. It reall comes off nicely, then use a fine scothbrite pad to lightly remove whats left. Just a caution not to scrape too long on one spot as you can get into the resin and fibers.