Hi Guys,
Got to strip a rod that I built for my son almost 20 years ago as he stored it in his garage opposite a window. The sunlight had caused the colour in the cotton to fade on one side and a few cracks were starting to appear at ends of the guide feet. I've stripped quite a few factory built rods in the past and it wasn't that difficult. This one was totally different. The epoxy was very difficult to get off even with a new razor blade and the cotton was still in good nick (except for the colour) and quite strong. Was also impressed with the penetration of the epoxy under the guide feet which had the guides firmly anchored to the underbinding. Don't want to put tickets on myself but I'd never stripped a rod that I'd built before. That gives you a lot of confidence that you are doing the right thing when building. Read somewher once that you can tell how well something is built by how hard it is to pull apart.
Ive always stored my rods in a garage with no windows mainly to stop the sunlight from causing the mono on the reels from deteriorating. With braid becoming more and more popular some people may not be quite as diligent as they used to be when storing rods. Mono is not the only thing that sunlight will cause to deteriorate.
ESFNEM Col

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia