I am nearly done with a boat rod that I built for my son, and I wrapped the handle with some nice 4 mm nylon cord. I have built a couple of rods with this cord, but have not put any coating on them. They seem to be holding up well, but they are on larger dia butts, and are less prone to slipping. This rod is a little smaller, and I used 2 different cords per grip, and possibly more prone to slipping. I have epoxied the ends to help lock them in place

I was looking for advice pro or con to coating, and what I should use. I have a fair amount of Permagloss, which I have used on the wraps, and really like. I was thinking that 4 or 5 coats would be enough to coat the fibers and protect against abrasion, and lock the wraps a little better. But, I don't want much of a build-up on the grips. Any advice is appreciated.

Drew; Why not use the shrink tubing that Mudhole sells to put over the corded grip instead of some kind of finish? Seems that would be better since it is a Boat Rod.
I am going to use it on a big Cat Rod when I can find out what size I need for a 1" dia grip. This rod will be sitting in a rod holder most of the time and the tubing is really tough.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

I use Exterior Poly-urathane on mine

I have used Spar Urethane finish in the past with great results. Just make sure it is labeled for outdoor use. As with epoxy finishes,many thin coats are better than one thick one.

Jay...any size that fits over the largest OD of the placement location will work. Shrink tubing can be shrunk quite a bit.

I have some marine grade polyeurithane that should fit the bill. Will I have to worry about the grip getting slick though? And, are you building it up enough to competely smooth the seams between wraps (does it now feel corrugated or not)? Thanks for the advice.

Work slowly and let it soak in a bit with each coat. Unless you go overboard coating it,you will end up with a very durable grip that won't be slick. Case in point are the poured foam grips by such notables as Mike Pedersen. Surf the photo gallery for proof.

Chuck,
An easy way to finish the rod, is to obtain a piece of pvc tubing that is just a bit larger than the handle of the rod. Partially fill it with finish. Dip the rod handle into the pvc tube. As the handle is inserted, the handle will displace the finish causing the finish to rise higher on the rod. Adjust the amount of finish in the pvc tube so that when fully inserted into the pvc tube, the finish just coats all of the handle.

Then, when doing numerous coats, just a redip is necessary. Just hang the rod by the first guide between coats, and if any drips form that aren't coming off of the butt of the rod, just use a brush or similar to dab off any drips.
Be sure that you have the finish thinned when doing this, so that you get excellent penetration into the handle wrappings.

P.S.
When you obtain your pvc tubing, also buy a couple of pvc caps. Glue the bottom cap on permenantly. Then, when finished with the rod handle dipping, simply put the other cap on top of the pvc tube, and put a layer of tabe around the cap and tube to seal the tube and keep the finish fresh.


Roger

Do a test run on a scrap piece of cord first: not all types of nylon will absorb any kind of finish. Some will repel anything you try to put on there.

If the type of cord you have does accept finish, then you probably do want to apply something, because if the cord will absorb the finish, then it will absorb water and fish guts, too, and the grip will eventually smell. PermaGloss is the absolute best sealer out there, but I don't use it for my cord grips, because it's expensive, and I don't like dealing with the nasty odor of the stuff (the last time I used it for something, I was reminded of the old Barney Gumble line from The Simpsons: These fumes aren't as fun as beer. Sure, I'm all dizzy and nauseous, but where's the inflated sense of self-esteem?). So I use Helmsman marine urethane instead, and it works great.

Do a test on a scrap piece of the cord - if it absorbs water, then finish it. If not, you can leave it alone.