I had a potential customer approach me that is a big bass tournament fisherman and inquired about a custom colored rod. We discussed it and I mentioned a few possibilites. I spent a few years in the automotive industry and thought about a body shop to do what he desires. Have any of you ever "farmed" out or had a blank painted by a body shop? In my estimation they would be the best suited for the task. I have yet to inquire with any as we just had this conversation.

Hey Garry,

Can you give some detailsof what your customer is looking for? It may help us better understand what he and you are looking for regarding the custom paint job.

Tight lines,

john

some companies such as Lamiglass will do some custom colors... contact them

i have had some blanks painted by body shops. the cost is in the setup. If they paint a blank at the same time they are painting a car then most will put it in the booth with them and it is 30 secs while painting the car. You have to live with the color they are painting that day, but the results i got were fantastic and i didn't have to pay for the setup. the body shops usually put a flexible additive when painting the plastic bumpers used on many cars today and it holds up without cracking on blanks

AWLGRIP

Easy quick and great looking.

Dupli-Color and others have paints Auto Colors that you can do yourself. [www.duplicolor.com]

Bill - willierods.com

Hi Gary,
In the last 12 months I've had 4 blanks painted by a panel beater with 2 pack polyurethane, picked one up today. Auto paint has flex additives that minimise the chance of it cracking when compared to other paint. One of the rods has had a reasonable amount of use and it doesn't show any sign of cracking, only time will tell if it will hold up long term. Ross van Enckevort from TheRodWorks has been having them painted for some time and I can't see him offering his clients this service if they didn't have reasonable durability. The ones that I had done look a @#$%& of a lot better than they did before hand. Problem might be finding a shop that will do them for you, I'm lucky I get 2 blanks painted for a case of beer. Mask off the area where your grips and reel seat go so there is less for them to paint and that will save you having to prep it so the epoxy will work best.
ESFNEM Col

I make / paint custom baits as well as building a few rods. I have painted a few blanks using airbrush paints and clearcoating the section painted with a Dupont 2 part automotive clear. I haven't had them painted but for several months and so far I have no issues at all. If you are only painting the lower section below the first guide I really don't think you'll have any issues. I only recently painted a full blank, but so far so good. I was out fishing that blank a lot this past weekend in freezing weather and am anxious for hot weather to get here to see if I end up with any other issues. I have 2 blanks where I have done just the lower section and it has been about a year on those and no issues at all. So you can add flames, college logos, or most anything you want. With the flames being my personal favorite.

Thanks guys. The guy wants something flashy and bright so as to set it apart from the other rods he sees at tournaments. I am familiar with House of Kolor paints and know that they offer something to fit the bill. Essentially he wants a bright color that fades to a darker color. I have a friend who has an airbrush he said he would give me and I am considering trying that out on an old blank to see. As with most things I prefer to do as much myself as possible. Of course a real sprayer is not out of the question. It wouldn't be that hard to make a small booth in my garage.

I just did one in cameleon color , a paint that changes colors , I did the green to purple , it came out cool ! painting a blank is EZ , start at the top work your way down quick steady coats while turning the blank with your other hand . I've done all sorts of colors with all sorts of paints , and have had little or no problems. Just take an old rod blank and practice till you get the effect you wish. Then go to it !
Good luck , Larry

Larry, kameleon is exactly what I was thinking of doing. Ironically enough the green to purple is one I was mentioning to him. I don't suppose you have a pic of it do you?

Where did you get the camelion color? I heard it is rather price for the paint???

you used to be able to buy the chameleon/flip flop paint in a can. Walmart used to carry it and no longer. it may still be available out there somewhere. it takes several coats from what i remember

Hi Gary when I was in the business building custom an had a customer wanting his rod painted. I would first strip the rod and prep it ready for painting. Then I would take it down to my Buds who owned a custom auto paint shop and have them paint it. He used a coat coat system with a flex additive. He was able to paint some awesome designs and colors.
I think I paid 25 bucks a blank. Now this was over 11 years ago. Those rods are still being used today and still look great . PS your email is hidden

Good Wraps Bob

Lots of custom paint places on line. House of Colors makes some great stuff or go to a local body supply shop and they can make you near any thing you want. All I seem to do is paint blanks anymore, It is easy and there is a learning curve and having a safe place and proper equipment are a must. A hobby airbrush IMO on anything other then a small diameter blank is a waste of time. Most don't move enough paint to give a good job or will take forever to get good coverage. I can prep a 9' blank in about 20 mins. mix paint and ready the gun too shoot in about 10min, Shoot three light color coats and clean up in about 15mins. I set to dry for three days and wet sand to even the color or back the color off a bit and shoot the clear on 3 blanks at once. All said and done I have about 75 mins tied up.

Like John said there is a learning curve. An other must is a clean environment, dust free, warm and I can not stress the health factor enough. Wearing a filter mask is a must. To days auto paint is a killer on lungs

Good Wraps Bob

I am very familiar with the painting process and how nasty the stuff is. I used to work in an auto parts store and mixed more paint than I care to remember. Looks like I need to pull out some old blanks and play around.

Garry my I suggest this: lightly scuff the blank with a gray scuff pad, first coat just a light fog coat, wait 10 minutes give it a second medium coat wait another 10 minutes and give it a finale flush coat then finish of with 2 coat of clear. If you are going to do color changes let one color dry before adding the next color. When all the colors have dried lightly sand with 600 W/D paper then clear coat . If you can't find a flex additive for your paint, you can use bumper paint. The bad thing about bumper paint is it weights more by volume

Good Wraps Bob

Garry,
I have painted a couple of rods with the chameleon paint. What I have is Mirage by Dupli-Color. I bought three kits from my local auto paint dealer. Itis a three can kit and it does take quite a few coats. What I have is Gold to Magenta. It does look very cool. I found the kits on sale for $8.00 a kit. It was a good deal.

Good Luck

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio