Just looking for a gereral idea of how much weight the finish adds to a rod. Say 7' rod, 8 guides and 3 short trim bands with only enough thread to hold the guides with two coats of finish? I realize this would be different with every rod but are we talking .1 ounce, .5 ounce range?

I weighted a 7 UL spinning Rod with 6 micro And 3 réduction guide before after applying finish (Pro Kote one coat in two passes).
The difference was 2 grams (less than 0.1oz).
This should give you your answer.

We had this information in RodMaker a bit ago, but I can't remember the exact article. Obviously the larger the guides the longer and larger the wraps which will hold more finish. But you can look at it as a percentage of overall rod weight. On a trolling rod it would likely be absolutely insignificant. On an ultra-light rod, even though the finish weight would be less, it might be something that could actually be felt or realized in the rod's performance.

If you wanted to find out the exact weight, weigh your finish (allow for cup weight) and then weigh it again after you've finished applying it to the wraps. Because epoxy is 100% solids, nothing would be lost through evaporation. You might have some left in your brush, of course, so you could always weigh that along with your first cup measurement and then again afterwards. Anything not in the cup or the brush is on the rod.

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Thanks that is what I was looking for. So adding a little extra finish for trim wrap or something like that does not add enough to really matter. I build only bass rods and wondered what going to micros did to the finish weight. I conclude not much weight savings on the finish although the guides do make a lot of difference in particular on a light power blank. Tom that is something I may try but right now I do not have a scale that will be accurate enough. I do remember seeing the article but did not try and dig it out.

A penny weighs about 2-1/2 grams I think. And, in terms of finish weight this would be spread over a length from fore-handle to tip. So while finish weight does make a difference, it may not make any practical difference from the perspective of what you're working on.

Something you can always consider - if you want the lightest possible finish, something like PermaGloss or LumaSeal (about 3 coats) will do all that's needed to protect the thread and result in a lighter coating than even a light build epoxy applied thinly. But we're talking about a minor difference. But if you're truly concerned about it...

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The article was written by Emory Harry. I'm not sure of the Rodmaker volume.
The article did state that a significant amount of weight was to be found in the thread and finish weight.
That slight weight will be much more noticable if placed closer to the rod tip.
Makes the use of a double foot guide close to the tip a matter of importance in the design process.



Eugene Moore