Many years ago I built a Sage 5 piece SP 5 weight and although it fishes great, the finish on the wraps leaves something to be desired as a newbie back then. Since then I've gotten a bit better at applying finish - especially with Threadmaster Lite.

Also on an earlier project I recall "light sanding" some wraps and it refinished beautifully - I assume that still holds true. After sanding and getting the wraps pretty smooth, do I need to touch them with alcohol or something or just wipe them dry and leave them alone? And how long can I wait before applying new finish? Thanks.

Do not use any thing to clean I just use a paper towel damp and wipe the dust off Dry with another towel -- make sure they are dry Then finish

Bill - willierods.com

When I sand wraps with epoxy on them I use denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol to make sure I get any oils or anything else left over from sanding. It will also dry much faster (almost immediately) if you use alcohol. If you use water, and some water gets into the wrap below the finish by chance, you will have to give it a while to dry out. If you don't sand it, then just do a regular cleaning job on it. Denatured alcohol won't hurt it and it will help remove any oils that may be on it from fishing, transporting etc.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

I'm pretty sure that No alcohol is best. Sanding then wipe with a Clean cloth then finish.

You will get different opinions on this one. I was just telling you how I do it. I do it that way because I was taught that by another well known builder. Remember, it's just what works for me and not necessarily the "best" way to do it. I did not intend for it to sound that way.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH

I also use Alcohol to clean before re-finishing old wraps. Never had a problem.

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Tim,
I just recently did a fly rod with bad finish on the old wraps.
Rather than just putting another layer of finish on the old wraps, I chose to cut all of the guides off of the rod, clean up the blank, rewrap the rod with the guides, or new guides as needed and then refinish.
It came out very well.

I often find that it is better to get down to the foundation, rather than trying to put on a new coat of paint - so to speak.

Roger

Like putting lipstick on a pig LOL

Bill - willierods.com

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tim,
> I just recently did a fly rod with bad finish on
> the old wraps.
> Rather than just putting another layer of finish
> on the old wraps, I chose to cut all of the guides
> off of the rod, clean up the blank, rewrap the rod
> with the guides, or new guides as needed and then
> refinish.
> It came out very well.
>
> I often find that it is better to get down to the
> foundation, rather than trying to put on a new
> coat of paint - so to speak.
>
> Roger


I have done that before on bare graphite before with great success but this Sage SP has a green gel-coat type finish that I've found on previous wrap strippings, blanks with this type of finish doesn't lend itself very well for wrap removal. Seems like even with a hair dryer and fingernail, some of the colored finish always wants to peel off.

And I want to preserve the Sage logo area just in front of the handle and stripping that area I'm sure will mess it up - since I started using Tom's technique of "drop it on, rotate and wick off, rotate and wick off" with a little bit of heat from my alcohol lamp, I'm sure it will wind up better than before. Thanks.

Why not mask off the logo area with the blue painters tape and just strip from there forward Then you could always put a thread wrap after you pull the tape off to match the guide wraps

Bill - willierods.com