I just finished a rod with two coats of Threadmaster light, the decal is from Decal Connection and they have worked fine before.
I skipped a step: because it is a glossy blank I did not epoxy first before applying the decal.
Looks like it lifted on one side and the epoxy finish pulled away from that surface so it's not coated.
I don't know why I didn't notice it after the first coat but I need magnifiers to see that close anyway.

I don't want to try to remove it since it's a bare blank underneath. How would I remove it?
I think I am going to wrap over it with black thread and refinish it with a new decal since it is a glossy black blank.
Advise is welcome.

Greg

You're most likely to find that if you can get it started, the epoxy will simply peel off the rod blank (epoxy finish doesn't really adhere very well to rod blanks). At that point you can easily remove the decal and replace it. A single edge razor blade can be used to shave off the epoxy, just be careful that you don't slice into the rod blank.

Or, sand flat and proceed as you outlined above. Any additional weight in that area is of little consequence.

.............

I'll try that when I get back to the shop, that would be best.

Well, the decal peeled right off, and the finish epoxy and wraps peeled, scraped, and cut off okay. Funny that the color preserver stuck to the blank better than the epoxy did. Redo this weekend, not the end of the world.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Greg