I am working on a rod for a customer. He wanted nothing fancy, just a gunmetal grey thread wrap on his guides. No trim wrap at all on his guides. I did as he wanted, but now he wants me to change the thread wraps to an orange color. I do not want to cut these wraps off, already have three coats of lite build on them.If I wrap over the epoxy with new thread, then epoxy over them, will this add too much weight to the rod??Or could I tint my epoxy orange in color and go over the existing epoxy without any problem.?? Looking for some input. Thanks

Gerald...i would politely remind your customer that was he who in fact requested the Gun metal Guide Wraps.Talk to him and see if he would compromise by having you do a Trim Wrap on the Blank in the orange. Explain the Time and work involved in removing the existing Wraps..and the subsequent re intallation of the Guides, and the new orange Warps...what that will cost..and it may be enough to discourage him...and go with some orange trim...just a thought...Cheers!!

It will add enough weight to affect how the rod performs, unless we're talking about a very heavy boat or trolling rod.

If a fisherman brought you an existing rod, and asked you to change the wrap color to orange, what would you charge to strip and rewrap the guides? That's what I'd charge your current customer, unless you have some sort of relationship with him that would indicate doing otherwise.

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

So you delivered what he paid for and now he wants a change. Here are a couple of suggestions.

For a fee, you might try wrapping an orange trim band in the middle of the wraps as they are and finish over that. I would try one, take a picture and show him and see if he wants this for the rest of the wraps. If he is okay with this, make it clear what the new cost will be and when you can deliver it.

For a fee, you could add some orange and grey in a new butt wrap ahead of the signature and before the 1st guide. You could add a spiral wrap in orange with orange bands on either side offset by some grey, or do an olive branch braid in orange with some NCP white bands, etc. Again, show him and agree on the fee and delivery before you go through this again.

For a bigger fee, remove and re-wrap. Do a practice wrap and get his approval before you do them all.

In order, I would charge $40, $20, $70.

One thing I found that prevents this is to send some pictures or show the customer what it really looks like before all the wraps are done. This has resulted in some modifications and a happier result in the end for me. I know it sounds like extra work but some customers have no idea what they think they want for colors will really look like when it gets on the rod. Sometimes you just have to show them.

Hope it works out. Let us know.

Terry

Sorry about the double post.

Terry



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2013 06:36PM by Terry Turner.

Wrapping over the already epoxied wraps will not look good!

This is a little late for you since your customer wants to change wrap colors, but I always make a sample wrap on a scrap blank so the customer can see exactly how it will look when done. I have had dozens of customers who changed their minds after seeing what they initially requested. About half the people out there have no concept of color or color combinations. It can get frustrating at times. Hang in there, charge him accordingly.

Thanks to all whom responded

Charge for the wrap change. Easy answer.

For a good few years I lived around some of the best custom sportfishing boat builders in the nation. One thing I noticed in their businesses is that customers were always changing their minds on how they wanted the boats finished. The builders had no problem changing plans for their customers...even if the original custom parts had been build and installed. They would just cut them off and start over.

The important thing to point out is that no matter what changes were made, the owner was charged for the extra work...they would end up paying double, or triple, for what was originally charged for a piece.

The customer has a right to change their mind. You have a right to charge for your work.

x100 on Jay's comments.

Also, x100 on Randolph's comments.

In addition, if a client makes a request for an off the wall color combination that will clash in most folks eyes; I will do some gentle questioning on the reason for the color choices.

If they are sure of their choices, I might suggest to them how the final product will look and that they be sure in their choices.

Much of the time, the client gives very general choices and leaves the final color hue up to the builder for a nice mix or contrast of colors.

I know that I personally sometimes have issues in making final hue selections for thread choices. Fortunately, my wife is an artist who has an excellent eye for color and appropriate selections. She has "saved my bacon" on more than one occasion.

Good luck
Roger