Hello all,

I have been working on an old NOS Fenwick fly rod blank, its a 7 1/2' 6 wt. I am not happy with how the wraps looked after the second coat of finish. (I used a good brand name finish, but I had some issues). So, I decided to strip the guides back off and start over.

After removing the guides, I have some places that have small chips in the rods original finish. What is the very best way to fix that before wrapping again-or-should I just rewrap the guides and finish over the top?

I would like to protect the Fenwick Logo, BLANK, and specs info printed on the blank. What can I use to do that? I am going to use Spar Varnish on the wraps next time.

Also, I am looking for a better razor blade to trim the threads. The exactos and single edge blades are dull, and I cant find a store that sells the double edge blades like I used to get.

Thanks

Jesse Shipe

If they're not really deep chips then i would think its ok to wrap over them. On logos and decals i use epoxy thread finish. Clean the logo first with a piece of cloth or paper towel moistened in distilled water. Don't use solvents on it. then apply your finish. When removing epoxy coated guides; if you apply a little heat from a lighter or alcohol lamp it will be easier to remove and les chance of damaging the blank.

Jersey, Channel Islands. (U.K.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2013 09:00AM by Steve Mcleod.

Pictures would help you get help more focused on your specific problem.

Removing finish from an area i want to preserve: i may want to use a hair dryer, just less chance of singing or over heating things.


Older rods can have varnishes and some of them are not good near flame or extra heat. They go dark.
Sounds like you have a mix of both going on. May even be what caused your epoxy problems.


Decals, well depends on the type and integrity of the covering currently on it.
If its sound go straight over it with a thin good epoxy.
I use TM lite there are others that are excellent too.

If not sound some epoxies could get it to bubble:i would put a thin coat of a water based CP over it first.
In a manner so that you could not see the edges of the CP afterwards.

So maybe take it from wraps either end of the logo.

Thanks for the replies. The chips are surface only, not into the brown color of the blank.

I might put a very small trim wrap on both sides of the Fenwick logo and blank info, I have to look a little closer at it first.

I have an old brown Lamiglas rod that I am going to refinish, I might just make that one into my "test rod" to see what this should look like. I used a rod finish, not epoxy on these wraps, but I am not happy with it.

I am going to try the spar varnish to see how it looks, I want a low build but smooth finish on the wraps.

I am still looking for a quality SHARP thread trim blade, can anyone please enlighten me as to where to get good blades. I dont like the exacto or any single edge regular razor blade, they are not sharp enough to do this right.

Thanks

Jess

Surgical scapel may be what your after. Number of different handle sizes and blade types. Been using them for years, they blow exactos hobby knifes away. Try the @#$%& site, you don't need to pay medical pricing.

Chuck

I 100% agree with Chuck on the surgical knife,i love them. I also use surgical wipes with alcohol and they are lint free. But you need a good cheap source of medical equipment, not effective for most rod builders.
You may find that you can get by with a single edge blade on thread etc by pulling the thread to the blade rather than the other way round.
For removing things i actually prefer not to use a knife in case it goes wrong: a sneeze at the wrong moment can damage a blank.
Use acrylic toothbrush handles(shatter to get the sharp edge), bone also makes a nice tool.

Gillette still has double edge blades, and ant major drug store will have them.

Jesse,
Rather than using blades to trim - use a very very high quality very thin bladed set of fly tying scissors.

I was encouraged to try such a pair of scissors several years ago. I have been using the same set of scissors from several years ago. Thousands of snips later, it is still going strong.

Another big advantage of using a set of scissors, rather than a blade, is that you never have to worry about nicking an existing wrap as you trip a tag end.

I use the micro tip by Dr. Slick and they work very very well.

[www.drslick.com]

Be safe
Roger

+1 on the fly tying scissors. Made a big difference hiding my tag ends.

Bob Jumper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> +1 on the fly tying scissors. Made a big
> difference hiding my tag ends.


Thanks, Im due for a new pair, will try that. I checked with CVS drug store, they have the blades too.

Jess

FWIW, just this second I finished stripping an older Fewick rod. It was a graphite "blackhawk" so it might not be relevant. The logo and blank info was yellow in color and was not a decal. I suppose it was some sort of paint/ink (as were the trim bands). It was coated with something like a clear acrylic/lacquer.

I work at a hospital and was able to score a bunch of scapel blades when I installed a table in the pathology lab. I find them great for removing old guides and trimming EVA and cork. I don't care for them for trimming tag ends though. Probably because the ones I have are too big (size 22). If you go that route be advised you will have to purchase a handle as well as the blades.

Cutting double edged blades in half used to be my preferred method years ago. Nowadays I make do with single edged blades. Often I put my loop in much earlier and trim the tag end as it starts to pull through so it never makes it out the other side. Works fine but leaves no chance to unravel and re-wrap if required.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

get a new box of single edge blads I have been using the same bland of years I just run it over sandpaper and sharpen it - Just me

if your guides are going in the same place they were and the thread will cover the chips
just put them on and rewrap

Bill - willierods.com

I use a surgical scalpel with #11 blades and a Tweezerman 1/2 jaw cuticle nipper.
The nipper is great for cutting tag ends really.

Be very careful with the decal on that blank. I did an NOS Fenwick that appears
to be the same as yours, 7 1/2 ft 6 wt. I seem to recall the model was 906. I tried to finish
over the decal by first spraying Krylon Fixatif over it. There was a bad reaction between
the finish both on the decal and the rod. I ended weaving Fenwick and the specs to
cover the mess. I had no reaction with Threadmaster with no color preserative on the
rest of the rod, only the decal.

Be very careful with the decal on that blank. I did an NOS Fenwick that appears
to be the same as yours, 7 1/2 ft 6 wt. I seem to recall the model was 906. I tried to finish
over the decal by first spraying Krylon Fixatif over it. There was a bad reaction between
the finish both on the decal and the rod. I ended weaving Fenwick and the specs to
cover the mess. I had no reaction with Threadmaster with no color preserative on the
rest of the rod, only the decal.

Maybe it was the Fixitive ?? I have masked off many decals on repairs After painting the blank doing the wraps I would refinish the inscription area No problems

Bill - willierods.com

Bill, prehaps I was not clear on my inital post. The reaction was due to spraying the Fixatif,
not the epoxy. I've used the Fixatif over ink in the past with no adverse result. The finish
that Fenwick used on that glass did not like Fixatif. The reaction was on both the blank
and the decal. Bob