Im about to start a new project soon a 9 ft 4wt. The blank is plain buffed graphite which I would like to color a deep blue.

I read Ralph O' Quinns thread he posted back in june on how to color a blank with oil based pigment mixed in a polyurathane base.

I tried it out on the butt section of the rod using Varithane 900 and a sponge brush. It worked ok but Im not sure so I have a few questions

1) Is the vaithane 900 a good choice for this application what do the manufacturers use, paint , epoxy ., urathane ?

2) Is one better off with one coat with a heavy color saturation or two or more coats with less pigment, obtaining color density by adding layers.

3)I tried the sponge brush method and it works pretty good but,would an airbrush do a better job , Im also redoing my first bamboo rod right now and thought an air brush would work for the finish.

Regular brushing is not working for me on the bamboo blank. Ive had to strip the finish I put on the blank twice now. I really dont want to go to the trouble of fabricating a dip tank setup for one or two rods.

Many thanks you guys are great "John"
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John,

Over here in Oz I use a 2 pack Urethane clear finish with pigment added and spray it on. Brand names won't do you much good as is local.

Airbrush would be fine.

I get fantastic results, the equivalent of factory finishes.

Cheers,
kev

John,

If the rod is of a small dia. I use a pice of a truck intertube and punch the smallest hole in it with a leather punch. Then I slip it over the blank, pour you paint (I use a two part epoxy) into the tube and draw it up the blank. Practice a bit it can be a little tricky, but it gives you an almost factory finish.

Steve