Hello all,

I have an old Lamiglass S Glass 8'/SFL966, its an 8' 6wt. blank. This thing is vintage, for sure. Its got a very visible weave in the blank, I bought it a few years back. It was poorly built as a rod, so I stripped it down to rebuild it.

Some of the finish is a little flat, some is ok. I polished it with a drill, rag, and plastic polish. It needs to be re-coated with finish before I build it.

I have access to an air brush. Has anyone successfully sprayed a new spar varnish or similar coating on a blank? I also have spar varnish in a spray can, thinking about trying that. Thoughts?

Also, just wondered, is this a very desirable blank?

Thanks for the replies,

Jesse

I doubt the blank has any collector value, if that's what you mean.

You can easily clear coat it with any number of products. Spar varnish will work, but wouldn't be my first choice. In a spray, I think I might take a look at the Spray Max two-part clear epoxy.

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I have never heard of Spray Max, but I see it is available on @#$%&. Does this finish remain flexible? I worry about cracking in the finish.

Im not concerned about this rod as a collector item, only as a suitable fishing tool. This is a very deep flexing, slow action rod blank. So, was this a popular rod blank back in the day? Im thinking about building this the old school way with a simple reel seat, full wells handle, and putting some spiral wraps on the rod. I would consider a new paint job, but I dont want to ruin the original Lamiglas decal.

I have been researching a nice finish for this, I am now thinking about dipping the blank instead of spraying or brushing/wiping a finish on it.

Jesse

Dipping is probably going to result in a much heavier coating which would be detrimental to the blank's performance. It's already heavier than comparable graphite blanks so you may want to reconsider.

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Thanks for the reply Tom. I am just now reading about how some builders use a turkey baster or similar cooking tool with thinned spar varnish, they dribble it onto the rod, then rotate it until smooth. They recommended using a coffee filter to wick away excess, not wipe.

I have tried wiping this finish on with a coffee filter but was unhappy with the results.

Im sure you are correct, a heavy finish on this rod will likely make it even slower than it is, I will have to be careful about this.

When I cleaned up the blank, I lightly sanded the whole thing with 1000 grit paper and water, then I polished it with plastic polish using a rag while turning the blank with a drill. I am pleased with how smooth it is now, but I do need to replace the finish. (I will have to really make sure its clean after the polishing job-rub down with denatured alcohol)

At this point, I think that I will spray on the spar varnish, let it cure for a week or so, then wet sand it down, repeat as needed, and see how it comes out. I already have the materials, and, Im off work until after the new year.. I have the time, so thats the plan for now.

Thanks again,

Jesse

Consider Perma Gloss, it really works well as a rod finish if applied properly. Do a search on this site on applying Perma Gloss and you will learn how others do it.

I have the same 966 Lamiglas fly rod in a solid yellow color blank which I find great to use fishing for bream and small bass with dry flies and small poppers.The yellow blanks have value but not nearly as much as the translucent honey colored S blank.

I am considering on using perma gloss to refinish using a sponge brush.

Like to know Jesse how the spar urethane works out for you.


I also have an old school Magnuflex fiberglass rod that is natural with no paint applied that I am wanting to refinish too and spar with uv protection maybe the best way to go .

Well, last night I really thinned out some spar varnish. I tried to dribble it onto the blank, that didnt work. So, I put a very, very thin coat on the blank with a coffee filter. I havent looked at it yet this morning, sometime today I will be back at the bench to check it out. Its gettin busy here now.... Thanks for the replies.

Jesse

Hello all,

I just checked out the blank. I am very pleased with the finish. I am going to give it a week or so to cure, then I will decide if I want to re-sand it gently with 1500 wet sand paper and put on another coat. I took it outside to look at it in the daylight, its not perfect, but really very nice.

Sometimes when I have a project going like this, I find it best to put it away for a little bit, then come back to it and then make a decision on how to proceed. I have less "re-do's" this way.

Jesse

Try doing a Google Search on Spar varnishing a Bam Boo Rod
Dribbling thinned spar is popular with bamboo builders

Bill - willierods.com

Dribbling the finish. Yep, I tried this on wrappings, worked pretty nice. It just ran off of my blank, so I wiped it on. Looks good, curing now. Wont touch it again until sometime next week. Thanks for all the replies, you guys are very helpful.

Jesse