I have all my supplies and have started on my first carbon fiber handle.

I have the first one shaped and finished sanded.

There are many pits or voids, nothing huge.

Do you fill these in with anything or just epoxy and dry it before doing the wet layout?

So far so good, like how light it is and how easy it is to shape, not doing anything special that way.

See you on the water, Doug
Captain Paddlefoot

Hello Doug -

There are as many ways to do this as there are rod builders, but I started getting very consistent results when I started using a tip provided by Capt. Mike Pedersen at Riley Rods. Specifically, once you have turned your foam core you apply a light coat of your epoxy to seal it. So, yes - coat the grip with a thick coat of epoxy and then remove most of it. You can use your wet layup epoxy for this or old spare rod finish - doesn't really matter. All you are doing is sealing the core which makes 1) avoiding bubbles much easier, and 2) aligning the carbon fiber when doing your wet lay up much easier.

These grips when finished properly look great. Unfortunately, nothing looks worse than one that is ALMOST right...with a few glaring pinholes in the finish from bubbles or the weave not aligned and straight. So while this seems like an extra step, it is well worth it in my opinion.

Riley Rods - who is a sponsor here - has an excellent tutorial on their web site under 'How Tos'. Capt Mike also posted a great video on YouTube that shows how he does every step. While you don't have to do everything exactly like he does, it is a great place to start and can really accelerate your learning curve. I hope this helps - good luck!

Bill

You can also find the original article that introduced these grips to the fishing public in the Volume 10 #6 issue of RodMaker.

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Geez...how did I leave that out. Sorry Tom!

The best finish method for these grips (in my opinion) also appeared in RodMaker. The urethane foam brush application is definitely the clearest and toughest wearing method. Can't remember the Volume and Issue...but worth looking up. Tom also has a great video on urethane top coating carbon skinned grips on YouTube as well.

Geez...how did I leave that out. Sorry Tom!

The best finish method for these grips (in my opinion) also appeared in RodMaker. The urethane foam brush application is definitely the clearest and toughest wearing method. Can't remember the Volume and Issue...but worth looking up. Tom also has a great video on urethane top coating carbon skinned grips on YouTube as well.