G'day All,

I have been doing some repairs lately and have been having issues with fisheyes.

I have just been stripping broken guides, binding on new ones, 2 coats of CP then epoxy. As I don't know the history of the rods I also don't know what products the owner may have used on them i.e. lubricants on guides or waxes/sprays to preserve the look of the rod.

What should I do to avoid this problem in the future? Wash the rod with warm soapy water first?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Cheers

Jason

Hello,

Just finished doing a bunch of similar repairs. My process is to rinse off any dirt and grit with the "spray" nozzle on my garden hose. Then I use warm water, Dawn dishwashing liquid, and a soft sponge before stripping. This helps clean up the really dirty rods and makes it easier for me to get a better look at overall condition, any damages, etc.

Have not yet encountered a rod that has been waxed, but I'm sure those who have will chime in on the proper way to go.

Fish-eyes are usually from some sort of oil contamination. Any time I receive a new blank and/or components I make sure everything is clean and de-greased by wiping with a clean paper towel and rubbing alcohol, or by washing with dawn dishwashing liquid. The same goes for my burnishing tools, scissors, epoxy mixing tools, cups, etc.

One overlooked area in my experience are the razor blades used to trim tag ends. I've had some that came with a smudge of oil on them or in the packaging, that if transferred to your wrap will cause fish-eyes.

-chad



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2014 11:04AM by Chad Barlongo.

Chad,
You mentioned "stripping", I'm assuming you are referring to the rod itself , but what do you mean by that?

Just curious, new at this and have a couple rods to repair myself.

Thanks in advance.

Scott

Hi Scott,

I used the word "stripping" to describe removal of components before the rod gets repaired or re-built.

That could range from removing a single broken guide, to complete removal of grips and reel seat so that one is left with a bare blank.

The paint/finish on the blank itself can also be stripped and replaced with a new finish or different color.

Removal of paint and components--a lot of work and one of my least favorite aspects of this hobby.

-chad

Gotchya.

Thx

Any time that I have a rod to repair, I take it to the laundry room where I have a tooth brush and "simple green" cleaner.
I use "simple green" cleaner to go over the entire rod, along with scrubbing it with the tooth brush. Rod grips and especially cork grips clean up really nicely with the combination of " simple green cleaner" and a good scrubbing with a tooth brush.

After I remove a guide and scrape the area using a razor blade held at right angles to the blank, I will then go over that area with the simple green and tooth brush as well.

Then, I will let the rod dry overnight before doing any more work on it, to be sure that it is 100% dry.

Finally, I will tape on the guide, wrap and coat it as needed with no problems with finish.

About 90% of the time fish eyes are caused by some sort of oil or silicon contamination on the area that you are finishing.

By the way, every time that you leave the shop or get up to do something out of the ordinary, go wash your hands with soap and water. If you are doing a lot of wrapping, get up at least once an hour and wash your hands with soap and water.

Oil from the skin is a big source of contamination on rods, if the folks doing the wrapping are not careful about doing frequent washing of the hands.

By the way, unless you have the need for color matching, there is no need to put CP on the wraps. Lots of production rods are wrapped and finished with no CP. So, if you are repairing a production rod, use the same thread type and color as used by the factory and the same finishing technique.

Be safe

Great advice.

Especially about the frequency of washing your hands. Oils are constantly coming out of our skin.

G'Day Jason all I use is metho on a chux cloth give it a good wipe over followed by another wipe over under a running tap .Let it dry & I'm good to go .I have to say that I don't do a lot of repairs but those that I do I've never had a problem with fisheyes after cleaning. After I have finished the repairs I clean & polish the (EVA) grips still using the metho .With the rod still mounted in the chuck I soak another wipe with metho & fold the wipe until I have only about 30mm wide soak it with metho hold both ends around the rod & hit the pedal moving the wipe backwards & forwards cleans the grip & closes the pores in it (similar to Billy Vivons polishing ) .It brings the grips up like new .

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2014 09:42PM by Barry Chapman.

G'day Guys,

Thanks for your input.

I do wash my hands before starting any wrapping, but not during. I haven't had any issues until now.

Mind you I have thought of a few other things. I have bought razor blades from a different source. The ones I usually got previously were in a small pack from a paint shop and were normally dry. The ones i have now do have oil on them. That could be the issue. I think I will also wash down any repair rods.

I also bought some cheap kids art brushes to use as finish and CP brushes. They are very similar to the bulk disposable brushes you can buy from rod supply stores. I'm wondering if they have some sort of dressing in them which may be causing the problem.

Anyway, I'll change those few things and see if it makes any difference.

Cheers

Jason

Roger,

Looks like I can get Simple Green here in Australia. I had never heard of it before but it sounds great as a really good cleaner/degreaser. I'll grab some and give it a whirl.

Cheers

Jason

Jason,
Rather than using razor blades to trim tag ends, use a pair of small sharp fly tying scissors.


Never need sharpening, and never have to worry about nicking a wrap from a blade.

Be safe

Noooooo Roger,

I can't give up my beloved razor blades! I have previously tried scissors and nail clippers and I keep coming back to the blades. They just seem to work well for me.

Cheers

Jason

Jason,
May I ask what sort of scissors that you used?

When I first started wrapping, I used blades. But then I was directed to try some very good quality fly rod scissors.

I have used the same pair of Dr. Slick Arrow scissors for the last man years with excellent results:

[www.drslick.com]


I switched then many years ago, and have used them every since. No issues at all, No nicks clean close trimming and it just simply works.

Be safe

Jason,

I used to use razor blades, but I have a hard time holding them. I switched to a #3 scalpel handle with #11 blades, and that's what I've been using for over 10 years now.

$6-7 bucks on the big online @#$%& site, for handle and 100 blades together. The blades are individually packaged, and clean. No oil to clean off.

Take care,

Chris

G'day Roger,

The scissors were just a pair of fine braid scissors, so probably not as nice as the scissors you are referring to. Can you actually trim a tag off dead flush with scissors? I tend to pull back on the tag end and then cut with the razor so you are actually cutting the tag short enough that it actually goes right under the wrap.

Chris,

I do have a scalpel handle and some blades so might try that too.

Cheers

Jason

You can also try to cut before it goes under the wrap If done correctly it is cleaner You may need several more wraps for this Lay the thread over and cut shorter then where it comes out again Then pull though

Bill - willierods.com

Jason,
I believe that you cut in essentially the same place with scissors as with a blade.
I also pull the thread tight and then use the scissors to cut flush. With the slight stretch in the thread there is normally no or very little tag end at all.

Just try a good pair of scissors as I pointed out and be happy.

One of the biggest advantages is that you really never have to buy another blade or scissor again. It just snips and snips and snips. Also, since you are using scissors, you never have to worry about nipping another thread that is on the rod as you trim a tag end.


Be safe