Hello Gents and Ladies,

I have been using the pre built carbon fiber rod handles sold by Mudhole (the carbon colored ones, not the mulit colored) for some time now with a lot of great things to say about them. They are by far my favorite handle for any type of bass fishing finesse technique. Others that I have built rods for also love them. The only complaint I have heard about them is the lack of color. This got me thinking, why not try to paint one? I do understand it is a little counter productive since one of the main drawing factors to these is that they are light, therefore sensitive handles. However I don't think a few millimeters of paint will have THAT much of an effect on the handle if it means adding a bit of style to it. I would go about doing this in a similar manner to painting a blank. Use a good primer, lite coat, lite sand, clear away the dust, light coat and then seal with epoxy since I think a finish like LumiSeal would eat the paint alive.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has either had an idea like this or tried it. If so what are your thoughts and/or results? I have a few CF fore grips left over from past projects that I am willing to sacrifice to the greater good so I will be trying for myself, but I was really curious as to what the educated mass thinks. I look forward to your opinions and concerns. Till then, tight lines friends.

I have applied paint to a number of carbon fiber grips I made with the black carbon fiber.

Applying Testors transparent colors, gives a very nice tint of color that shows up really nice in daylight. I have also applied some solid color paints, but do not like the appearance, it looks painted!

I apply a coat of the epoxy I use in making the grip over the painted surface.

Larry,
First off, I have no experience using store-bought CF grips, inserts or what have you. That being said, experiment with painting / coating before installing it on a blank. I do have experience in the (structural) composite industry where most laminates are vacuum-bagged to compress / align the fibers as well as evacuate gasses and excess epoxy to produce a rigid, lightweight piece. In doing so with wet lay-up or even pre-preg, the surface of the laminate can acquire a substantial amount of porosity which will play havoc when attempting to spray paint or a clear-coat. The only way to avoid it is to vacuum-infuse the part in the mold. Just a word of caution, even though the manufacturers of these cosmetic pieces may not (need to) employ the vacuum-bagging process, test run prior to installing. Phil states he has no problem coating CF pieces, but apparently he is fabricating his own, and probably does not employ a vacuum pump. I have seen rod building videos where PermaGloss was easily and quickly WIPED on a CF grip with no problem, WHIPED being the key word. SPRAYING a coating on a composite piece with porosity on the surface can produce a finish with more, what appear to be, fisheyes than you have ever seen before. Better to be safe than sorry = test first.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

I have used this on several rods to add a sunlight color burst on a black blank and color pops when in bright light it works well if you prep it right and let it cure for at least 12 hours even though it dries to touch in an hour a full cure is best and then applied a finish coat with epoxy rod finish it lasts and doesn't chip or peel , unless it is abused.
Yea I know who wouda thunk it LOL but it does work !!
I will see if I can locate a few of the test pieces I did and will post some pics

THESE ARE TRANSLUCENT COLORS NO HEAVY PIGMENTS


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The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2017 03:12AM by Matthew Paul.

Many will top coat these handles with epoxy finish to give them a gloss finish and this holds up pretty well. So an option would be to add marbling pigment to the epoxy and then coat the handle in any color you want. You can use the pigment from Testors enamel or use the marbling pigment from Mudhole. With 5 colors (red, blue yellow, black and white) you can make any color you want by mixing. You can make a solid color or marble with different colors, can also add glitter. Another option would be to magic marble then top coat with epoxy finish.
Norm

PS - A less expensive alternative to the CFX grips would be to use the PacBay molded polyurethane foam grips. You will be covering up the carbon fiber with color so these may be an option, or as a practice substrate.
[www.mudhole.com]
Norm

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas everyone. I love how active the rod building community is here! All of your feedback has been helpful. I have a few more specific responses.

Phil and Matthew, I would love to see some pictures of what you have done. I think I can image what you are talking about but I would really like to see pictures to fully understand what you are talking about.

Norman, thank you for the two new additions. Marbling is a really neat idea and I didn't even think of just using the cores. Since I am coating with an epoxy anyway, It may just be hard enough on its own for a handle, at least on normal bass rods. I don't think I would use them for flipping/punching/BIG swim bait rods, but I think it may be the ticket for countless others.

with out light and with light best I can get with my old camera but it looks neat the suggestion from Phil is the same idea just different type of paint









The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

Larry, your email is hidden. I'd like to send you a photo of one I'm working on right now. I have also just posted the photo on the grips page here.

As I only build fly rods and grips, most fly fishermen do not want Bling, so the subtle approach is used.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2017 02:19PM by Phil Erickson.

My email is larrymajkrzak@gmail.com
I understand the feelings about fly seats. With them a lot of times, less is more.

Another option is to learn how to layup your handles on your own. You can then paint the core and then either using the carbon fiber/fiberglass sleeve or straight fiberglass sleeve, you will have the color come through the sleeve.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I do not have any photos of the straight fiberglass, but when you use it besides painting the core, you can tint the epoxy to really bring the color out. The straight fiberglass sleeve is heavier than the cf sleeving but not a lot.

I do not see how any color comes thru the sleeves, either carbon fiber or fiberglass. The sleeve material I use is solidly opaque with a tight weave, not possible of anything to show through!

Do you have an example?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2017 05:23PM by Phil Erickson.

Those Poly grips are for making the carbon fiber handles. So his grip has that foam inside

Larry -

You can also go the route of coating the grip with finish / epoxy that you have tinted with a powdered pigment. This does not require any special paints, spraying equipment, etc. I wrote an article for RodMaker - apologies can't remember the Volume and Issue number - on how to do this. It is really pretty simple. You are limited only by the number of pigments available and the reality of working with a dark substrate.

Phil, the sleeves Mr. Ross is talking about are half fiberglass half carbon and are called hybrid sleeves. The fiberglass half of the sleeve - if you ordered a hybrid carbon fiber sleeve with natural fiberglass (not a dyed color fiberglass) - goes totally clear when wetted out with epoxy. So you get kind of a 'checkerboard' pattern of carbon fiber and whatever color substrate is beneath the sleeve. There are a bunch of photos on the photopost portion of this site...just search hybrid carbon fiber handles. Captain Mike Pedersen has made a bunch of these types of handles - as far as I know his were the first I ever saw - and he calls them 'mybrids' or 'flybrids' so you can search those terms as well.

Hope this helps - good luck!

Bill

Hello Bill.

I believe it was "Top coating integrated carbon skinned spinning handles" in Volume 17, Issue 2, Page 28.

Good article, hope it helps.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Hey Robert -

Thanks for the help. There was actually subsequent article specifically about color tinting carbon skins. I found it - Volume 17 #5. Hope this helps.

Bill

Hello Bill.

Sorry I missed seeing that one, you penned it by "William" and not "Bill".

I reread the article, very good job and thanks.

Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.