Hey guys! Long time lurker, but 1st time poster. I'm building a rod for my father for Christmas and using the new NFC X-Ray blank. I don't typically apply decals but am adding one to this build. Has anyone applied a decal to this blank? The ridges make me a little nervous that I may need to sand the blank down before applying.

POINT Blank is lightly sanded and has tiny ridges as well. I coat of finish or a coat of finish over a thread base will give you a smooth surface for decals.

On any blank,a decal is best applied on a first coat of epoxy. If ridges are prominent a light sanding in the decal area would be good.

Phil Erickson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On any blank,a decal is best applied on a first
> coat of epoxy. If ridges are prominent a light
> sanding in the decal area would be good.

X2. I apply them all the time. You can get by without sanding but you may need to put more than one coat of epoxy on.

Here's the thing with the X Ray blanks. If you sand the blank, there will be a color change. The sanded area will look notably different than the stock color.

I am in the process of building on my first X Ray blank. I wasn't a fan of the way the unsanded blank felt, so I sanded the entire blank. If you haven't started the build yet, sand an area that will be covered by a grip or the reel seat. That way you'll see what I'm talking about. It's hard to describe the color change, but the sanded blank will be lighter in color.

I know if it were me and the build was complete, except for the decal, I'd follow the advice of Jim and Phil, and coat the blank with epoxy to smooth it prior to putting on the decal.

On a separate note..... those X ray blanks are amazing, aren't they? Crazy good!

Honestly I just put the label on and epoxied it. No muss no fuss no problem. Done it on about half dozen delta blanks which have larger ridges than the x rays and have done it on 4 x Rays so far with no issues.

Thanks for the info! I have a spare decal in case I screw up the first one, but I like the thin epoxy option. The blank feels nice. I love my HM blanks, and I'm excited to see how the X-ray fishes.

Aaron, and Thomas, when you say label or decal, do you mean a personalized decal, or one that came with your blank? I ask because if it's one that came with the blank, I didn't get one with my blank. Just curious.

All NFC blanks I have ordered came with a blank decal, giving blank model and specs. If you want one contact NFC I sure they will send you the one you need.
Norm

My question was about a personalized decal, but the blank did have one from NFC.

Thanks Norman and Aaron. I'm going to have to give them a call.

I have received some blanks from Northfork without labels... took em six months to get em but I did get em eventually. Bingham was the instrumental player in making this happen. This was prior to them going direct to the public

My most recent North Fork Blank didn't come with a label. I feel like I was jipped.

My most recent order was for a X-ray dropshot blank and the sj736. Both came labeled as sj736's.