I recently experimented with stripping painted blanks. These are all high modulus ultralight blanks. To my surprise, the paint weighed about 12-15% of the blank weight! They are professional from the blank factory and they used a white primer and then painted on top. To me, that is a huge percentage of the weight. The blanks became noticeably more sensitive after the paint removal.

Now I want to pain some other blanks - but want it as light as possible. The colors will be light such as yellow among other colors.

What would be the lightest single coat paint that will work for light colors?

Would permagloss with pigment powder added work?

Thanks!

the best I have found is this stuff Createx Opaque AirBrush Paint and followed up with a thin coat of PG or luma seal
you can thin it down to get the cover results you want

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 12/20/2018 09:25PM by Matthew Paul.

You just discovered why many manufacturers do not paint their blanks.

All my personal fly rods made on CTS blanks are raw carbon (P2000) finish. Then after building I give the rod a coat of good wax with a high content of Carnuba wax
Herb

Tinted PermaGloss will work but keep in mind it will be a very subtle tint. The product does not take color easily. So just keep in mind it will be tinted, not brightly colored.

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Of course the lightest rod will be the blank with 0 finish on the blank. Just put on a thin coat of wax after the rod has been built.

Obtain the color you want by the wraps that you put on the guides.

Good luck

I think Mo understands that a non-painted blank is lighter. But he wants to paint some blanks and keep them as light as possible within the realm of a painted blank.

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Yes to all - and particularly Tom. You got it. Wanted to know what is the lightest option if opaque paint is desired.

Thanks

You'll never get PermaGloss opaque. Just wanted to mention that. Tinted yes, opaque, no.

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Thanks.

The deal with paint is that the lighter the blank, the greater its impact on performance as the paint weighs a higher percentage of the blank's weight. For a heavy powered and weight blank, I would guess that the impact is much less.

For decades the manufacturers here in the Pacific Northwest have had bare blank options in their rod series, usually their highest modulus blanks, and have freely said even their lightest finishes add 3 to 5% to blank weight. I'm not surprised by your weight problem Mo, but it's now nice to know how much difference there is.

Yes - for a primer and paint - but note that these are VERY lightweight UL blanks I'm talking about. So the precentage of the paint to blank weight is higher than higher powered blanks. For salt water blanks, i would guess the percentage of weight can easily drop to 2-3% of the blank. Basically the paint weighs a LOT more than the guides and wraps put together - whcih is far too much for me unfortunately.

Mo, CreateX paints have a large assortment of colors for whatever effect or finish you desire. I've been using them since 2001 when I rebuilt a surf rod for myself. I still have that rod and it looks great. Go to the CreateX website to learn how to use them.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

Get a iwata airbrush top feed HP-C and look on createx paint for their textile opaques or autoborne. A couple drops of base coat and a couple drops of paint then clear or laquer.