Long time lurker, first time poster. I have a quick question for the experts of the board. After applying an NFC rod decal to the blank is it necessary to epoxy over it? Any advice or direction would will be appreciated.

Do a search, all dates, something should pop up.

It is best to put an epoxy coat down before applying the decal and then a coat over it.

Aaron, yes you will need to cover it if you would like for it to hold up. Depending on where you have it placed it may wear off the writing by the end of a single season if left uncoated. No you don’t need to epoxy prior to placement., I have done hundreds without issue( these have all been bass and panfish) I cannot speak to any type of salt build or fly.


Tom

Thanks everyone for the information and the quick response

I agree 100% with Phil , but if it's a brand new blank then Thomas is correct in you won't need to apply a coat of epoxy first , it's very wise to apply a THIN coat afterward though because not not doing so will likely result in it being far more prone to wear & tear .

I apply the decal before coating my guide wraps.

Then, when I coat the guide wraps, I will use the same number of coats to cover the decal as I do on the rest of the wraps.

I normally have a trim wrap on each side of the decal, so everything gets coated at the same time.

Good luck

It really depends on the blank. If it's really smooth I put them directly on the blank. Those labels are really nice and I've never had one lift from the epoxy application. Can't do that with the newest NFC X-Ray blanks. They are not sanded, they are left raw. Gorgeous blanks, but, you'll either have to sand it smooth and put it on or just put down a leveling coat of epoxy. Regardless, do NOT touch the adhesive of the label.

Tom, you can do it on the X-ray, you just need to ensure that you have the decal firmly placed in the blank. While I have not done hundreds of these I have done about a dozen and a half of both X-ray and delta in this same manner with zero issues