I have a spinning rod that the rod coating slivered off. It is about 3/4" long but it does not seems to have affected the rod. It is about 12" from the tip. I noticed that the line was getting caught in it. Am I best to just but a coat of finishing epoxy around it or leave it as is?

Dan,

Just use fine sandpaper to smooth up the edges of the damage and blend in the damage with the rest of the blank.

If you wish, you can put some finish on the area, but if the damage area is feathered into the rest of the rod and the rod finish, there is no need to do anything else. The rod blank is perfectly fine with no finish on it at all.

Be safe

If the finish just came off then no problem, However, if the graphite splintered off then you will have a weak spot that may break at sometime in the future.
Norm

Now that I take a closer look the graphite splintered off. Hopefully it holds up.

One thing that might help is to wrap the splintered area with thread and give it a coat of finish. This may help to reinforce the area. If this is a new rod, the graphite should not splinter like that, I would certainly contact the manufacturer and see if it is covered by a warranty. You have nothing to lose, the worst thing that can happen is they say no.
Norm

Dan,
The fact that the CF is splintered WILL eventually result in failure, especially in the small diameter tip section, and probably sooner than later. An open-spiral thread-wrap-splint may be the best approach to strengthen where splintered while affecting the natural flex of the blank the least. Although not a structural epoxy, apply your favorite THIN wrap finish around the splinter and work it well into the splinter by flexing the blank 20-30 times. Wipe off the majority of excess finish. While the finish is still wet, start your thread wrap as normal, an inch or so before the splinter with about 10 packed rotations. Then spiral each thread leaving about .062 - .093in space between over the splinter and about an inch past, then about 10 packed wraps tying off as usual. Apply thread finish sparingly. Employing white silk or regular nylon thread will minimize being able to see the thread or use a color similar to the blank. The open spiral will secure the splinter while allowing the blank to flex better than if tightly packed. I have performed this type of repair on a few rods now including bamboo with very good results. I am curious what the veterans have to say.

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

What Mark suggests may work just fine. In addition, I might even try to reposition the guides so I put a guide right on the damaged area to give additional reinforcement and to hide the repair. If the splinter has broken away from the blank then there is no guarantee the repair will hold.
Norm

Dan,
Since some graphite has splinterd off, just remove the tip top and as many guides as necessary to have a clear area from the splintered area to the tip of the rod.
Clean up the damaged area, and select an over sleeve of fiberglass to go over the damaged area and extend at least 1/2 inch on each side of the damaged area.
If the oversleeve is thick, just chuck it into a variable speed drill and while holding it against a belt sander or sand paper on a flat surface spin the fiberglass oversleeve to a thinner sleeve. You want enough oversleeve material to provide a reliable oversleeve without adding too much additional weight or stiffness to the rod blank area. Put on some 5 minute epoxy on the blank over the damaged area and nearer to the top of the blank and slide the oversleeve area into position to cover the damaged area and use appropriate solvent to remove any excess glue from the repair.

Replace any guides that have been removed and wrap and finish the guides. Also, do a 1/4 inch over wrap on each end of the over sleeve to prevent splintering of the oversleeve. Glue the tip top back on the rod and go fishing.

Best wishes.

If graphite splinters have been removed from the rod, it is necessary to replace the structure of the rod to insure that it will have a nice long life. The use of an oversleeve does this task nicely.

I was under the impression the splinter was still attached, hence my suggestion of an open spiral of thread. Norman’s suggestion is also a very good one to disguise the repair but may require more time to repair. If the splinter is missing, Roger is certainly correct with his suggestion. Keep us posted on which procedure you employ and how the repair goes.

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