Hi - I am refurbing my Grandfathers old rods and the first is a 7' fibreglass spin rod (The Gaslee - a reddington rod) approx 45 years old. The rod is stripped and old varnish off - any advice on how to finish it / varnish? This is my first refurb project.

Thanks folks
Charles

I don't think you should use varnish. I would wait for some other recommendations.
John

Perma Gloss is a good option. You can find instructions by doing a search.

Make sure ALL the varnish is off. Any that remains would likely be attacked by the Perma Gloss. I too would wait for more responses.

Charles,
The choice of rod finish really depends on how “period proper” verses best protection you want to achieve. I build a fair number of rods from 50-60 year old vintage FG Conolon blanks and always use PermaGloss. Granted, I am not producing period-perfect museum pieces, wouldn’t want to. PG is the industry standard, has been around for quite some time, is a great product, quite durable, quite clear, very quick curing and easy to apply although a little practice is advised due to the extremely quick curing. I have never varnished a blank and probably never will because PG works so well. As Michael mentioned, be certain ALL previous finish is removed because PG is very “hot” due to the Xylene. Also, wear gloves or even two pair as Xylene is really nasty stuff.

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

The topic of refinishing a blank has been covered numerous times on this site. Most people agree that Permagloss is an excellent clear coat that is very light, flexible, hard, durable and will never yellow. I did a search using Permagloss application using all dates, and there is a wealth of information in that search, plus a lot of reading.
[www.rodbuilding.org]
Norm

Thanks all for your help!