I am replacing guides on a heavy duty saltwater rod and the epoxy is thick, is there a easier way to break it down, Or am I I just stuck cutting with a razor blade?

After slicing thru the epoxy and thread on top of the guide foot with a razor blade held at a low angle perpendicular to the blank, Heat it up with a hair dryer and you should (might) be able to peel most of it off with your thumbnail.

If you can nick one edge of the wrap and get a single thread to expose, you can usually start pulling the thread and as it unwinds from the blank, it will automatically kick up the epoxy or... pull out from under the epoxy leaving a "sleeve" of epoxy that you can then easily peel off.

...........

Ken,
A heat gun can be your best friend in removing 95% + of the thread finish with the least amount of effort. Done correctly with a compliant finish and heat, the thread can actually be used to remove the epoxy by simply unwinding the thread. The following procedure has worked extremely well for me in all but a very few circumstances;
1.) With a razor blade or utility knife, cut through the epoxy and thread down to the guide foot for the last 1/8in toward the guide ring, with or without heat. This is important; most wraps start off of the guide foot, climb up the ramp and finish near the ring = we want to unwind the thread in the opposite direction.
2.) Heat the wrap enough to soften the epoxy but obviously not enough to damage the blank, probably somewhere around 200*-225*. You will probably find the epoxy can be peeled off rather easily and do so while looking for the cut end of the wrapping thread.
3.) When you find it, grab and pull the wrapping thread while rotating the rod in the proper direction to unwind it while maintaining enough heat to keep the epoxy soft.
4.) The residual epoxy under and between the threads left on the blank can (usually) be scraped off with heat and a plastic or wooden tool or even fingernails.
When all goes well, each guide foot takes less than 5 minutes to strip. If the guides were under-wrapped, additional care can be taken to preserve them so they do not need to be rewrapped, if that is desirable. Otherwise, determine the direction the under-wrap was wound (probably the same as the over-wrap) and proceed as above.
I hope this helps and please let me (us) know how it all goes.

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

Copy that Mark,

Heat of the correct duration and temperature makes this a trivial task.

Thanks guy I appreciate the info!

Mark, how far from the blank do I have to hold my heat gun so I can heat it to " probably somewhere around 200 - 250 F" ? lol

A heat gun can ruin a blank if you are not careful. I have caused the tip section on a couple of blanks to fold over because I over heated with a heat gun. So if using a heat gun be very careful even when on the low setting. A hair dryer does work quite well, and unlike a heat gun it won’t set your hair on fire nor cause a tip to fold over.
Norm

Lynn and Norman are veteran-wise to be cautious of over-heating the blank as should anyone/everyone else!!! Take it slow and gradually build up to the heat required. Maybe I am spoiled as my heat gun has 6 temperature and 2 air-flow settings.
Lynn, if you have to ask, it may be too late LOL.

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

Norman,
I am not allowed to use my wife’s hair dryer LOL!

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

I have found that the steps mentioned above work for most rods. However, I did 'upgrade' a couple store bought rods that gave me some major issues. I purchased a couple rods from Cabela's (their brand) for my sons. I found that the guides were heavily glued on and did not actually have thread. There was some sort of tape used in place of thread. I had to use a razor blade as a chisel because the glue was so heavy under the guide feet. On the other hand, I re-did an old Shimano rod which was very simple to break down.

copy your comment on excess heat Norman.

I had a bunch of rods that I were stripping - primarily so that I would have some blank stock to use in the repair side of business.

As Norman stated, I also folded over a couple of tip sections due to excess heat. In my case, it was a non issue because I was not concerned about that part of the blank for reuse.

But, as stated above - heat works very very well to soften hardened epoxy. But as also has been stated - especially if using heat around very small or thin sections of a rod blank like a tip - the area is much more sensitive to damage and destruction from excess heat.

But, if stripping a rod and time is important - the correct use of heat on the guide under discussion will be removed very very quickly with no damage to the blank.

But, if you get close to the tip section, with thin and small blank sections - be extra careful to avoid any excess heat on that area of the blank.

take care

I use almost all of these suggestions. But, more than anything...my fingernail. And then, when you get down to the very edges, that don't cooperate, I prefer not to use a razor blade. Though they are quite easy on unfinished blanks. They work but I get easier results with Xylene. Now, for the past X years it's now known how bad this stuff is for us so mechanical means might be more appealing.

Also, yes, heat softens it so it cooperates with a plastic packing tool or your fingernail. And yes, hot enough it can wreck the blank. It can wreck it and you may not see it. It softens the binder in the graphite. I don't know what that epoxy is made of but it's truly is amazing!

Good luck.

I think Tom said this somewhere
paraphrasing of course " . .you learn more about construction by de-constructing . ."
broken rods are easy and free or cheap to come by - ask your Party boat/Charter captains and local tackle shops and thrift stores
they are the perfect place to experiment and learn what is too much heat
I use heat gun on low and when rod is precious I place my hand a few inches from blank on opposite side - it is too hot if I can't leave my hand there

Show's how much I know, just bought a heat gun to take a Minima seat off a light blank. Heated the @#$%& out of it, (to the point fearing for the blank) and couldn't budge it. That's the least glue you can possibly use to put a seat on a blank. I wouldn't think of using it to remove old guide finish, tooo hot. Shoud'a got a hair dryer. The seat's staying on, turns out I don't hate as much as I once did. (before I got the heat gun)

I use a teapot. Water boils at 212°F. The steam whistling out of the teapot will be a bit less than that. It will never got hot enough to harm a blank, and it will never fail to soften cured epoxy. Just rotate the guide wrap in the “whistle”.

Gary,
EXCELLENT IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will remember that one for sure. Thanks for sharing
Lynn, so there is your answer (unless 250* is required) LOL.

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

From another source:

The question was asked: what is the temperature at which cured epoxy begins to soften. This was the quoted answer.

-----------------------------------

"about 140 degrees F
After the epoxy has cured, it can handle temperatures well below zero degrees F. 7. Epoxies will begin to soften at about 140 degrees F, but will reharden when the temperature is reduced."

While it is possible most epoxies BEGIN TO SOFTEN at 140*F, for all practical purposes and in most cases, the softening will not be noticed until over 180*. Most low temp epoxies such as thread finish epoxies benefit from a post cure of 150* which will “set” the epoxy so that subsequent exposure to that 150* will not soften it. That is why I always post cure my rods to limit the chances of damage occurring to my wrap finish when the rod is left in hot vehicle or the bed of a dark colored truck. Even if not post cured, raising the temp to only 150* will not soften the epoxy enough to easily remove it as Ken was initially inquiring about. 200* (or Gary’s 212*) is a safe temperature to start and increase if required. Actually, the 250* I mentioned earlier would most likely be the very upper limit before possible damage to the blank itself. Use of an IR thermometer could be a good method of avoiding overheating and decent ones can be purchased of under $25.00.

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