Just finished a rod. Found some air bubbles under the decal. Is it possible to remove and replace with a new decal?

You can start with this, do a search on removing old finish, all dates, lots of info. [www.youtube.com]

Yes, but not easily! Cleaning of all the original epoxy is a must to get a clean smooth surface for the new decal. If the blank has a finish it will very likely be damaged when removing the epoxy.

If the decal was applied upon a coat of epoxy, you might be able to remove the decal, leaving a thin coat of epoxy on the blank, which you then should apply another this coat before reapplying a decal. This will be tricky!!

Thanks. Sounds like it isn't worth it. I'll just leave it. It's my personal rod anyway.

You CAN remove the decal, with a LITTLE heat, don't over do it!

ALSO, Can you use a "pin" and poke holes right where the bubble is? I've had to do this in the past and it works. Just poke a hole in the label right on top of the bubble and burnish it flat.

Getting the entire decal off is pretty easy, but it will leave the sticky residue and a lot of people will tell you not to clean the rod with alcohol or other solvents if you're going to put more finish on, but sometimes, its the only way to clean up where the old decal was. Just hit it with a little heat and it will come right off.

Try the "pin" method, sometimes, it is all you need to do.

Tony Boschi
Banana River Rods
Merritt Island, Florida
321~525~1063

* Rapid Prototyping Services
* Custom Beach Rods
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[bananariverrods.com]

Thanks Tony. Unfortunately, I already epoxied it. I will keep that in mind next time. I'm not even sure it's a bubble. May be a contaminant.

You never mentioned the type of rod, if it's a larger diameter salt rod couldn't you just overwrap, install a new decal and finish without it looking to heavy?

That's a good idea. It's a bass rod. I'm going to let it go.