How many of you actually finish a rod blank. By finish, I mean finishing the blank with some type of finish or epoxy. Is there ever a need for this other than after painting a blank?

Fishing is not a sport, it is an art.

It only adds weight, which is detrimental to rod performance. It does not "protect" the rod blank so other than aesthetics there is little reason to do it. And if you were to do it, epoxy would not be the product to do it with. Much too heavy and too soft.

........

Thanks Tom. Kind of what I though, but I was a little confused by the term sometimes.

Danny,
Tom is correct on all counts. The only time a blank “needs” finish is when the ultimate end-user prefers it. In that case, U-40 Perma Gloss is arguably the industry standard and produces very nice results; it is a one-part, moisture-curing urethane, is very low viscosity and dries to a very thin fairly hard coat extremely quickly. All the vintage FG Conolons I use come in a dull, sanded condition and a coat or possibly two of PG really brings out the weave and transforms them into absolutely beautiful blanks and rods. Although I have never measured one, I cannot imagine a coat of PG adding 1g of weight to a blank.

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

The paint or other coating on blank from the factory is a finish that is intended to be permanent and no other finish is necessary. Any additional finish or coating is by builder or customer preference.

I always apply a coat of paste wax on my rod after I clean it with soap and water. The wax is intended to protect the finish and is not a permanent treatment it is sacrificial protectant.. .

The wax tends to fill in voids and fine scratches and tries to form an even surface which makes it shinier. The wax also makes the surface “slippery” and somewhat resistant to minor scuffs and rubs, also the wax makes the rod easier to keep clean (fish slime, stains and other contaminants).

Cleaning the rod before applying a coat of wax minimizes wax build up so in theory there is rarely more than one coat of wax on the rod.

Have fun

Mark

I agree, I made a rough conservative calculation, for a 7 ft rod with a 0.60 butt adding a coaing of 0.005 inch thickness it would take approximately 0.65 grams of epoxy.

John is certainly correct on all counts as well. Allow me to add two points: 1.) A quality CARNUBA paste wax is a great way to preserve the finish of a fishing rod but make certain it is NOT a cleaner-wax (with chalky polishing grit) and CERTAINLY NOT silicone based. 2.) While possibly splitting-hairs, epoxy is notoriously sensitive to UV degradation, even those claiming to have UV additives. To truly protect an epoxy surface, or any surface for that matter, a sacrificial coating containing UV inhibitors, or better yet, pigment (paint) must be applied. But then, the surface of the protective coating is subject to the same UV attack; so where does one stop? A good defense is to routinely go back to #1! In conclusion, a UV protective material can only protect its underlying material, not its own surface.
John, a sincere thank you for affording us with your intellectual weight calculations of a coat of PG. Without actually measuring the thickness of a typical coat of PG, I would suggest such a coat would be closer to .0005in to .001in which would reduce the overall weight significantly from .005in.

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

Mark, that is the weight of epoxy used to coat a rod. A coat of Permagloss would be much lighter, thinner, and more durable. In fact I would contend a coat of Permagloss would weigh less than a coat of wax.
Norm

My personal interpretation of Norman's post is this ........... you have got to be kidding if you're worried about how much a coat of PG weighs lol

But that's just me ....

David you are correct.
Norm

My post was intended to show how little the added weight of a coating of epoxy or CP is and in my opinion is negligible..




.

Allow me to clarify; when I referred to “…epoxy is notoriously sensitive to UV degradation, even those claiming to have UV additives “, I was speaking of the laminating epoxy used during the manufacturing process of the blank itself. And we are certainly on the same page that the weight a coat of PG is insignificant.

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

Gotta love this place! Happy New Year.

...now if you are talking about a cane rod.