A friend call me today to ask if I could repair an old fiberglass rod that has some sentimental value to his family about 10' from the end the fiberglass has a split / delamination. Is it possible to do a repair. Maybe coat the area with epoxy or maybe better to maybe put a size A thread wrap over the split. Looks to be a 6ft medium wt spinning rod.

I think you mean ten inches from the end. A photo would be helpful, but don't give up on it. We have a lot of expertise here. Give more info/photo/details.

Thanks Michael I have a pic and I will try to add it but I have never posted a pic on here

Mike,
2X Michael’s reply. Sentimental value can override practicality but without a detailed description and photos, it is a crap-shoot for anyone to assist.

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

i hope i,m wrong but i think the split just keeps progressing down the rod if it,s still used..and all the added weight changes the rods feel alot.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2021 12:42PM by ben belote.

A long-passed friend of mine showed me a very good repair he did on a rod his Dad used when he wrote for Gray’s Sporting Journal. He took apart two strands from fiberglass roving. He wrapped them in an x-wrap starting about six inches below the split and extending that distance above. If you have ever seen an old Daiwa Heartland rod with the Kevlar X-wrap it was like that. Kevlar isn’t transparent like the fiberglass strands are, however. The flat glass strands lay well and their transparent nature mostly disappears under epoxy. He would occasionally catch a small stream trout for memories and put the rod away for his modern selections. I would not recommend putting much stress into a rod with this type of repair. It worked for an expert flyshop owner, angler, and outfitter under very controlled conditions.

Thanks Kendall. This rod isn't really to be used the person just wants to keep it as a family momento. That sounds like a repair that would not be that noticeable.

Mike,
Now that you have told us “This rod isn't really to be used the person just wants to keep it as a family momento”, Kendall offers a good method to repair the rod. However FG roving is quite large, maybe why his friend “... took apart two strands from fiberglass roving”. Rather than using the FG, consider using natural “colored” silk thread; silk is one of the strongest natural fibers, will probably “disappear” better after coated with finish and will be generally easier to deal with. Before actually wrapping the area, work some epoxy down into the split(s) of the blank. I employed silk thread for a similar repair and it turned out very good, even strong.

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

and instead of coating with epoxy maybe use permagloss to get a less bulky repair look..

I would probably go with silk over roving strands if the rod doesn’t need to be used. The full roving would create a “cigar effect”.

Awesome tips guys. my daughter / Tech support is out of town till sunday I will get a pic posted then and you guys can see exactly what the issue is. It is more like a delamination. I am waithing for a couple more pics.