I have a South Bend 32080 Fly Rod that Is in great shape but the thread wraps need finish. I have cleaned up the Rod, Reel Seat and guides.The wraps are in great condition cleaned up pretty good (White)but the finish is gone. Should I use Epoxy? Or Varnish to coat the wraps? It is basically a Rod Rescue project for me to practice on, and use. I am concerned epoxy may not adhere well and have issues, my gut tells me I should use a single part finish like Rodancer.
Any advise is welcome.

Thank You
Scott

Scott,
I have not used any Rod Dancer products so my opinion may be of limited value. I also do not know what type of finish South bend applied on the wraps.That said, to just re-coat the wraps, I would opt for a typical, 2-part epoxy thread finish, Rod Dancer or whatever. A simple test of a small portion will reveal any incompatibilities. Many “single part” finishes are rather “hot” like Perma Gloss while many 2-part epoxies, even though catalyzed, are relatively mild in comparison. The moral of the story = test, test, and test again. Good luck!

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

The most common used finish on Bamboo for thread wraps is Marine Grade Spar Varnish. While there may be a few people on here with experience related to Bamboo work, your best source is another forum called the Classic Rod forum.

That South Bend was finished with Spar when it was first built. I would not recommend a 2 part thread finish epoxy. While products like the U-40 Permagloss was developed for the Bamboo market, your South Bend pre dates those products by a long shot, so I’d use Spar Varnish to fix it up.

Personally, I’d also stay away from anything water based or water clean up for rod work.

There are several brands of Spar available and most hardware stores will carry it.

Just to add, there is a book by Mike Sinclair named “The Bamboo Rod Restoration Guide”. While it is out of print, used copies can be found. It has a wealth of good info on fixing up old Bamboo. It even gives you the correct thread colors and specifications for many common brands, like your South Bend.
Word of caution, prices on this book can be all over the map, hunt around and you’ll find one that is reasonable.

Scott

Most hardware stores including the big box variety no longer sell what was known long ago as "long oil" spar varnish. What they sell are urethane products labeled spar varnish. The long oil spar is being abandoned as a result of government regulations for VOCs.

The good news is a wonderful long oil varnish, Epifanes, is available on line. The bad news is Epifanes is the next best/worse thing to buying liquid gold.

Thin the Epifanes 20% to 25% using mineral spirits.

And asa Bill suggested, do get a copy of Mike Sinclair's book.

Thank for all your responses, I will let you all know how it works out.

I disassembled, cleaned and lubricated the reel it came with and it should work fine for my limited experience.

Thanks Again
Scott

Good Evening,
I went with 2 part epoxy, because I had it on hand. I cleaned the thread wraps and blank with a Toothbrush and 90% isopropyl alcohol. I allowed the wraps to dry for a couple days and removed any residue film left with a coffee filter. Coated the wraps with Color preserver. The wraps aren’t Snow White, but the epoxy went on fine and will keep the Rod in service for awhile. Can’t wait to try the fiberglass, in comparison to the Carbon Fiber Rod I have been learning on.

Thanks Again for everyone’s input.
Scott