So I was recently reading the description of a st croix legend elite and it says that it has 2 coats of flex coat slow cured finish, I was under the assumption that you could not coat a entire blank with FC, so my question is, can you?

Can you? Yes. Should you? No.

The two coats of Flex Coat is likely referring to the guide wraps, label area and trim bands.

Never coat the entire blank with wrap finish. What St Croix is referring to is that they finish the guide wraps with two coats of flex coat, not the entire rod.
Norm

Okay that’s what I was assuming, I was kinda like what?? Why would st croix finish a whole rod in flex coat . Thanks guys!!

Brandon,
Years ago, I had a friend who had a special rod that he wanted rebuilt and then preserved.

As a result, I stripped it, replaced the guide and then per his wishes, coated the entire rod with flex coat for it final finish.

The flex coat made a beautiful - very heavy finish that looked really nice on the wall of his library - forever.

But, the full coating of flex coat made the rod not a fun rod to use while fishing since it made the rod so heavy and less flexible.

However, per his wishes, the rod was redone per his wishes for a display piece and the friend could not be happier.

Take care

So... I agree with most of the comments - EXCEPT "NEVER".

Nothing in rodbuilding is absolute in my opinion. Can you? absolutely. It might not be the best for different applications, but it can absolutely be done.

There are indeed applications (while not typically use for bass rods), where an entire blank is coated. The Asian rod market is full of them. Japanese saltwater bait fishing rods from 10lb to 200lb test, all are very commonly solid glass blanks wrapped the entire length with thread. Various rodbuilders have different techniques for coating the blank. I've used Permaglos, but thinned FlexCoat is often used in various percentages in attempt to find a solution that offers the least cracking of the finish. With the blanks already being solid, the thread and finish are negligible in affection weight and action of the finished rods. Some of the rods I have like this are absolutely gorgeous, and demand prices of between $700-$1500 on average depending on action and components.

In the U.S. I've seen places in Florida that coated entire blanks on heavy rods for grouper digging. Not my cup of tea, but again, different preferences.

Just food for thought for what its worth.

I agree. I guess what I should have said, is, I would never coat an entire blank with wrap finish. Sure one can coat their rod blanks with anything they want. It’s all about personal likes. Different strokes for different folks.
Norm

Rare would be the person who advocates coating a blank with thread finish; and rightfully so as most blanks entirely coated with thread epoxy end up a lumpy, heavy mess. But it can be done and end-up looking as good as the most perfect factory finish and thin enough to rival the weight of Perma Gloss (PG)…. If you have the time and patience.
When I first started building rods and before knowing of PG, I rebuilt a few vintage rods as practice test-beds to familiarize myself with the rod building process. Ignorantly, I coated the sanded and prepped FG blanks with thread epoxy; my thinking was if it was good enough for the thread wraps, it must be good enough for the raw blank as well. Afterall, it was designed for rod building and somewhat flexible. I was not satisfied with the wavy surface so with the blank rotating, I used stripps of a lint-free paper towel to remove all but an extremely thin coat, just enough to barely wet the surface. I actually ran the semi-saturated towel up and down the rotating blank until removing just what I thought was enough. After cured, I was pleased with the consistent result except it was not quite as shiny as hoped for. So I did it again and it looked better, but still not quite shiny enough for me. I ended-up with a total of 4 or 5 coats and the result was the most perfect LOOKING finish of all the blanks I have ever coated since, including those more recently done with PG. Although it is an extremely thin coating, it MIGHT BE .001 - .002in thicker than PG might be resulting in more weight, miniscule as it might be.
Applied in this manner, I am confident that thread epoxy can be a very good blank coating. But one has to accept and expect to spend A LOT of time watching epoxy go off. Just for the record, I only coated 2 blanks with the epoxy method before being introduced to PG which I have used since. PG is a great product and while the finish may not be quite as perfect as those 2 epoxy coated blanks IT SAVES A LOT OF TIME!!!

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 coated rods the entire blank with rod finishes that i also add powder pigment to what i did was put it on about a 30-degree angle on my dryer and as it turned i coated then took a heat gun and let the excess run down off the rod to end up with a thin coat. This is why it's called custom rod building.

David parsons I do the same thing, I’m still looking for the best finish to do this with as I’m relatively new to rod building and having a lot of fun, what do you find is the best finish for adding powder to

David and Brandon,
I hope you took no offense with my initial “Rare” remark. I thought Brandon was referring to “clear coating” a blank in which case PG, or similar, is the typical approach. But now that I have learned you are adding pigment, that throws “rare” out the window.
I would think that both of you would benefit from using the thinnest viscosity epoxy available and one with an extended cure time to allow enough time for the epoxy to flow down the length of the blank as per David’s method. CTS Crystal Coat may be the best candidate for your application; it is by far the thinnest thread epoxy I have tried and its extended cure time is annoying and prohibitive to many simply using it for coating thread but may provide a profound difference for your application.
David, have you ever weighed the blank before and after your full length epoxy application? I would be very interested in learning how much weight the epoxy adds.

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

Hello David.

I did something similar on some chair rods but I used glitter and a dipping trough, the epoxy was Flex Coat "High Build" because of the weight of the glitter but with powdered pigments I think Mark might be right in using the thinnest epoxy you can find.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

No offense taken mark, I realize that my original question was slightly amateurish lol, I just read something on a st croix rod and took it as something completely different. That being said I have never coated a rod in FC, I’ve actually ever coated an entire rod to begin with. I’d like to but i don’t know the correct stuff to use, I typically will just do a 6” portion of the rod just above the foregrip with my logo and some pigment mixed into the epoxy. Now, I’ve got another pretty amateur question haha I e posted before about tinting permagloss, I’ve gotten a few mixed answers, some say it’s too hot to add powder pigment and others say it isn’t. I’m not looking to completely opaque it out, just enough so you catch glimpses of it at certain angles, more of a “ translucent appearance. Is this possible?? Im speaking about coating a entire blank this way.

Brandon,
I cannot answer from personal experience but, as you, have read conflicting reports on tinting PG, especially when attempting to turn it completely opaque. All I can offer is test, test, test. Another option might be to employ David’s method (again I have no personal experience) with powder pigment mixed into CTS Crystal Coat with an ambient temperature of 70* or less to allow the epoxy enough time to level-out as well as leaving the thinnest coat possible. I would also think that David’s 30* angle while turning the blank would be best accomplished with the butt end down to limit the thickness of the epoxy near the tip where it is the most important. How to keep the run-off epoxy from getting on the turning motor is for you to figure-out.
And then there is my rookie method of wipe, watch & wait mentioned above. I see no reason it would not work with pigmented epoxy and the end product is about as thin of a coat of epoxy as possible.
Good luck!!! Keep us posted on what method you decide on and how it worked out.

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

Thanks guys!! I got a lot to try out! I’ll keep you all posted