Good morning,
I am refurbishing a St.Croix Legend Rod that is painted. What can I use to help cut through the Gunk from the arbors under the handle and seat without damaging the Paint or the blank?

Thank You

I am sure you are not worried about the finish under the grip and seat, so tape off the areas you wish to protect and scrape the gunk off.

Thanks, that’s pretty much what I am doing. Scraping and cleaning with Isopropyl. It’s not as bad now that some of the adhesive is set up, it was pretty gooey when I removed the seat and Foregrip..
Just looking for that secret sauce to reduce the amount of elbow grease required.

Maybe I could get some of
Ol' Don's Snake Oil and Fly Rod Finish?

Acetone much better than Isopropyl, but keep it off the paint you want to protect.

Scott, Excuse me but I am confused. First you mention “I am refurbishing a St.Croix Legend Rod that is painted” which implies that it is an older rod which you want to change the grips and seat. But then you mention “It’s not as bad now that some of the adhesive is set up, it was pretty gooey when I removed the seat and Foregrip” which implies you are trying to remove new grips and seat that you just installed. The “gooey” thing is throwing me off.
With the exception of the gooey thing and for what it's worth, you do not need to clean off ALL the leftover cured epoxy. Get it relatively flat and use it as an arbor under the seat and reamed grips. I can only assume you are installing everything from the butt end in which case you will end up with a gap between the blank and leading edge of the fore grip anyway. That can be concealed with a winding check of an epoxy ramp.
I agree with Phil = acetone is much better and will not harm the blank, possibly the paint but not the blank.

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

Good evening,
I have stripped the Rod completely and will install the grips from the tip. I think the Goo I have encountered was from whatever they used for the arbors. It looked to be like a double sided tape possibly. In addition to that, the owner made Field repairs with electrical tape. I will try the acetone in the handle area for a final clean up before fitting the Grips and seat.

Thanks for your advise.

Thank you,
I will see how that goes.

The arbors where probably masking tape, they have a tendency to get gummy if moisture gets to them. It should clean up fairly easily with something like goo gone.
Norm