I’m looking for on advice on best practices for applying varnish to reel seat inserts. I have tried dipping the insert in the varnish followed by sanding with 320 grit sand paper and then dipping again. Also tried applying it by brush but results were pretty much the same. It takes repeating the process 3 to 4 times before I get an acceptable finish. Feedback is very appreciated!

I like Tru-Oil, a polymerized varnish for this sort of thing. I wipe it on with a soft cloth saturated in the "oil" and then sand very lightly with 400 grit paper before applying another application. Generally I use 3 applications.

If you are working with any highly resinous wood, such as those in the Rosewood family, you'll want to give the insert a "solvent bath" for a day or so to remove the resin which tends to prevent any sort of top coating from drying or curing.

............

Alan,
I put the inserts on the rod dryer and apply two coats of thread finish and let cure.

Easy and very long lasting.

Alan,
Tom offers good advice concerning giving the wood a “solvent bath” (DNA). I would do it for almost any wood, just to make sure and for the piece-of-mind. While Tom’s suggestion of Tru Oil and Roger’s of thread epoxy are certainly very good, I have become very fond of PermaGloss for finishing wood projects, not only rod building related but other smaller wood and composite projects as well. Its viscosity is so thin that it penetrates deeply into the wood while producing a very glossy, durable finish yet can still see the grain of the wood (depending upon how many {few} coats are applied).
3 replies with 3 different suggestions should confuse you adequately. In the end, all 3 work.

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

Here is suggestion number 4.

A mixture of beeswax and mineral oil. Typical uses are cutting boards rolling pins bowls.....

The oil sinks deep into the wood and after 2 or 3 days the oily feel is gone.

The bees wax tends to seal the pores. After a few days the wood can be buffed to a satin sheen.

A typical formula is, Beeswax 1 oz by weight and mineral oil 4.8 fluid oz. You can go to the internet for more details for mixing and applying.

Have fun

I met a fine gunstock maker who shared his favorite pore filling/finishing method with me. Many hand rubbed applications of Pro Custom Oil gunstock finish.

"The greatest barrier to discovery is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge" - Daniel J. Boorstin

Lot's of great advice. Thank you!!

Most wood finishes fall into either the more natural oil based or the synthetic polyurethane based camps. Oil based polyurethane finishes can be mixed with things like tung oil to complicate this even more. The shellacs are sort of an in between, third camp as they are based on a resinous insect secretion that is relatively hard and durable. Waxes can be incorporated into or on top of any of them. All types of finishes can be formulated endlessly with various proportions and additives of things like UV filters or Japan drier. The right finish and application method completely depends on the aesthetics you want and how important different performance parameters are to you. Thirty-six people could give you 36 different and legitimate recommendations. The biggest thing that can go wrong is spontaneous combustion of some mixtures, such as with linseed oil, in rags. Most tried and true formulas are going to work just fine. I knew some late gunsmiths and stock makers who argued quite a bit about concoctions that were nearly the same.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2023 09:49PM by Kendall Cikanek.

I'll throw out two finishes I like. If I want a gloss finish I use Gorilla Glue, sometimes with an epoxy undercoat to fill the grain. This is a link to it's use as a rod finish [cdn.shopify.com]. Here is another one from This Old House [www.youtube.com]. If I want a more subdued finish I use Odie's Oil.





















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