I’ll be purchasing the flexcoat oem power wrapper station in a few weeks. I just finished wrapping a rod but wanted to hold off on applying finish for the wrapping station so I can utilize those higher rpm’s to hopefully get my desired look (cleaner edges). What should I do about getting a dust free finish once I have the wrapper here as the rod is just sitting here, I’m seeing particles on my black wraps already. I didn’t know if anyone had any advice on the best way to go about getting this rod cleaned up and dust free after it sits for a few weeks.

Hi Al,
Soft bristle toot brush. They sell them for post oral surgery.
Herb
CTS

You might want to keep it covered. I usually tack wraps lightly with masking tape before finishing.

I have used painters' tacky cloths lightly wiped over wraps in the past. No problems with the finish after that.

You could cling wrap around the threads to minimize dust until your ready. Then, before applying finish us the tack cloth to remove anything that got through.

I would not use a tack rag or even doubled back tape on the wraps to remove dust. No telling what may be in the adhesives. Just knock any dust off with a soft brush. I know some builders will drape paper or even kitchen saran wrap over the wraps to keep dust off. Dust is not a big deal. It comes off easily.

Just keep a few thin wall plastic pvc tubes around for such needs. But, before using the tubes, drop a rope through the tube and then, tie a long thin towel on the rope and pull it back through the tube a few times to insure that the inside of the tube is 100% clean. Then, just put the incompleted rod in the tube and put test caps on each end to ensure that nothing gets into the tube.

or.

Many years ago, I picked up a used plastic melt impulse sealing iron.
This is a plastic tube sealing machine that is used to seal the ends of plastic tubing to make it air tight.

Then, I picked up a roll of appropriate sized tubing that will handle any rod that I build with the rod being 100% finished. Then, upon finishing a rod, I place the rod in the tube, along with a slip that includes the order number, name and address of the client.
That way, from that point on, the rod will be in the same state as it was when it came off the dryer.

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For example:
[www.uline.com]

Plastic tubing:
I use the 4 mil, 3 inch wide to be able to handle spinning and off shore rods with larger guides.
[www.uline.com]

Note: You may be able to pick up a used sealer on Facebook market place, or Craigs list at a less expensive price.

For example, here is the local Minneapolis facebook market place with a search for Uline Impulse sealer:

[www.facebook.com]

Note: Once you have the plastic tubing and the sealer, spend some time with the sealer to get the timer set correctly. The reason that these sealers are called "impulse sealers" is that when you press down the sealer to activate the machine, the timer turns n the electricity to heat the sealer for a precise amount of time or an "impulse" of electricity. So, start with minimum time and do test seals. With minimum time you will do very little melting of the plastic and the tube will not be sealed. If the time is set too long the machine will simply melt the tubing in two and that will be no good. So you have to find the optimum impulse time so that there is enough melting of the tubing to provide an excellent seal, but not so much time that the tubing is melted in two. Normally, this setup only takes a short time until you are dialed in perfectly for the bag thickness you are using with the impulse sealer. Of course if you go to a thinner material tube you will have to shorten the time. On the other hand if you go to a thicker material tube you will have to increase the impulse time to get the optimum seal.

But, if you have a rod being built that needs to be stopped in the middle, simply cut off an appropriate lenght of tubing plus about 8 inches and then, fold each end of the tube about 4 times and put a couple of paper clips on the ends of the tube to make an excellent temporary seal on the ends of the bag. Then, when the rod is finally finished, just put the rod back into the same piece of tubing and with any appropriate paper work seal the tubing, slip the project into your shipping container and the rod will be safely on its way in a nice sealed home.

Best wishes

P.S. If when shipping you add a bit of air to the tube before sealing, you get a bit of a bubble wrap effect to cushion your rod a bit that is being shipped.

However, if you are shipping a lot of rods in the same box, where each rod is individually sealed in its own bag, then alternate each rod, so that adjacent rods have grips and tips together. This will maximize your container storage.

p.p.s.

When going on longer fishing trips when carrying a lot of rods, I use 4 inch t hin wall pvc tubing and use the grips to tips alignment when packing the rods in the tube. I assemble the packing of the rods outside the tube and then slip the entire pack of rods into the tube at the same time. When packing fresh water spinning and or casting rods, this technique lets me store about 10 rods at a time on the inside of a 4 inch thinwall plastic tube. Then, I simply place a matchint cap on each end and am good to go.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2023 09:41AM by roger wilson.

I always keep those long thin clear bags that rod blanks are shipped in for some unknown reason and I'm thinking this type of situation they would be ideal for .