I just received two MB 725 C6O2 X ray blanks. Their finish doesn't seem to be, at least to me, as textured as the original X ray blank finish is. Any time I've purchased an X ray blank with the original finish, I've sanded them smooth. I didn't care much for the feeling of them, and I had concerns as to whether packing guide wraps would be difficult to do because of the amount of thread tension I use when wrapping.

Well, I decided to give wrapping on the textured finish a try, and much to my surprise, it's as many others have said when the questions been posed, it really isn't that difficult to pack the thread, In fact it seemed just about as easy as if the blank were smooth.

So, I have a question for those that have rods built on original finish X ray blanks, that they have fished with for a couple of years or more ...... How do they look now, compared to when they were newly built? Do the ridges look worn from putting them in and taking them out of rod tubes in your rod lockers, or from laying on the gunwales of your boat ... etc?

I know the small ridges are resin, and that the resin is hard, and I really don't beat up my gear, but before I build on them without sanding them, I'd be interested in opinions on how the finish stands up to normal use?

Any thoughts shared will be greatly appreciated

I have a Dan Craft 10 wt. Sig V rod that is raw, looks the same as day one 20 years ago.

Spencer, thank you for the response. Much appreciated .... and that's good to hear. After posting this thread I decided to do a wear test on one of the blanks on an area that will be hidden by the grip. I should have done that before posting this thread, because I burnished the surface with an 1/8" round steel rod, using more pressure of that type than the rod will ever see in its' life time, and only a very slight sign of wear.

Pretty confident that it will stand up to any use I can put it through.

I'm still interested in seeing comments from others that have been fishing original finish X ray blanks for a few years though. Some may have experiences with them showing wear, and I'd definitely like to get as much information as I can.

I have several of the original unsanded NFC X-ray rods that I’ve used over the past few years since they first became available, and they have shown no real signs of wear. However, I treat my rod pretty well.
Norm

Norman, thank you for the response. Much appreciated. And good to see what you're saying. I too treat my rods pretty well. Really my only concern for how well the finish wears, is born out of sliding the rods in and out of the rod tubes in the rod locker on my boat. Other than that they're either in my hand, or laying on the carpeted deck of my boat.

It's no different hat the sanded blanks as far as durability goes, The resin is still there either way.

David, I am the polar opposite of Norman, I beat the fire out of all my gear and the original x rays I built have shown no signs of wear whatsoever. I will say that I don’t put my rods in the locker they remain on my deck

Spencer, but the ridges are peaks that will show wear more readily than a flat surface. My concern is, was born out of a possible color change due to wear. But now that I think of it, I've scraped the surface of sanded blanks removing finish from them when changing wrap thread color, and can't really see a color change as a result, so .....

Thomas, thank you for your response. It is much appreciated. And as with the others, I'm glad to see that you haven't seen any signs of wear as well. As a result of yours and the other responses stating no signs of wear, I'm just going to build on them as they are.

As of now, I haven't tried putting guides on them even temporarily, but I am wondering if the smaller contact surface on the guide feet results in any idiosyncrasies I need to be aware of when it comes to wrapping the guides? They're both going to be casting rods using KTs as running guides. I'm wondering if I should practice using a locking wrap on the running guides because of the smaller contact area the ridges create? Or am I over thinking it?

Any thoughts will once again, be greatly appreciated.

Never thought about it, I just taped the guides on and wrapped them. Didn’t give it a second thought, and the guides are still there. You might be over thinking it. However, I do a locking wrap on all my single foot guides. I personally don’t think anything bad is going to happen whether you use a locking wrap or not.
Norm

Norman, thank you for the additional response. I definitely appreciate it. There are times when I tell myself I'm over thinking things, but I usually tell myself that I'm just making sure I cover all the bases. I have a feeling you're right when you say you doubt anything bad will happen if I don't use a locking wrap. I'm very cognizant of guide position when putting and getting my rods out of my rod locker, so I'm certain nothing bad will come of that.

Thanks again for the response.

I have unsanded fiberglass blanks built for plunking. 30 +years of use and abuse and the ridges still stand proud. I don't think you are going to wear them off.