Hello!

Today I watch these video: [www.youtube.com]

In the 13:00 min he started using thinner to clean the inner side of the EVA grip.

Can anyone tell me - why and in which situations is needed to use thinner?

Thanks and regards!

The thinner is acting like a lubricant to get the grip slide down the rod.
Once its where you want it the thinner evaporates.

Thank you, Chris!

Are there any special properties that this thinner must have? What is the best one to use?

In what situations do you have to use thinner? Everytime when you add the EVA grip? Or?

Does it need to dry before the EVA is glued to the blank?

There is absolutely no need to boil the grips nor is there any reason to use any sort of lubricant to install them. Neither is required if you put your adhesive in the correct place. Do this -

1. Drop your grip over the rod tip and let it come to rest. Mark the spot where it stops.

2. Remove the grip and apply your epoxy mostly ABOVE this point. Trail a bit down the blank to the intended resting place, but again, most of the epoxy should be above the point where the grip stopped.

3. Bring the grip down over the blank and epoxy and twist and turn it so that the inside of the grip is fully coated with epoxy. Now grasp the top edge of the grip with your thumb and forefinger and squeeze it as if to create a seal around the blank with the top edge of the grip. Now slide it into place, holding that seal the whole time.

4. As you approach the final resting place (within maybe an inch or two) switch your hand hold from the top to the bottom edge of the grip in order to "pull" the grip into place and restore it to its original length. Pushing the grip on tends to compress it and shorten its length, this motion will restore the original length.

5. Clean up the blank with denatured solvent alcohol.

That's about it. You can usually get a grip to stretch its inside diameter about twice the original size in the smaller ID's and about 1.2 to 1.5 times on the larger ones. Always opt for a grip with an ID just smaller than the OD of the blank where it will reside, if possible.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2024 08:32PM by Tom Kirkman.

I'm not like an EVA jedi but,

There is nothing special about the thinner....basically some kind of solvent. (lighter fluid, mineral spirits...not sure about alcohol).
You would use this for when the ID of the EVA is smaller than the area above where you have epoxy.
Put the epoxy on first...then put solvent inside the EVA...pour it out and then install it.

Toms example below is basically using the epoxy as the lubricant.

Golf club grips are installed the same way.
Double sided tape is installed where the grips goes.
Then you pour a solvent into the grip...pour it out and shove it on.

Just note that if you are installing decorative EVA grips - those which you've cut inlays or such and glued up with contact cement, do NOT do this method - ream the grip out to fit the blank - else you are likely to bust a seam on the grip.

Also - the "multi-color" foams that are available not do not have as much stretch in my experience as the single color or hyperlon..... so ream away to be safe

Sure looks to me like the #20 example by Tom is the way to go. I don't like the idea of putting a thinner on and expecting the epoxy to perform as usual when contaminated by thinner. Why take the risk when epoxy can be the lube? Just my opinion. I've only done it one way, #20.

Michael....You always agree with Tom on everything!

Ask Tom. I think he will tell you about many disagreements. But in this case, I have to go along with him. He's not going to get everything wrong. :-)

#20 is the way Mr. Clemens showed me how to do it many years ago. The Batson clan uses another method that takes more time and products to get the same results, doing and spending more to get the same results is not my way.

Wauuu, so many good answers!

Thank you guys, now I know much more ...

Have a nice day!

This isn't relevant to the EVA situation, but has anyone ever tried to install Hypalon from the bottom up, rather than from the top down? I might be faced with that situation in the future. I've re-corked handles from the bottom up several times by adding thread or drywall tape to achieve a zero taper and it worked fine. Could that same method be used with Hypalon? Cork is easy because you aren't dealing with the blank taper and you aren't requiring it to stretch like Hypalon.

What you have to do is slip another rod blank over the butt, in reverse, which will allow you to push the EVA or Hypalon over and onto the rod blank, then remove the reverse blank and slide your grip down per normal.

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Tom,
The problem is this rod is already built and the guy wants me to replace the rear grip. It was stored in a building outside and mice chewed up the rear grip over the winter. So the reel seat is going to be the ending point. I can cut off the existing grip and the butt cap, and clamp the rod to secure it, but then I have to get the new Hypalon on. It's too chewed up to use shrink grip material which he doesn't want anyway.

The butt diameter is just over an inch.

You can still do it the way I mentioned .You just have to get the new grip over the end of the butt without catching on the current butt end.

And there is yet another method - if you have a lathe, turn a cone or sorts that you can plug into the butt end of the rod. The key is to get the grip over the sharp edges of the butt end. It needs something smooth to slide over.

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Tom,
I guess my age is showing. I'm finally catching on to what the problem is; getting the Hypalon over the butt end of the rod. I'm pretty sure that I don't have a piece of scrap blank as big as I will need, but I'm confident I'll come up with something. I know a couple of guys with lathes who "will work for fish". Thanks for all the help.

My goodness, this is not a difficult situation.

First, I hever use any sort of thinner with any sort of grip that I have ever put on a rodl.
I also never stretch a rod to go over a rod. Why do it?
Rather, simply ream out the grip - what ever the material, apply epoxy, slip the grip in place and you are good to go.

If you have to put a grip on from the butt of the blank.

Super easy.
First use a caliper to measure the diameter of the rod butt - over which you are going to install the grip.

Then, make an arbor from masking tape, leaving about 1.8th inch betwwen each arbor band to the next one. Size the arbor to be identical to the size of the rod butt.


Then, ream the grip to match the size of the butt of the rod blank and the size of the arbor that you have just installed.

Then, apply epoxy over the blanks butt section where you are going to install the grip making sure that you fill the gap in the arbor bands with epoxy. The epoxy encapsulates the masking tape arbor insuring that you never have an arbor failure.

With the grip in place, use DNA to clean up any excess epoxy and you are finished.

It should't take much more then 10-15 minutes for the complete job, assuming that you have a good reamer on hand to use for reaming.

By the way, if you wanted to change the grip material to cork, wood, or something else - this is your chance. Just follow the same process just listed with any grip made of any material and you will have a wonderful grip.

Best wishes.