I have purchased some CFX foam core material for spinning rod split grips . These will be for light spinning rods . My objective with the foam grip is simple I want to see if I like it better than the cork I have been using . For the sake of simplicity I would like to paint rather than use a carbon fiber sleeve. My questions are directed towards those who have painted foam grips before. 1) Are they asthetically pleasing painted ? 2) Would fast drying spray paint be acceptable to use ? 3) How did you top coat it ? Did you simply put a layer of Permagloss over the paint? 4) Did you figure out any way to embelish the painted surface ie 2 colors to give the grip more bling or did one color look good?. I will put carbon fiber over the cores if the consensous is its needed to look good. I am hoping for a first time try painting makes an attractive grip . Any input will be appreciated .

Thank you

When Andy and I first developed these grips we talked about other ways of utilizing the core without a carbon skin. I have done a lot of experimentation on painting and coating them. Here's a few things I've learned...

1. You will need to have fairly dense surface in order for any paint or coating to provide a top notch appearance. Yes it makes a huge difference in terms of density when you pour the foam on a hot day versus a cold day. However, you're working with pre-made grips so that part is beyond your control.

2. Regular spray paint does not, in my opinion, offer a good final surface. The core does need a bit of protection against chaffing, sharp objects, etc. With enough paint you can obtain this to some degree, but I'd go with an automotive type urethane (SprayMax is good). Either way, I like to seal the foam surface with an epoxy prior to painting. This fills any pores and provides a better base for painting.

3. A coating such as Plastic-Dip can work very well depending on your fishing requirements.

.......

Try mixing some dry pigment into a finish epoxy and coat with that. I've had decent results, but I admit, I did not try enough to perfect the process. It should be similar to any other finish epoxy application. You may need two or more coats to get your desired results. And you can make it any color or design you want.

Thanks for the help i am studying your reccomendations.

I have used rigid polyurethane foam reel seat arbors for ramps off the front and rear of spin seats. I have painted them with "hardware store" paint to get a uniform color , either in white or ivory, and they take paint well. I then finished them with a couple coats of wrap epoxy and of all the rods I have done this with, I only had one failure. It was made from a foam grip form and NOT from arbor material. It evidently had a void which collapsed. Every other rod still looks like new and has had no problems. They have not been used in rod holders.

I have painted the foam cores to create grips frequently. The process is time-consuming but not complicated. In brief I shape, epoxy, prime, epoxy, paint, and topcoat with epoxy thread finish. I use acrylic craft paints. Here are some examples - [www.rodmakermagazine.com]

Thanks for the feedback . My initial thoughts were that painting would be simpler than the carbon fiber. I am starting to rethink that thought. Seems to me weight reduction is the best thing about these foam core grips. It also makes me think if i put several coats of epoxy on those grips I could be adding to much weight to the foam arbors making the grips heavy. So I guess experimentation is in order to determine what i like and dont like. Purchasing carbon fiber I noticed it comes in different weights a 13 mil thickness and a 30 mil thickness. I am guessing the thicker material is the one to get ?

I certainly wouldn't advise putting "several coats" of epoxy on them. A thin sealer coat is all that is needed if you're going to paint or otherwise coat them with something.

The carbon skin I use is the 13 mil thickness.

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Thank you Tom . Sharing hard earned knowledge is extremely generous of you !

Ok my focus has shifted from paint to carbon fiber. I have one more question please. Is there an epoxy I can use to laminate and coat the grips that comes in more of a consumer size ,like 4 oz? Most of the epoxy thats reccomended here comes in quarts and I simply would notuse that much . The reason I have gone away. From painting is because it soundslike carbon fiber would not be much harder than painting. I want to thank everyone here who has helped me now and in the past this forum is awesome.

I often use 3 coats of thread finish when painting foam or cork grips. The first is to seal and smooth the surface, the second is to seal the base color so that a glaze applied to it can be manipulated without removing the underlying base, and the third is to preserve the final product. A solid color would require 2 coats. Keeping each layer as thin as necessary cuts down on the weight. Thread finishes are sold in 4 oz. volumes as well as some epoxy craft resins.

Hello All.

What I do is lay down a coat of epoxy-let it cure a day or two then sand down too smooth then paint and a last coat to protect whatever you painted on it.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Steve Stolle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ok my focus has shifted from paint to carbon
> fiber. I have one more question please. Is there
> an epoxy I can use to laminate and coat the grips
> that comes in more of a consumer size ,like 4 oz?
> Most of the epoxy thats reccomended here comes in
> quarts and I simply would notuse that much . The
> reason I have gone away. From painting is because
> it soundslike carbon fiber would not be much
> harder than painting. I want to thank everyone
> here who has helped me now and in the past this
> forum is awesome.

Sounds like you have a lot of questions. Might be better to just buy the back issue with the article and have all the information at your fingertips.

I looked for a back issue first and its sold out . I will stop asking questions .

Don’t ever stop asking questions. Asking questions I how you learn.
Norm

Mudhole sells the CFX laminating epoxy and the CFX Carbon fiber kits but they seem to be out of stock quite often. You may call them and see when they will be back in stock otherwise you will have to buy larger quantities from other suppliers which is what I ended up doing. Im new to the foam core carbon fiber grip building also so please don't stop asking questions. There are a few videos out there.

Steve

Steve Stolle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I looked for a back issue first and its sold out .
> I will stop asking questions .


The issue that unveiled carbon skinned, foam core grips to the world is not sold out. It is volume 10 #6.

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Hello All.

You can call them grips, cores, handles or any number of things, they are written about in so many different ways that you would have to read hundreds of articles to even scratch the surface: and this is not all by a long shot.

Volume/Issue...........Article...............................................Author.........................................Page.
15/4 Carbon Fiber, (It's not just a black tie affair anymore). By Dick Ross. 14
11/4 Carbon Skin Finishing Tips. 29
13/3 Carbon Skin Finishing. 30
11/3 Carbon Skin Straightening. By Rich Gussman. 31
17/5 Carbon Skin Tinting. By William Falconer. 22
23/1 Carbon Skin Weave Pattern Alignment By Rich Gassman. 16
17/2 Carbon Skinned Integrated Spinning Handles With Top Coating. By Bill Falconer 28
11/4 Carbon Skins, Shrink Fitting. By Tom Kirkman. 24
12/4 Carbon; Make your Own Tubing (for extensions, patch inserts,seat bodies…). By Tom Kirkman. 14
15/4 Carbon-Skinned, Foam-Core vs. Carbon Tube Over Foam Arbors. By Tom Kirkman. 30
18/3 Grip & Handle Materials. 12
9/5 Grip Boring, With Reverse Paddle Bits. By Roger Seiders. 18
23/4 Grip Coring Great Looks-Less Weight By: Tom Kirkman. 22
14/6 Grip Coring. By Tom Kirkman. 16
11/3 Grip EVA, Shaded. By Bill Coby. 28
21/3 Grip Repair, Cork, Precision. By Ted Huff. 12
16/3 Grip Repair; Quick Cork Replacement. By Tom Kirkman. 24
19/1 Grip Round Ball Butt… Really? 19
9/2 Grip Template: Pier / Boat / Trolling Rod Grip. 31
8/5 Grip Templates: 1:1 Round Half-Ball Butt End. 16
9/3 Grip Templates: A Simple Casting Rod Pistol Grip. 28
8/3 Grip Templates: Butt Grip for Casting Rods. 33
8/1 Grip Templates: Combination Wells/Fighting Grip. (1/2 Scale Template). 31
9/1 Grip Templates: Contoured Grip Set. 17
10/1 Grip Templates: Improved Tennessee Handle/Seat. 27
8/4 Grip Templates: Reverse Taper Spin Grips. 32
7/6 Grip Templates: Self-Locating Reverse Half Wells. 29
9/5 Grip Templates: Superlight All-Cork Fly Rod Grip and Seat. 27
8/6 Grip Templates: The "Finwick" Half-Wells Grip. 19
9/4 Grip Templates: The Fenwick Pistol Grip. 29
8/2 Grip Templates: The Ritz / Gordon Style Fly Grip. 33
15/5 Grip Templates: The Round Half-Ball Butt End. By Tom Kirkman. 12
10/2 Grip Templates: Traditional Cigar Grip. 29
9/1 Grip Trim Rings From Poker Chips. By William "Bill" Colby. 22
3/3 Grip Turning, Cork. (Part 1). 18
3/6 Grip Turning, Cork. (Part 2). 22
14/3 Grip, Split Legacy. By Rich Forhan. 12
4/4 Grip, The Advantages Of The Split. By Rich Forhan. 10
21/1 Grip, Tulip, Technique. By Tom Kirkman. 22
11/6 Grips & Wood Inserts, Center Boring. 22
5/2 Grips From Cork Composite, You Build. By Bob Meiser 10
18/6 Grips, An Exercise In Wood. 14
16/1 Grips, Bill Ballou's Wooden Lure Style. 14
10/6 Grips, Composite. (Aerospace Meets Angling). By Andy Dear. 10
14/3 Grips, EVA Random Abstract. By Billy Vivona. 14
16/3 Grips, Faux Finished. By Ross Pearson. 14
7/4 Grips, Flocked Grips Functional & Durable & You Can Make Them Yourself! By Tom Kirkman. 10
4/3 Grips, Fly Rod. By Don Carlton. 14
10/6 Grips, Foam Core. By Tom Kirkman. 14
17/2 Grips, Laser Engraved. By Nuno Paulino. 14
15/5 Grips, Leather Wrapped. By Mike Ballard & Tom Kirkman. 14
18/3 Grips, Reverse Taper. 10
11/3 Grips, Round or Concentric? By Tom Kirkman. 18
4/1 Grips, Seats & Handles. By Tom Kirkman. 10
19/3 Grips, Shaping with a Rotary Tool. By Joe Moriarity. 14
9/4 Grips, Squares & Triangles, Hand Shaping Cork Or Wood Pistol Grips. By Tom Kirkman. 14
13/2 Grips, Wine Corks To Rod Grips. By Steve Gardner. 14
19/3 Grips: Easy Cork Grip Removal. 10
19/2 Grips: Metal in Cork. By Tom Kirkman. 16
17/6 Handle And Seat Comfort. 22
20/5 Handle Length for Surf Rods Pt.1. By Tom Kirkman. 10
11/6 Handle With A Bareback. By Stan McClean. 16
11/2 Handle, Hot (Hand Warmers In The Handle). 10
13/3 Handle, LSH/USH Revisited. By Tom Kirkman. 10
15/6 Handle, Rod The Simplest And perhaps… still the most practical! 16
15/5 Handle, Single Piece Concept. By Tom Kirkman. 22
15/6 Handle, Spinning SSG-TN. By Rich Forhan 12
9/4 Handle, Spinning SSG-TN. By Rich Forhan 22
24-6 Handle: Cheater Rod Handles? By Tom Kirkman. 16
10/1 Handle: Tennessee, Here Is A Better One. 22
14/5 Handles & Grips, Stacked Leather. By Larry and Raymond Adams. 16
14/6 Handles & Grips, Stacked Leather. By Larry and Raymond Adams. 14
9/4 Handles for Featherweight Rods. By Gene Bullard. 28
20/5 Handles Made from Synthetic Leather. By Nuno Paulino. 14
16/1 Handles Of Fish & Of Wood, Make your Own! By Bill Ballou. 18
17/3 Handles Of Wood, Custom and Easy, The Hardest Part Has Already Been Done. By Bill Colby. 22
7/4 Handles Of Wood, They Are Unique for Custom Rods. By Ray Jergensen. 22
9/2 Handles, Birch Bark . By Antti Kymalainen. 10
18/5 Handles, Cord Under Glass. By Tom Kirkman. 16
9/3 Handles, Cord Wrapped . By Emory Harry. 10
15/6 Handles, Corded Tennessee By Tom Kirkman. 22
17/2 Handles, Improved Tenneessee. By Tom Kirkman. 18
18/4 Handles, Shrink Tube. By Capt. Mike Ballard. 26
13/1 Handles, Veneered Carbon Tube. By Steve Gardner. 10
12/5 Handles; Off Center Turning. 26

Try not to wear your eyes out.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Thanks Bob. I believe he was talking specifically about the foam core, carbon skinned grips. The original article on that technique was in volume 10 #6.

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Not sure where to start here . Firstly I think I took the advice to get the original article wrong ,so I take back my response to stop asking questions. It was in fact good advice . Secondly I did not look at the right magazine I should have when looking for the original article, my bad. Thirdly thank you all for pointing me in the right direction here . You all are very good people to help another person to learn and I do learn a lot here .