I built and finished a rod with my name in the signature area. What is the best way to cover that up so I can sign a new name to it? I want to give it to my niece's husband. Thanks

Make a wrap over it, finish, and then inscribe and finish over that. Choose a thread color that will compliment the rest of the rod and it won't look out of place.

...........

If you didn't make the mistake of signing directly on the blank - you should sand off your name.
Then sign again.
You should always apply a couple of coats of finish before signing.
If you signed directly on the blank - then I would remove as much of the finish above your name - dont sand into the nlank - remove butt wrap and get as level as possible.
You may have to lay down some finish to get whole area level - then put a wrap over it

Herb
CTS

I guess I'll have to cover it with thread and finish it. I can sign it again up the rod blank.

Why can't you inscribe over 2nd coat of epoxy over new wrap?
Dull it with 2000 grit wet or dry.
Recoat after inscription done.
Herb

Sign it on the epoxied thread wrap you put over the old inscription. Then overcoat that.

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

I don’t put a thread wrap base down and epoxy over that. It is not needed in my opinion.

What I do is apply a coat of finish to the blank where I am going to do the inscription. Once cured, take the shine off, gently with a Scotch Brite Pad, write your inscription, let that dry and put another coat of epoxy thread finish over that. You can another coat, but really not necessary.

For inscribing, I use a Quill Pen with the smallest nibs available. If I am doing Black, India Ink. Silver, Gold or Copper, I use Testors Model Paint.

Word of caution, Do Not Thin your finish with a solvent.

I am lucky to have decent handwriting. I would try test run on scrap blank pieces first. If your handwriting is less than stellar, find a family member or friend to help out.

Replacing the existing signature could also be done by covering the original one with paint or marker, finishing, signing, and finishing again.

Bill Hickey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don’t put a thread wrap base down and epoxy
> over that. It is not needed in my opinion.
>
> What I do is apply a coat of finish to the blank
> where I am going to do the inscription. Once
> cured, take the shine off, gently with a Scotch
> Brite Pad, write your inscription, let that dry
> and put another coat of epoxy thread finish over
> that. You can another coat, but really not
> necessary.
>
> For inscribing, I use a Quill Pen with the
> smallest nibs available. If I am doing Black,
> India Ink. Silver, Gold or Copper, I use Testors
> Model Paint.
>
> Word of caution, Do Not Thin your finish with a
> solvent.
>
> I am lucky to have decent handwriting. I would try
> test run on scrap blank pieces first. If your
> handwriting is less than stellar, find a family
> member or friend to help out.


Bill,

The OP's problem is that there is already an inscription on the blank. The purpose of a thread wrap would be to cover what is already there, and then put the inscription on the thread wrap and finish over that.

.........

I'm not sure if you caught it, but I'm covering a signature area and then signing over it.

Bruce Tomaselli Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not sure if you caught it, but I'm covering a
> signature area and then signing over it.

Got ya, I missed that part. Then do what Tom said if your signature was done directly on the blank. If you dropped a coat of finish first, then signed it and coated over that, if you have a power wrapper, you can gently sand the old finish down with 400 grit paper, tread lightly here, just take off enough to get into the first coat of finish removing the signature. Make a quick pass with the sandpaper, wipe with 90% ISO Alcohol, repeat till you have it gone.

Scrap off the original signiture with a razor blade, Burnish the blank and sign again and apply two coats of finish and you will be good to go.

No need to apply anything to the blank before signing it.

That won't hurt the blank? I didn't know you could do that.

IMO - bad idea - especially if blank painted.
Herb

You could mix marbling pigment with finish, cover the offensive area, sign on top of that, and recoat.

I agree with Herb, bad idea to scrape off if blank is painted or has a gloss top coat on it. If it is a sanded natural finish like a NFC or unsanded natural blank, scrape away. Finish will come off very easy and coating it again will never be noticeable.
Painted blanks can be an issue when removing thread and finish, sometimes the paint will chip off, just depends on who’s blank it is. Also, what the original builder did with the finish. I’ve done repairs on guides where a builder mixed a solvent with the wrap finish and the blank finish came off when unwrapping the thread, didn’t even get to scraping it off, just peeled away with the thread.

Bill Hickey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree with Herb, bad idea to scrape off if blank
> is painted or has a gloss top coat on it. If it is
> a sanded natural finish like a NFC or unsanded
> natural blank, scrape away. Finish will come off
> very easy and coating it again will never be
> noticeable.
> Painted blanks can be an issue when removing
> thread and finish, sometimes the paint will chip
> off, just depends on who’s blank it is. Also,
> what the original builder did with the finish.
> I’ve done repairs on guides where a builder
> mixed a solvent with the wrap finish and the blank
> finish came off when unwrapping the thread,
> didn’t even get to scraping it off, just peeled
> away with the thread.

Also - raw carbon blanks have, for want of a better word, microscopic "holes" or "pores" that traps paint or ink that you can't remove unless uou scrape down past the surface.
Don't do it.
Herb

Could I use the same color thread I used with the guides to cover the signature area or will that not look right?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2024 09:39AM by Bruce Tomaselli.

IMO
Either same color as blank - or same color as guide wraps.
I would use wrap color
Herb
CTS

Thanks Herb.