I've been building rods for a long time. In the last couple years I've started to sell them. 99% of the blanks I buy are finished. The few that were unfinished I bought because I wanted that size and weight rod. I don't like infinished blanks: in my opinion they're not as attractive and they're harder to keep my gruby fingerprints off of.
So here I am with an unfinished blank. In the past I've finished a blank by snipping a fingertip off the end off a rubber 7mil rubber glove, put a pin hole in it and some rod finish and then I slide it up from the tip to the bottom. It worked ok but where I masked the ferrals didn't turn out so great.
My question to anyone who cares to chime in is should I learn to like the unfinished rod or learn to find a better way to get a flawless finish on a blank before I start to wrap it.

Ps. (Do we still do ps, I hope so)
Can you put finish on the male portion of the ferral or is that asking for trouble in terms of the pieces sticking together?

Bruce K Davenport

Don't put finish on the male portion of the ferrule.

Best answer to finishing to get a nice gloss finish that accentuates the "weave" of the blank's fibers is with Permagloss. Keep in mind that Permagloss has some nasty vapors, so you need EXCELLENT ventilation.

Use a foam brush to quickly apply it, one coat only, be sure to get full coverage quickly as it dries fast. I suggest practicing on an old rod to get the technique down pat. Mask off the male ferrule leaving an eighth of an inch or a little more unfinished-with time an wear the ferrule may move a little.

Permagloss is thin, light, easy to apply, flexible, don't go with epoxy products or varnishes.

A search of this site will probably yield other tips on Permagloss.

Putting finish of any kind on the male ferrule will greatly affect the fit of the ferrule. Don't do it.

I swipe on Permagloss with a saturated piece of cheesecloth. Do a search in the archives on using PG for this purpose and you will turn up multiple answers as to how users obtain good blank finishing results with it.

Do keep in mind that altering the finish of a blank may void the manufacturer's warranty.

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Thanks.
I take it that your putting it on thin enough and it dries fast enough that no spinning is required. Probably just hang it from the handle end, fully assembled and masked, apply it and let it hang dry.

Bruce Davenport

Applying a coat of PermaGloss is extremely easy, quick and gives a very thin, flexible and durable clear coat. I clear coated three rod blanks yesterday with great results. Basically, put on a pair of nitrile or latex gloves, pour a small amount of PermaGloss into a small container and saturate a pad of cheese cloth, or gauze, or any other lint free applicator. With your gloved hand, tightly wrap the saturated applicator around the tip of the blank, and quickly pull the pad completely down the blank. This will squeegee the PermaGloss onto blank giving a very thin coat. Since the coat is extremely thin, it will not run or sag. Thus, there is no need to rotate blank, just prop it up against the wall to cure. If you wish, you can re-coat within 30 min, or even the next day. Only takes a a few minutes to do from start to finish. I do this in a well ventilated area. Been using PermaGloss as a clear coat for many, many years with no problems. You will be pleasantly surprised how well it works.
Norm

Thanks