Can anyone tell me just how much surface preperation manufacturers put into sanding a blank that will receive a clear gloss finish? I know the blanks are sanded to remove the ridges as well as excess resin but how much sanding is done? Do they use progressively higher grits to get a smooth finish? Do they buff or polish them in any way and if they do with what? I have a few blanks with the old finish removed down to the bare graphite and I would like to clear coat them but before I do I just wanted to see if there was anything that could be done to improve the final cosmetic appearance. Thanks.

Well you don't want to sand yours any further. Just clean them up and scuff with Scotchbrite and finish as you prefer (not with rod building epoxy finish however).

Most manufacturers have to remove about 1-mil thickness to get past the ridges left by the tape.

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Thanks for the reply. Lets say for the sake of arguement that I already have sanded the blanks a little, but with nothing less than wet 600 grit. I did do this with an old graphite blank some time ago just to see the results. I could bend and put quite a bit of force on that blank without it breaking. Does sanding the outer fibers a little even with 600 and higher grit ruin the blank? Even though it doesn't break by flexing it with my hands do you think it would be a ticking time bomb once it's wrapped and being used? The 600 and even higher grit still doesn't eliminate the scratchy, fibery look that I don't see on factory finished clear gloss blanks. That's why I wondered if they buffed or polished them instead of sanding. Thanks again.

In a tubular structure is the fibers/area that are furthest from the center that carry most of the load, so they are the very ones you must be careful not to compromise.

Then you must also consider the structure itself. It is quite likely that you could rake some 80 grit paper on the outside fibers of a heavy E-glass trolling blank and not render it worthless. But do the same to a modern high-modulus fly rod blank and you're in for trouble.

Polishing, when done with fine grit paper, is still sanding, only on a much less invasive manner. I doubt you have hurt anything but there is really no reason to go further if you now have a smooth surface. I know many guys like to sand their blanks but you really have to careful in this regard. It is all too easy to ruin many modern blanks by this practice. I have always preferred scraping with a single edge blade held at 90 degrees to the surface to remove any surface residue. This is actually less invasive than sanding.

But no, I doubt your 600 grit work has harmed anything unless you really worked on it for quite some time. As far as removing tape/resin ridges by sanding, this is hard for most rod builders to do as most of us do not have the equipment or expertise to control the amount of material we remove.

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One added note applying any type of finish over the sanded area will not increase the strength or give any additional protetection to the sanded area if damaged it is damaged.
John

I hope I remember this right.. Hal Bacon told me to sand down til you se the ridges going away, then use 600 wet dry to 1500.. Then he said use bowling alley wax to finish rod off, or dip in Urethane for a gloss finish.. You want to wear a mask doing this and also if you use water and 1500 grit wet dry then steel wool to finish.. I have done about 20 rods doing this and all rods are still in use.. I think in one of the Rodmaker Magazine there were some pics of Graphite USA sanding system.. The bowling alley wax or urethane will seal the graphite fibers.. I do know doing this is a lot of work and not really worth it, hands turned black got graphite fibers in hands and steel wool fibers in hands.. Also Black Dust everywhere worse than Cork dust.. Thanks Dave