With light regular thread colors, the underlying blank or thread colors (especially dark colors) will bleed through making the surface threads appear darker than how they look on the spool. Metallic or NCP threads have little bleed through. I hold the spool in my hand for cross wraps. Some use fly tying thread bobbins accommodating the cross wrap angles. Double stick carpet tape (cut off durin
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A short shot of directed heat from a lighter flame will also help to loosen the adhesion so the epoxy can be popped or peeled off the seat easier.
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My experiences seem to correlate with Mark's. For those who finish by hand or with finishing motors or drum dryers that don't reverse, concentric and level finishes can be improved by periodic 180 degree rotation of the rod until the finish no longer moves.
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If the finish is still uncured at this point in time it may be best to wipe it off (with alcohol or acetone) and do the whole inscription over.
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A green metallic thread as close as possible to the blank color may be what you are looking for. Metallic threads stay true to spool color when finished.
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A little heat from an embossing gun, candle, or lighter for a very few seconds to the spots while moving the blank to avoid heat build up will loosen the bond allowing removal by rubbing with a paper towel or cloth.
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If the blank is going to be built into a spinning rod, putting the guides on the outside of the curve or belly of the blank will straighten the look of the rod due to their weight on that axis.
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When ice alone was not enough, I have squared off the end of a wood craft stick to use against the female end of the stuck sections. Put a towel on a table or work bench to lay the stuck sections on, have someone hold and brace the male section, and hold the stick close to parallel to the ferrule and strike the end with a hammer to separate.
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I have had success by wrapping the stuck ferrule area with a ziploc bag of crushed ice for a few minutes which shrinks the materials and permits separating the sections.
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I have used powder paints for jigs to dye rod finish successfully. Painting or using a water based marker and then finishing might also work.
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There was a similar topic last week that had varying opinions.
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from the Flexcoat site - " For the rod builder who likes an extra thin coating on rod wraps, there are three ways to get a thin finish. Use a stiff brush which will spread the Flex Coat evenly and thinly over the wrap. Heating will also thin the finish. Thinning with a solvent such as acetone or epoxy thinner also works. Between 1 and 4 drops of solvent per 6cc mix of epoxy is recommended.&q
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Hold the syringe vertical with the nozzle up and the bubble should float up to the opening where you can push it out with a little pressure on the plunger. You may have to adjust the volumes if they are not equal in both syringes.
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I have used a little coating from a hot glue stick for holding the guide on the blank to thread wrap without any problem for many years. Heat the bottom of the guide foot with a lighter for five seconds, swipe the front half lightly on the glue stick, hold in place on the blank for about five seconds until the glue sets, wrap, and adjust the guide's position.
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I have been building rods for a long time. While I personally enjoy doing the decorative stuff, most of the folks that have had me build a rod for them are not interested in paying for the extra time to do decorations. Pure function and good fit and finish have been the priorities for over 90% of my customers.
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Thread finish is generally just applied to wraps, decals, inscriptions, etc. - the blank itself does not need it and the rod would become heavier slowing its recovery if finish is applied to other areas.
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Pack the areas that have closed (push on the sides with a burnishing tool, fingernail, spatula, etc.) to make room for additional thread passes. Continue the closing by wrapping over areas that have already been filled over until any open areas are also covered up. After the finish is applied the spacing differences will be less noticeable
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From the original post, it sounds like the decal itself was the problem which spread to the entire area masked off with the wiping off of the first coating. Perhaps a color preserver would have sealed the contamination prior to finish. In my experience the finish seems to wick under masking tape edges defeating the desired straight edge goal.
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From FishUSA - "Centerpin and float rods are designed to work with centerpin reels and spinning reels for this increasingly popular salmon and steelhead tactic. Centerpin fishing is typically done on large streams and rivers and calls for long, flexible rods with a significant amount of slack line between the rod tip and the float. The long rods allow anglers to properly manage the slack lin
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Many of the finishing motors I have will reverse direction as well. It is actually a nice feature to help counteract sagging to one axis.
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The companies have schedules for blank production that can run out into the future for months in advance of the actual production date. In the past, I have waited months for some blanks when they were out of stock.
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Something to try - Keep the same choke point, 30 stripper at 23", 20 at 34", the rest 8s.
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The same size and type of thread will produce the most uniform and consistent looking wraps. Size A is generally preferred by most. Packing the pattern by pushing on the sides and corners will tighten the pattern. Rolling a round and smooth craft paint brush handle over metallics works better causing less thread deterioration than burnishing.
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If you lightly rub just the areas you want to change (thread wraps?) with some super fine steel wool or a fine scrub pad, it will dull those spots resulting in a matte finish look there.
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All the areas showing the bare blank are covered over with thread by continuing the pattern until none of the blank is left uncovered.
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The thread looks very nice and worked fine for me.
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The thread finish gloss can also be dulled with super fine steel wool.
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I have shaped, painted, and then rod finish coated 6 lb. and up density foam grips used for in your hand freshwater applications and have had no real durability problems for these types of use.
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A steelhead or center pin rod blank in the length you are looking for is worth looking at. The Batson XST line has some possibilities and I am sure there are others like them.
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