Question about applying finish?

Can I apply a finish to the rod after having wrapped the guides and any suggestions on what to use for the rod finish?

Hi Derek,

I'm not sure how to answer your question without a little more information.

What kind of rod are you building? Graphite, fiberglass, bamboo?
You said that you have wrapped the guides; have you put any sort of finish on the guide wraps?

There are a lot of experienced builders on this forum that are glad to offer advice.
Give us a good description of the rod you are building.

Do you mean like a color? They make a rod finish that is like a clear seal. You should epoxy the guides first and not put anything on them under the epoxy.

It's a graphite rod a Rainshadow Revelation from Batson. I guess I was wondering what I could use for a finish to give the rod a gloss coat as the kit I ordered only has the epoxy for assembling components and the thread wraps.

I think that rod has a colored, satin finish on the blank.
Graphite rods are not generally coated with a finish over the entire rod.

If you really want a glossy finish, you may be able to find a product that will do it. Maybe something like U40's Permagloss.
But that Permagloss is some pretty nasty stuff and may eat the satin finish that it already on the blank.

A finish would also be much easier to apply if the guides were not already wrapped on the rod.

Maybe someone out there has a good idea for getting a glossy finish on a colored, satin blank.

Well if that is the case maybe I will leave it as is.

If you have your mind set on a gloss finish, you might look into some of the plastic paints.

Krylon and Rustoleum both make paints suitable for plastic....so they will bend.
Both manufacturers make it in a clear gloss.
If I were to go this route, I would test the product on a spot on the blank that wouldn't be seen.
Under the grip and reel seat would be ideal if you have not yet mounted them to the blank.

You want to make sure that the paint will be compatible with the finish on the blank.

One thing that is very important with these paints for plastic; be sure to read and follow the directions on the spray can *exactly*.
The paint will be dry to the touch quite soon.....but it takes several days for the paint to completely cure and harden.



Also, the clear gloss paint coating is not going to be as hard or as durable as the finish from the factory.

One last thing, practice painting on something with a similar shape to a fly rod. Something skinny and round.
You will want to get a feel for how the spray comes out of the can and lays down on a skinny rod.
The practice will help you to keep away from getting runs.

Just to add some info regarding painting a blank.
While doing a restoration of an old rod for myself as an experiment, I used Krylon spray paint (for plastics) and once the blank was stripped and prepped, spray painted the 3 pc blank. After 3 very light coatings and drying for a week to harden, the finish turned out good but certainly was not even close to a hard factory finish for it marks easier than I thought it would. The rod turned out good in the end, but once again it was an experiment to see what the end result would be.
It was important to do 3 very light spray coating to eliminate paint run and I rigged up some hanging devices to hang each blank for drying. Would I do it again? Likely not unless a customer requested such, for the paint finish was not really hard enough to eliminate scratches from use.
When Gudebrod was in business, they made an acrylic finish called Rod Restorer that I used to coat old rod blanks to bring them back to a new look. This stuff was great, easy to work with and provided that shine finish you were asking about. Unfortunately Gudebrod is gone and so is their great product, for I searched far and wide to try to find more but met a dead end.
IMO, best use the blank as is when it left the factory.