Rod and Fly Line Dressing

[MarkF]

'Bout time to tune up the fly rods and the fly lines again. What is now considered the best for both. Read in Fly Fishing 101 for rods that Pledge is good/best??? Is Johnson's paste wax OK? Also saw in a post I think that the 303 protectant for fly lines was good. What are the latest thoughts? Thanks!!!

[Silver Creek]

Use a product designed for fly lines and not an automotive product designed for dashboards.

"How best to treat Rio Lines? What do you personally use (silicone spray? Armorall?)

Never, ever use Armorall on a PVC fly line. It breaks down the bond and results in very poor durability. The line will dry out and harden with constant use of Armorall. We recommend a mild soapy water with a flannel to clean the line, then if you want to re-lubricate it, apply a 100% silicone, though very lightly. All PVC fly lines use silicone as a lubricant, so it is best to use the base ingredient to prolong the line's life."
http://www.sexyloops.com/manufacture...products.shtml

[NewTyer 1]

If you contact Scott at Bennett Rod Restoration, he is supposed to have some awesome stuff he developed.

[Silver Creek]

I found this on the 303 web page. I have written Orvis regarding this claim by 303. I searched the Orvis site for 303 aerospace protectant and I cannot find that they sell it as claimed by 303.

http://303products.com/product-uses/fly-fishing-orvis

[Greg H]

I use Pledge on my fly rods. You do not want wax build-up on the rod (like paste would do), you only want to clean it and possibly disguise any scratches. There is silicon in Pledge and it will do this just fine - and any excess is easily wiped off in 'polishing'.

My suggestion for cleaning the line is to take it into the shower with some shampoo on a cloth and wipe is down then rinse it a couple of times. If you want to coat it - go to a fly shop and get a small bottle/kit made by a line manufacturer (SciAng for example) and use the right stuff. The kit probably only costs $10 - this is an area where it is not worth saving money by using 303 or ArmourAll.

[dunfly]

Just to play the devil's advocate, if Orvis bottled 303 protectant in an Orvis bottle and sold it for 3 times as much as fly line dressing, do you think they would tell you?

Anyway, I use Pledge type products on my rods to clean and protect them, but I only use products by the line manufactures to clean and protect my fly lines.

[DaleW]

Have used Pledge for so long now (and that's LEMON Pledge) my fly rods wouldn't know how to act with anything else! And that's an end of the season chore, for when the rod is to be stored. I like the feel of them afterward.

As for fly lines ... they need to be washed and re-treated (well, I think so anyway) and I get a lot of years use out of a line. Had always used a mild dish detergent (Dawn) as it has great free rinsing characteristics (which is why it makes a great car wash, too). However, had an old, old timer put me on to something else quite some time ago. He says Dawn is O.K. for a detergent (synthetic soap) but what I needed to use on a fly line was a real soap that would rinse clean and not leave a dulling residue. And that would be the Murphy Oil Soap - this stuff is good for wood but also great for vinyl as well - and a great cleaner. Use a cap full to about a gal/warm water. Wash the line, rinse it in another bucket of clear water (I love those 5/gal white buckets!). Run the line out to dry and then I treat it with the Accardo silicone fly line conditioner. Good to go for storage until next time.

Works O.K. for the girls I go with.

[Goduster]

Pledge will work just fine on the rods, but it is kinda like old school. Now with all my personal rods along with my client builds I have gone to using Lucas Slick Mist which also has a UV protection. You can use on wet or dry surfaces, any painted or coated surfaces, and does not harm rubber, plastic, aluminum or cork.
Simply spray on and wipe dry with a soft towell. I also used it on my racecar, including the lexan windows(which is how I discovered it)

[NewTyer 1]

For the rod, you would want something with UV protection which ever product you choose and for the line, I use Mucalin

[Chuck S]

For bamboo, a carnuba wax product is recommended and for fiberglass and graphite, most any car or boat wax will give great protection to the top coat finish of the rod. Pledge is recommended by a lot of folks and for one thing, it is about the slickest stuff to come along. Saw an Officer candidate once wax his floor with it and when the inspector hit the wax and then the floor the candidate knew he was in bad trouble. I suspect that slickness may help when shooting line. At any rate it's the UV, and other rays from the sun that does the damage and one had but to look at a fiberglass boat that's seat out in the sun too much to see what happens.