First Rod Repair Question??

[bonedog]

Been having a blast fishing the 5wt SCIV I built. Nice casting rod. To make a long story short, after fishing Saturday, rod was wet, hands were wet and I slipped taking the top 2 sections apart bending one of the guides rather badly. What is the best way to take the bent guide and wrap off???? Acetone?? Just start cutting?? I really don't want to make a mess of the blank.
Thanks in advance,
bd

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"Life is tough. Life is tougher if
you're stupid"-
John Wayne

[mrp116]

Use a razor blade and carefully cut/slice the wrap on the top of the guide foot (make sure the metal is under the cut to ensure that you do not damage the blank in any way). Use your fingernail to peel the wrap off. The main wrap should come off fairly easily, although, you will end up with some residual rod finish on the blank at the the end of the wraps. You can use your fingernail, or some flat plastic (I've used the edge of my burnishing tool) or soft wood tool to scrape/chip that off. Some people suggest carefully applied heat using a blow dryer or heat gun to soften the finish before scraping it off.
Do not use acetone or any other solvent, as this may mar the blank's finish.

[bonedog]

Thanks a million.
bd

[David Parker]

The directions given are all good. A No. 1 Xacto knife will also do the job of cutting quite nicely and perhaps a little easier on the fingers than the razor blade. It does of course depend on how you are with working with razor blades. Careful work with the scraping part and the finish of your blank will not be marred. Once removed, I always clean the area with rubbing alcohol before attaching a new guide. This will aid in a perfect replacement finish.

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