Nice job David. I'm sure you're going to have a ball fishing that. You might want to work on your finishing technique a bit when you do your next rod. You can apply finish just up to the end of the wrap, or you can let the finish go on to the blank just a little bit, maybe a millimeter or two. Try to get a nice even line all around. If you go outside the imaginary line you are shooting for, you can carefully wipe off the excess finish with the straight edge of a piece of coffee filter paper.

I like low-build finishes myself - either low-build epoxy or varnish. I use about 4 thin coats rather than 1 heavy coat. It's mostly about aesthetics, as anything that completely covers the thread will do the job.