Next step on boo rod refinishing; please help!

[chris from canada]

Hello,

I just finished the long process of stipping the paint off an old bamboo rod ( for those of you who just had shivers run though your body, don't worry! It is an inexpensive rod, that a friend gave to me )

My question is; can I put some lin seed oil on the rod to give it a nicer color, and to give a little humidity back to the rod.
Should I use another product instead?

Any help would be graet, seeing as how this is my first bamboo rebuild.

Thanks, and have a safe holiday season.
chris

[bbrothe1]

Hi Chris,

Find some tung oil in just about any hardware store and give it a few coats.

Bill

[AgMD]

I have had good success w/ Formby's tung ( uncolored). I rub in a coat a day for 2 or 3 days, let it set a few days and then wrap. The key to using any oil finsih is to rub it in warm, wipe it off thin, and let it set. It is the oxidation of the oil that causes the oil to cure. If it is laid on thick it will just make a gummy mess.
One caution -- I have not yet used a lacquer color preserver over an oil base finish, but would run a dowel test before I did.
AgMD
AgMD

Chris;
I'm not a bamboo rod builder(Yet!). I've used Formby's tung oil on gun stocks with great success. Follow AgMD's advice
Normaly you cannot put lacquer over an oil base as it will lift the oil.

[dleo6446]

The lacquer color preservers do a nice job in color preservation, but they lack in adhesion when used over many of the oil based products. There are quite a few color preservers around that are not lacquer based that will do as well and will provide decent adhesion of the wraps to the rod. The only time I really worry with color preservation is when I am doing a complete restoration and wanting to stay with the original makers scheme, otherwise, I like the translucent look and the adhesion is great.

[chris from canada]

Thanks for the info guys,

Wishing ya'll a happy holiday season, with screaming reels!

chris