kengore,
There are a lot of gawkers and not many talkers. You are the only one out of over 100 viewers that replied
Thanks for confirming my suspicion about the flash. Actually I was "fishing" for a better way to do this. On inexpensive graphite rods I have created a stealth finish. I worked my way up to something that worked by trying common abraisives.
These didn't work:
Soft Scrub
Comet
Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound
Scothc Brite No Scratch Pad
Since it was a cheap rod, I also tried etching it with lacquer thinner and mineral spirits. Hats off to Rhino, that didn't work either.
This finally worked:
Scotch Brite Heavy Duty Pad
There's just enough grit to dull the finish without aggressive scoring. The pad provided a good way to apply pressure evenly. Wetting the pad controls the dust nicely.
Some day I will give steal wool a try.
PS I was glad to see that the Cortland Rod I just bought came with a matte finish blank though the wrappings are shiny epoxy. Oh, well.