Hi Bruce... Last year I did the same job on an older Eagle Claw 'glass 10 wt rod. I did as Kevin suggested, cutting the old wraps right at the guide feet with a razor blade. then, carefully removed the wraps with my fingers. The rod was Yellow in color, and the wraps were finished with rod varnish, not epoxy. the wraps came off easily enough. Then, I removed the rest of the residue with a cotton tee shirt rag and 'Goo-Gone' I got it at a hardware store. I rubbed hard, ti all the residue was gone, and the blank looked no worse for the wear. It had steel ferrules, and I polished them by spinning the blank in a lathe, and using jewelers rouge on a piece of split leather. I never removed the ferrules from the blank. The rod was a high quality rod in it's day, and I got a lot of info on it from Wright & McGill via Email. I also brightened up the cork using cork cleaner, and hand polished the brass Eagle Claw medallion on the grip. I used Gudebrod thread, and got a close color match to the original. You'll do well, I'm sure... just be gentle.............Dan