Ok I’m sealing my wraps tonight. I built a forecast 4 piece kit. Can I sign the rod with a silver fine tip sharpie, or is there something better? Also whats the best way to affix the rod info decals?
I like to use a crow quill or calligraphy pen nib. I fooled around with a lot of white inks and paints but the best was white exterior house paint. Good opacity. Just thin it down enough so that it flows. Prep the rod by roughing up the script area with some 0000 steel wool or 1200 grit sandpaper. Not much , just enough to give it some tooth. Degrease w/ alcohol. ( Keep the alcohol away from any decals)
Whatever you use for the signature, make some practice runs on a piece of Plexiglas, plastic bottle etc.
A trick I was taught by my guru – to get a straight script , hold the rod so that you can see an overhead light reflected in the rod blank. The reflection will be as straight as a die and a good guide for your signature.
AgMD
I can’t add anymore on signing a rod that what AgMD said. But as far a decals goes, that depends on what type you have. For peel-and-stick, be extra careful not to let it stick to your fingers, or your finger print will become part of the rod. Use tweezers to lift the edges. Water-slides make a much nicer, cleaner decal. If you put it on right you won’t be able to see the edges. I usually toss the factory decal (don’t actually toss it, you’ll need it for a warrantee claim), and order a custom decal from Decal Connection. Also, DON’T scuff under a decal and make sure it’s going over a coat of finish, not bare-blank.
When doing a water slide, I see people talking about something called microsol. Do you have to use that, or can you simply apply epoxy, let it dry, apply decal let IT dry, then epoxy again?
Is it also reccommended to epoxy before using stick on decals?
And lastly, signing your name, is this done straight on the blank and then epoxy?
Harebear
When using a decal, I always put at least two coats of color preserver over the decal to protect it. Some of the rod finishes (i.e. Klass Kote) will dissolve a decal when applied directly onto the decal. Please don’t ask me how I know this :roll: After trying to write my name on a couple of blanks, I now just use decals from the Decal Connection. I include the information I want and put custom made by Jim Smith in the font I like. They come out great and look very professional. The Decal Connection are also terrific folks to do business with and offer outstanding service.
Jim Smith