I once stripped some old Fenwick pieces that were cut into blanks - same problem the finish was coming off. I sanded with fine steel wool (which I would not recommend if the stripper does a better job) and then finished with Flex Coat. But I did something different and it turned out looking really sharp.

I did no finishing until the guides were wrapped on. I then finished the wraps first as you normally would before finishing the whole rod. Once the finish on the wraps looked good, I thinned the Flex Coat and finished the entire rod as if the blank and guides were all one piece. The guide wraps ended up looking as if they were a part of the finish it looked really nice.

I would not normally recommend this method but in a case where the entire rod needs finishing it really produces a spectacular look.


------------------
--------
Let No One Walk Alone
><))))'>------<'((((><
Bill