I’m gonna shift gears and ask a different question. I have a couple of old rods that I’m pretty sure are fiberglass. Both have the same problem, Broken tip. Can they be restored or fixed, or does the age of these rods tend to make them brittle and have a tendency to break easily? Should I even bother? I’d love to try but I know very little about glass rods.
Glass is pretty durable. Depending on how far down the tip is broken may or may not affect how that rod casts. You should be able to glue a new tip guide on without any problem.
Tha’s what I was hoping to hear. I have my dad’s old “eagle claw” wright mcgill glass rod I’d like to refurbish. He had this rod for as long as I can remember, I’m not sure but I think he bought it in the 50’s or 60’s. What can I use to refinish the entire rod? or should I just redo the wraps only? Any ideas? There doesn’t seem to be much of a finish on it at all. Should I leave it alone?
There are two qualities that can make a glass rod worth refinishing. First some of those glass rods cast kinda nice. If you like to cast it , then it is worth refinishing. Second good reason – it was dads rod. That alone makes it worthy of any effort you are willing to make.
Gudbrod makes a rod restorer which sounds like the rod makers equivalent of auto body touch up paint, and a rod varnish to refinish the whole rod. I have no personal experience with either of these products , but you might find them to be of interest.
AgMD
Bear, Ive got a glass in the wings, however it will be new to me. Theres a guy who posts on here, dleo646, who refinishs both boo and glass. He went to fishin so may be jatlagged LOL You can look up some of his posts and email him. Hes helped me a lot.
The products AgMD said about are a very good choice…I’ve done several glass rods Restoration and new blanks with nice results using them both…
The Varnish is a light build coating that stays clear and flexible. There are some products out there that promise this…and do not deliver…I used it to seal the guide wraps as well as the rod’s finish…6 years and still good as gold…
HareBear,
Check out the yellow glass rod Dleo did on this link… It’s a work of art. I definitely think you should go-for-it given it’s also your father’s rod. It’ll
be a great keepsake.