Just picked up a sweet little Heddon 'glass 5wt that appears to be unfished but has taken quite a bit of abuse while in storage. I’ll probably fish it for a little while but some of the wraps are in tough shape and may not last.
At some point I’d like to refinish it and add a few guides (it only has 5). I was thinking of using perma gloss. Any tips for application?
I’d also like to touch up the signature area which is a bit scuffed but I’m not sure what type of ink or paint to use that won’t run when i apply the perma gloss over it.
The good news is that the grip and reelseat are in excellent shape and preliminary indoor testing reveals that it casts great.
You might consider trying some auto re-finishing compound first. ‘Mirror Glaze’ makes a series of fine polishing compounds used to remove swirl marks in auto paint finishes.
You might be surprized how many of the defects can be polished out. Use several grits, course for blending flaws and fine grit for a satin finish or extra fine for a mirror polish. Just hand rub using a soft cloth and lots of muscle.
I recently used what they now sell as Gudebrod Speed Coat Rod Restorer on a glass rod I’m working on. This stuff is for the blank finish only, not the wraps. I would not have bothered except I’ve had the stuff in my rod building kit since before graphite 
It goes on easy with a brush, one coat.
If you spray some Krylon Fixatif over the signature it will keep whatever ink you used from “lifting”. For example a Sharpie marker will run/smear when coated with finish but if I spray it with Krylon it won’t.
I’m hesitant to sand or scrub the blank too much until I can tell if the honey color (which I like) is paint or if it’s part of the glass.
I tried fixatif in the past over paint pen and had it run so i wiped it clean and just used the sticker that came with the blank… I did not use the Krylon brand however, so i guess i’ll give it another try on a junk rod.
Anyone use permagloss to finish the wraps too? I want this rod to look pretty original when done and thought permagloss might look like a varnish finish on the wraps.
Another option I’m cosidering is a very thin coat of LS epoxy.
Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
I really like the perma gloss…so much so that I use it on even my graphite rods as well. several applied coats can give you an outstanding finish that is very durable and aesthetically appealing as well. Here is a shot of a couple of the wraps I did on a Lamiglass 7’6" 4 piece, 3 wt that I built for smaller mountain streams.
these wraps probably have 15 to 16 coats of perma gloss applied with the rod on the rod dryer at 36 rpm…came out pretty nice
Leo - how do you apply the permagloss to the blank, just brush it on?