I watched an older VHS on rod building and noticed the guy never went off the wraps with his rod finish at all. He also stated that the finish would "wick" and going off the threads was not needed when NO color preserver was used. The threads would absorb the finish and protect the wraps just fine. Going past the wraps was not needed at all. Odd?

DR

Artie Hebert, right?? I thought it was kind of odd but then again, I almost always use CP!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

A guy named Roy Brauer on the East Coast did the same thing on MANY saltwater rods claiming the same thing....his wraps rarely failed.but some of the old school gurus of rodbuilding denounced this behavior as being a "Fuax Pas".....its a very VERY clean look.

NERB that types with a bar of Ivory soap in his mouth.

Hi Guys.

I do not use CP, and I normally do not extend the finish past the wraps, on my guides. If I do by accident, I wipe it back to the edge of the wrap, with an alcohol moistened paper towel.

I personally like the way this looks, although it does leave the thread on the outer edge of the wrap susceptable to wear, if the finish coating the thread gets worn off.

I do extend the finish past the bottom of the wrap, on the female ferrule only (On one rod that i did not do this, the finish wore off and the thread started to fray).

In spite of this, I still like the way it looks, and will keep doing it.

Funny you should post a question to begin this discussion. Over the years, the argument to apply finish only to the wrap, or extend the finish beyond and onto the rod blank, has come up, so if you conduct a search through the website's archives, you might find some interesting interaction. Last night, I was thinking about posting a similar question, since there seems to be a number of newer members posting......

One of the first rod building books I read was a book on building fly rods written by L. A. Garcia. I found his logic for keeping the finish on the wrap insightful and compelling. I became an instant convert. With every rod I have built over the last 8 years or so, I have always aimed at applying the finish only to the wraps. At least to the fresh water rods I build. I see no reason to extend the finish past a wrap. It adds nothing such as strength to the wrap, or any additional security to the guide. I find it more of a chore to remove finish from the blank as opposed to residual finish left in the wrap area. I have yet to experience a guide failure due to following this method.

To make a job come out right, paying careful attention to detail is important. I apply finish to the outer edges, and fill in the voids of all of the wraps before working on the "main" body of each. I use a small diameter crochet-needle that I have honed to a fine-point to apply the finish. It has been good enough for L.A. Garcia, and it has been good enough for me.

If applying CP to wraps beforehand was so bad, you would think the stuff wouldn't be selling as much as it has. I think that there are many builders out there that do use the stuff, no matter who makes or sells the stuff, and they had never experienced a failure due to applying CP to the threads.
I'm a believer that good guide and rod prep, evenly-wound wraps, and making sure the tag ends are secured under the wrap with adequate tension, is what makes the guide securely adhere to the blank. The finish is there to preserve and protect the wrap.

Until someone shows me real data that applying CP is detrimental to the wrap, I'll continue to use it when the mood and need strikes me.

PS., I also always shoot for a one coat, low-build finish, even when I use Flex-Coat High Build.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2007 03:02PM by Patrick Vernacchio.

There is a trick for rounding the finish off the end of the wrap that looks very nice. I showed it to Andy Dear a few years ago and I believe he starting using it. I'd do an article on it, but because each finish handles a little differently it becomes difficult to provide one set of instructions for all of them.

This is something I might add to a seminar at the ICRBE in February. I think it's the best of both worlds.

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What is low build?

Generally, the water thin finishes such as any of the "Lite" versions or things like varnish or PermaGloss.

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Dewey,
As Tom pointed out, I do refer to low build finishes such as Flex-Coat Lite, and I occasionally use PermaGloss, which I believe gives great protection without the attending build-up, or need to "wick" away the finish during rod turning. But I do use high-build finishes such as Flex-Coat or Crystal Sheen. In fact, I use just about any finish available, and still work towards a thinly-built finish on my wraps. I'm not adverse to a little texture once the application dries--if all else looks good.

Tom, As much as I would like to attend the ICRBE, I don't see that happening any time soon. I'd welcome some insight on your tips in a future article if you can ever work out the details.

Thanks for the info