Ok Im refurbishing a rod for a buddy, and when removing the eyes, I found this white tape (I think) or some sort of white paint under the wraps....Is this a common thing for older rods, and if so does anybody know a easy way of getting this stuff off??
Or do I just wrap over it?
Also when removing all the eyes I noticed the tip top look to be mechanically crimped onto the rod tip...Again is this normal for old rods??? Do I have to cut it off???

thanks for any help, Ernest Cameron

Sounds like an old and possibly solid fiberglass rod. Lay a single edge razor flat on the blank to slice through the tape on one axis and peel it off then clean the residue with alcohol. If it is paint a little heat from a flame or heat gun should soften it for removal with a craft stick. Be careful not to damage the blank with too much heat by not letting it focus on any area for more than an instant. The old tip top will probably have to be cut off just below the tube with a file or fine toothed saw. Tape below the spot where you will cut to help avoid tear out.

White is sometimes used under the wraps so as to make the thread color more vibrant. Whether you remove it or not, depends upon what you are trying to achieve with the rebuild, original look or not.

Assuming this a fairly inexpensive rod, the white portion is most likely a vinyl tape.

.................

I have seen some with vinyl tape used as an under wrap on repairs I have done. Made to look like the manufacturer did an under wrap.

thanks for all the help guys, this will help me a lot, again thanks.

Ernest