Hey guys I was wondering what yall use to clean excess epoxy off of your rod blanks? I have read some people saying to use acetone and others saying you should stay away from it. So anyways I just would like to know what you think the best thing to use for cleaning rod blanks? Thanks!

Cameron,
When I first started building rods, the blanks I used were fiberglass and rather resistant to to the use of Acetone or MEK (Methylethylketone). I used these solvents to remove any adhesive (we used liquid rod cement which was essentially Pliobond) and we used varnish for our finish. I built primarily on Harnell and Sila Flex blanks and they were pretty resistant to acetone or MEK. However there were some blanks that had a gel coat finish and these were quite susceptible to acetone and MEK.

When I built on a graphite blank for the first time, I tried to use Acetone, but the finish on the blank began to soften and peel away. Today I don't use either of those solvents. In addition to the damage they can cause to many rod blanks, they are dangerous to use except in a very well ventilated space.

I now use denatured alcohol and sometimes rubbing alcohol. Epoxy glues are rather easily removed with denatured alcohol (DNA) if they have not fully cured. My suggestion is that you take the butt section of the blank that will be covered by the grip or reel seat and rub with with any of the solvents mentioned in this post. If the surface shows any sign of softening or peeling (you can use your fingernail to check), I would not use that solvent on your rod blank.

Mike Blomme

That helps a lot, thank you I appreciate it!

Acetone works, but is likely harsher than you need. The alcohols seem to be plenty strong enough for epoxy clean up.

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Awesome thanks yall!