I am new to rod building and may not use the right terms. I have several 25 year old All Stars that I want to strip and rebuild with new guides. The biggest issue is the "finish coat", "top coat", or "clear coat" on the outer surface of the rod blank is coming off in places I guess from years in the sun. I want to take that all off. I am OK if my final product is not shiny like the original but more of a matte finish. How do I get that off?

I have read the post below regarding "Removing Epoxy", so if "Epoxy" is the right term, I guess I understand the process.

The coating on the blank is probably a urethane. You can scrape it off, or perhaps try a gentle finish remover like Citri-Strip.

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

Steve,
Whenever I want to redo an older rod as you mention, I just go for the Gusto so to speak and take it down to the raw blank - whether it is graphite or fiberglass.
When I get it that far, I use wet and dry sandpaper, starting with about 320 grit going down to 1000 grit used wet. Then I rinse the blank well and rebuild the blank from there. Normally, with an older rod like these, I also cut off the grips and reel seat and redo everything.

Going down to 1000 grit used wet gives the blank a matt finish as is common for several different brands of rods. By removing all of the finish, you end up with the blank being the lightest possible weight.

p.s.
The sanding comes after the Citri-Strip and scraping that removed about 95% of the finish.

Take care

Steve,
Citrus strip along with very fine steel wool and a scotch brite pad will be your friends. I have stripped many of the All Star IM 10X blanks (the blue ones) to a raw carbon finish. It works wonderfully, it will take some time and some good ole elbow grease but you will be very pleased. You just need to make sure that you completely rinse them in pure fresh water before beginning to build on them. A utility sink, hose or guest shower work great!!

Tom