I've built a few saltwater rods, and don't recall ever having this question addressed. After you prep your guide feet on a stainless steel guide frame, do you leave it as is, or do you put something on it to protect the naked stainless where the finish was removed? Does it matter?

Sorry everyone. I found where I had posted a similar thread a few years ago and had forgotten about it. Sure sign of old age. On another note, though, I had a few people mention to me that you NEVER want to use a Sharpie to re-color the bare stainless steel on a prepped guide foot. Apparently the ink in a Sharpie has a very high chloride content, so what you basically are doing is creating a perfect situation for a rusting problem. I recently purchased a couple of markers from a California company that specializes in marking pens of all types. I got two different brands that are designed to be used specifically on stainless steel without corroding due to minimal chloride and halogen content. Haven't used them yet, but hope to soon.

A question, if it is all stainless will it effected by salt water ?? or is it only a coat of stainless ??

William Sidney
AK

Bill, stainless will indeed rust.

I use a lite coat of black finger nail polish on black guides.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

Jay,
I beg to differ with you. If you looking for a SS which will not rust but yet is rusting, you are are using the wrong SS. There is a multitude of different SS alloys. The typical SS screws found in hardware stores are 301, 303 or 304, commonly referred to as 18-8 (18% chromium, 8% nickel). Yes, this SS alloy will rust, but immensely less than regular steel. It is a good, cost effective, corrosion resistant SS. If ultimate corrosion resistance is required, 316 SS is only surpassed by alloy 20, Nitrronic 60, A220 and A286 which are cost prohibitive, lack workability, and certainly not required for even any saltwater fishing apparatus. A fact which many fail to realize is that a typical steel screwdriver or hex bit may transfer a thin film of its material on a perfectly good SS screw which seems to rusts, leaving many to think the rust is from the screw rather than the driver used to screw it in.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Stainless steel is not rust proof, it is "corrosion resistant" and will rust in corrosive environments over time. However, stainless steel will corrode at a much slower rate than chrome alloy steel.

Ron Weber

Regular Sharpie pens contain a significant amount of chloride, a compound that causes pitting in metals, including stainless steel. Sharpe does manufacture a "TEC Marker" that is trace element certified to not contain significant quantities of chloride and are the preferred choice for marking metals. Nail polish or paints tend to be a safer bet. I use Testors paint to coat prepped guide feet.