I have inherited an old, full length, Fenwick SP847 rod blank that was built up as a surf rod, using a metal ferrule that fit into a hardwood handle and reel seat that was not included.

I decided to try and salvage the rod blank and build a saltwater casting rod using a Penn Squidder and 20lb. mono. I, very carefully, removed the windings and line guides as not to nick the blank. This left only the rod butt ferrule and the tip top. Under the windings is bare fiberglass and the unwound area has a coating which I'm hoping is varnish. My current inclination is to brush varnish over the un-coated areas where the windings were and sand the blank smooth, almost to the fiberglass itself. The only thing I would have to worry about is removing the tip and butt ferrule. Clear so far?

Perhaps some very hot water would break down the adhesive holding the butt ferrule and tip. I'm hoping not to have to cut the tip or butt from the blank. I could then recoat the rod blank, do some final sanding to polish the finish and then start the rebuild.

Where am I going wrong. Was there a favored finish, other than varnish 45-50 years ago? Would it even matter?

I thank you and await your collective wisdom.

Steve



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2017 01:52PM by Steve Delap.

Steve,
You can do as you suggest.

Or, you can strip the blank completely give it a coat of paint or leave it bare and rebuild the rod.

Your choice.

Good luck

Very unlikely you will be able to mach the old finish! If you intend to put new guides back on in the same locations, you do not need a coating under them. I agree with Roger, and favor stripping all the old finish off and the proceed with either a new finish or none.

I stripped and rebuilt an old glass Fenwick Sh1441 blank about six months ago, quite similar to your project. I wet sanded the whole blank without removing too much finish. just smoothed things up and knocked the shine off it. i coated it with permagloss after that, and it turned out nice. as for your old components, try loosening things up with a hairdryer first, it might loosen things right up.

I would love to strip it bare. What would be the best chemical stripper? I've been told not to use acetone as it will harm the fiberglass.

I'm assuming that it is not an epoxy. When I broke a thread free, pulling the thread would spin the rod blank and leave a clean area under the wrap. An epoxy coating would have been much more difficult to unwrap.

Of course I'm just guessing and am hoping that Rodbuilding.org can point me in the right direction. I've only completed one rod and that was 40 years ago. I have great hopes, several blanks and plans for many more.

The new guides will not be in the same locations. The original build on the SP 847 did not include the handle and reel seat. Used full length, the blank was built with a 4 inch steel ferrule at the butt, a number of wire spinning line guides and the overall length of the rod with handle came to over 10 feet.

Could you offer a suggestion for a good chemical finish remover that would not harm the fiberglass? I would hate to waste such a beautiful, gold, Fenwick classic rod blank.

Citristrip is a very good one.

CitriStrip x 2.

I hate to bring this up but on the Citristrip website, under the FAQ section, the manufacture recommended against use on fiberglass. They said that Citristrip could leave fiberglass in a "sticky" state.

Citristrip may, certainly, be trying to protect themselves against any liability. It may not effect all fiberglass in that manner. I think the thing to do is run a test on a broken rod sample.

I could test the Citristrip on a very small section which would be covered by the butt handle anyway. At the very least, I would find out how this specific blank would react.

Thank you Phil, Lynn, you've given me much to think about.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2017 08:55PM by Steve Delap.

is it a yellow blank ?? Fenwick back then used marine epoxy for finishing their blanks take some acetone and test a small spot to see if it would mess up the blank some place toward the tip top.
I have rebuilt several old fenwick rods and cleaned them with acetone and had no problems I have my old yellow 962 steel head rod and have replaced the guides 2 times and used acetone to clean it up.
Acetone has a high evaporation rate not like epoxy lacquer thinner.
It was probably finished with lacquer on the winding's was the popular coating for the time as for the tip top and ferrule you could use a heat gun carefully as not to get it to hot as it will break down the glass
I would scotch brite pad off all the finish and coatings and re paint it or as suggested perma gloss it

Like I said try a small spot just below the tip guide and see what the reaction is with acetone

The best day to be alive is always tomorrow !!
Think out side the box when all else fails !!!
Wi.

Yes, Matthew, It is a beautiful yellow-gold Fenwick SP847. I'm probably overthinking this but Fenwick rod blanks are no more so I cannot waste one.

I've been using Fenwick FS series rods since my grandfather taught me to fish. FS 53, 61, 68, 75, 85, a Fenglass Pacificstik 1870C, a homebuilt heavy boat rod that I built using a white LB967 blank and a bass Lunkerstik. My three HMGs just don't have the same magic. I gave away my Eagle, but I do like my Boron X. I also have a very light 2-pc fly rod blank and another 7ft. yellow-gold blank a bit lighter than the SP847. Then there were none.

Thanks, gents, you've been a great help.

I have used Citristrip on several ugly stix as well as an old Master saltwater rod with success and all were left coated for 24 hrs. The Master was left to sit for 24 hr.s several times. That being said I want no part in ruining someones old blank. It may not be necessary to allow it to sit for more than an hour or two depending on the finish. You can also wet a scotchbrite pad with it and scrub the finish off fairly quickly. Make sure it is very thoroughly rinsed off with clean water if you try. Some finishes almost fall off and some are a real B. As I said, I don't want you to ruin your blank but I wouldn't be afraid to try it. Whatever you do, good luck, Lynn

Thank you, Lynn.

If I enter a project with my eyes wide open, I could never blame anyone else if that project fails.

You mentioned the Ugly Stik. I have a couple of those. One, a real heavy "Louisville Slugger" type boat rod blank, the other suitable for a 30 lb. mono wound Jigmaster. Perfect for a loaner setup for a friend or relative. I should concentrate on those and leave the Fenwick until I have a chance to look at more of the back pages of this wonderful website. I started at the beginning and am about 100 pages in. Only 1200 to go. There's lots of stuff that will be very helpful to me.

It's too bad that Lamiglas is no longer making their yellow-gold fiberglass blank. I had a surf rod built on one. With it's blue diamond wrap and blue grips, it is beautiful to the eye and casts wonderfully well.

I think that most of you guys are pro rodbuilders. If not pros then very experienced amateurs. This is second nature to you. It's going to take me a little bit longer. It's great that you take your valuable time to share your knowledge.

"You know what you know and know what you don't know. It's what you don't know that you don't know that is the problem." Somebody must have said that.

And thanks for being patient while my mind wanders. At my age, it does that.

As usual, I operate from incomplete information. As I was in the Lamiglas website, looking for a suitable rod blank, I found a description of salt and inshore and also boat and trolling rod blanks that said that the honey colored blanks were still available. However, when you try the add to bag bar, it had no option for ordering honey.

I know that this post is off topic but I tend to wander off anyway. My next step is to E-mail Lamiglas and see the extent that the honey colored fiberglass blanks are still available.

Again, thanks for your patience. If I find the honey still available, I will post in a new thread.

Steve

Steve,
Pick up the phone and talk to a person at Lamiglas and discover the latest information on your question.

Good luck

Thank you, Roger.

I sent an E-mail to info@lamiglas.com. I'm sure that they will respond in time for me to find a proper blank. In the meanwhile, I have plenty to do, mostly, going over the early postings on this site. There is a wealth of information there. Then there is the testing of Citristrip on the Fenwick blank. Not to mention safely removing the butt furrule and tiptop.

I'm sure that a lot of you guys are familiar with Lamiglas products and their availability.

Please forgive me if I'm covering familiar ground.

Removing the tip.

I've been reading past postings in this forum. Someone suggested that the best way to remove a tip was to wire it to a fixed surface, apply tension to the rod in the opposite direction and heat the tip with a butane lighter. Pop, it should come off.

The idea about a lighter seemed like a bit of overkill. Why not a soldering iron? It would localize the heat and apply only enough that the instant the heat compromised the adhesive it would release, with the least intrusion on the blank.

A 40 watt freshly tinned iron worked like a charm. After allowing the iron to reach temperature, very judicious placement of the iron tip allowed it to be removed in about three seconds.

No excess heat anywhere, no muss, no fuss. Just a bit of pull on the rod blank.

Now for the butt ferrule. I'll just continue to read old posts and let my mind wander. It does that whether I want it to or not.

Regards, Steve

Got an E-mail from Lamiglas.

Select models of their beautiful honey colored fiberglass rod blanks are available. They can be ordered form Lamiglas dealers or direct from Lamiglas.

Of course, a lot of you guys probably knew that. I didn't.

Steve,

I recently refurbed a 40-year-old Sabre 196 honey glass rod and used acetone to help remove the old epoxy.
It worked fine.

Good luck,

Steve

For the Citristrip I would recommend testing a couple of inches of blank under the butt. You should find out quickly whether or not it is compatible with your blank.

Steve,
Since the acetone helped to remove the finish on the blank - I am guessing that you have removed a type of varnish that would be typical of blanks of that age.

Normally, acetone will not touch cured epoxy. But, since the finish is 40 years old, it is possible that it was a unique type of epoxy that is affected by the acetone.

Bottom line - the solvent worked for you to do the job that you wanted to do.

Be safe