I have been asked to build a pair of trolling rods finished to match a boat. In the past I have successfully changed the color of rods using Permagloss with a gel coat coloring agent mixed in. This case is somewhat different in that the color is quite a bit different from anything I can buy. Obviously I can play artist and mix a custom coloring agent but I am wondering about just buying a can of gel coat from the boat manufacturer. I aready asked if they would tell me the mixing proportions but evidently they think their color is some kind of a trade secret. Have any of you used gel coat to finish a rod and how did it turn out? Intuititivly it seems like it ought to work since fiberglass boats do flex and are subjected to some tough environmental condidtions.

Thanks for your help,
CR

It will work but not very good. You should be able to get most places that sell the stuff to explain the mixing proportions to you. I can not understand why they wouldn't.

It is very heavy and thick compared to a urethane type coating. I really don't think you would like it. I tried it once and will never use it again. But if you do use it and get good results I'd sure be glad to learn what you did to get it to work well.

Charlie

I have never heard of using gel coat for a rod finish. I do own a fiberglass bass boat. In the spring I run that thing in some pretty shallow water. I get a lot of scraps and have even broken through the gel coat. I got a kit from my boat dealer for repairing it myself. I have noticed that the dryed gel coat, in a mixing cup, is a lot more brittle than I would have expected. Also, if you are familiar with fiberglass boats, when you drill holes in the fiberglass to mount things, you should counter-sink a shoulder around the hole. The gel coat will develope "spyder" cracks, supposedly because the gel coat is brittle and any stress against it will cause the cracks. Based on that I would not use it on a fishing rod. Hope that helps.

Bill Doherty

I sure don't want my Bass Boat flexing as much as my rods. I think I would stay away from the gel coat. I have painted many blanks with the custom colored paints you can get at a hobby shop. There is every color from pearls to metallics. Use the permagloss finish over it. Or use the dyes in the Permagloss like you have done in the past. Sounds like a better idea to me.

Bruce Young
Landing Gear

Gel coat is a polyester, and as such wouldn't adhere well to the epoxy resin used in the manufacture of the fly rod. Also, it wouldn't flex well, not to mention that you'd have a heck of a time getting a smooth coating. Gel coat is meant to be shot inside a female mold, so that the smooth finish is on the outside of the part, or next to the mold surface. The inside, next to the glass, looks like a very rough orange peel. Thinning gel coat to the amount necessary to achieve a smooth coat would drastically alter the exothermic process needed to cure itself. Gel coat can be extended with the use of styrene, ethylene chloride, and even acetone BUT the catalyst ratio must be adjusted properly, AND you'd still never get it smooth enough for a finish on a rod -- not that it would work even if you did.

Never considered use of gel coat for a fishing rod, but wouldn't also it add quite a bit of weight to a fine blank? I'd agree with Bruce's idea and use the hobby spray paints with thin coat of perma gloss.

Rich
Solyrich Custom Rods

Hey Charlie I have never used gel coat Howerer, the color pigment that is used to color gel coat can be mixed with flex coat . You can come up with some interesting patterns. Ihave epoxied guides using this pigment/epoxy mix with no failure. You can also flame this mixture and come with "art" Ido suggest you practice on scrap blank or dowel. The color pigment can be gotten in a good marine supply store Good Luck Izzy

take a sample of the color down to a place that sells auto paint, some of them have a computer with a little electric eye on it tha will match it exactly, and some can even put it in a spray can for you if you don't have a spray gun or airbrush. I have heard you can even get a flex-agent added to it. For use on those nice strong plastic car bumpers. I once sprayed an old rod with auto touch up paint, then covered the whole thing in flex-coat. although there is probably a better method of finishing it, its been 6 years and as far as I know the rod is still going strong.

charlie,
i've used latex spry paint ( off the shelf) to color a blank. it worked out well. finished it with flex coat. the latex will flex and not crack.

charlie,
i've used latex spry paint ( off the shelf) to color a blank. it worked out well. finished it with flex coat. the latex will flex and not crack.