SportFishing and Charters Forum - Has anyone ever refinished their rods?

I have 2 15 y.o. penn senator rods that are really showing their age. I've caught alot of fish on them and i feel they have good fish mojo. Has anyone ever had rods "redone" if so what did it cost?

Okay, so one sunday I decided to wax my rods with some good carnuba wax.

Thought what the hell, couldn't hurt. They look great.

I have never had them redone. But thought a lil waxin' wouldn't hurt ;?

will definatly try that on some other rods these the epoxy? is yellowing and chipping in some places

There is one thing you almost "must" do if you are going to use epoxy and get them looking better. The pros use a device called a rod dryer.....

Small motor and a clamp that holds the rod butt into a bracket and it slowly turns the rod while the epoxy is drying. I made one once I bought the motor. Made my own clamp using a 2" pvc "cap" and drilled and tapped three 1/4-20 holes around it. Put some thumb screws in the holes to hod the butt. Made a stand to hold the rod in several places.

Once the epoxy is brushed on, mount it in the rod dryer and run for a few hours.

Prob not worth the the cost of having them done

Easy enough to do them yourself.

how do you strip the old epoxy?

Take your rods to a shop that actually builds rods for an estimate. You're looking at the cost of replacing the guides as well as re-finishing the rod itself. I've done it for as little as Labor- $10.oo per guide, plus the cost of each new guide. If they're roller guides you'll end up paying more... Hope this helps, a competent rodbuilder/repairer can take old rods and make them like new again. If you're starting with good quality blanks and reelseats the work is well worth doing. If they were cheapies to begin with then just buy new rods and be done with it... Good luck, post up how it works out for you.

A shop by me does it. The cost varies depending upon what needs to be done, but assuming it is just re-wrapping and finishing the guides, he charges $10/guide for regular guides, $14 for guides with underwraps and $20/guide for triple wrap roller guides. That price only includes the thread and epoxy, new guides would be additional. If there is a decorative wrap to be redone that adds more.
generaly speaking, unless it is an expensive rod, it might not be worth it - things like UglyStiks and most Penns, Daiwas and the like are just cheaper to replace.

I do them all the time. With the economy the way it is now, more and more are doing that rather than getting new rods. It costs about $20 per guide for a rebuild. So, a 5 guide rod is about $100 and the redo of a butt wrap is $30.

Kevin

Are you talking about have another coat of Flex Coat applied? Sure it's worth it.

If the guides and wraps are ok it is an easy fix. First, lightly sand the surface with a fine grit sand paper. Be careful on the wraps if the threads are near the surface. You may be able to use a fine brass wool on the wraps. Next, dampen a clean cloth with lacquer thinner and rub the surface clean. Finish with a 2 part rod finish like Flex Coat or Pro Kote. Instead of brushing it on I apply it with my fingers to keep the finish very thin. With the thin coat it is not necessary to to turn the rod on a rod dryer but it is a good idea to turn in manually in the beginning every few minutes and increase the interval it until sets up. I have done many rods this way and it works fine. There may be better ways but this should serve your purpose.

If the guides and wraps are ok it is an easy fix. First, lightly sand the surface with a fine grit sand paper. Be careful on the wraps if the threads are near the surface. You may be able to use a fine brass wool on the wraps. Next, dampen a clean cloth with lacquer thinner and rub the surface clean. Finish with a 2 part rod finish like Flex Coat or Pro Kote. Instead of brushing it on I apply it with my fingers to keep the finish very thin. With the thin coat it is not necessary to to turn the rod on a rod dryer but it is a good idea to turn in manually in the beginning every few minutes and increase the interval it until sets up. I have done many rods this way and it works fine. There may be better ways but this should serve your purpose.

You shouldn't apply flex coat with your fingers. The oil in your fingers can cause fish eyes to appear in the finish. A good wipe down with denatured alcohol is all you really need. Go to a rod shop and ask them to put on a coat of Flex Coat Lite. The newly applied Flex Coat should be hit with a torch to remove air bubbles and then put on a rotisserie to dry for a professional looking finish.

It's quite a job to refinish rods. I have refinished my 20s, 30s, and 50s twice. They were built in the middle 70s on J. Kennedy Fisher blanks. I love the action so refurbishing the rods was a good idea.

Cutting the epoxy and thread that holds the guides on is relatively easy since the epoxy generally peels off once you cut it. You don't want to score the surface of the blank. I wet sanded the blank after I got all of the epoxy off. Once the blank was smooth, a can of epoxy paint put two light coats on and then the guides were cleaned up and remounted. Remounting the guides took the most time. If you are not good with the thread, take the newly painted rods to a guy who is good with threat and finish.

No big deal. I build and repair my rods all the time. Close friends are sometimes known to receive a custom built rod as a gift.

A friend of mine who is a rod builder just reworked an old school Cod rod that we have had forever. We loved the rod but the guides were not braid friendly and the fore grip was too short. Now it has modern guides (even spiral wrapped them) and a new longer fore grip. Nice...and the parts cost about $40.00. Lots of labor though, but that was free in this case.

Reference applying flexcoat with fingers I agree with ThreeLittleFish that there are better ways. However, if you are looking for a quick inexpensive fix on an old rod rubbing it on works fine. I have never tried another method of rubbing it on but possibly latex gloves or something similar would work well. This method as opposed to brushing applies a very thin coat that drys quick, looks good and lasts.