I've one of the original penn sidewinders, I've had it for about 1 year now. The only thing is everytime i use it in the wet, the whipping finish blisters badly, turning from the bright yellow finish to white bumbs. this wasn't a mojor problem as the blisters abaited once dry. However, on a recent wet trip(dont think ive fished in the sun at all this year :S) the blisters have remained.

Has anyone else had similar problems with the penn rods, or can suggest any cures other than a complete re-build?

:cool: It's probably worth asking for a new one as quite a few of the early Penn beach rods suffered from poor finish. Cheap enough for Penn to replace it as a good will gesture.

Do you have a contact address for penn Uk, so as to enquire?

etivejunkie you could try here uk address at bottom.
http://www.pennfishing.com/contact.html

Sent an email to Neil Mackellow at penn, see what happens!

Cheers guys