Scratched rod - Advice needed.

[Gaffer]

One of my beloved rods had a tiny scratch on it. Around the scratch the dampness seems to have got behind the varnish.

I've gently picked away the 'lifted' varnish to about the size of a shirt button.

The rod blank isn't damaged at all, but what can I do with regard to the damaged area?

What varnish do I need?

Do I need to prepare the blank?

Should I get a pro to do it?

[Peter Waller]

If it were mine, & it was a carbon rather than a cane rod, I would have kicked myself for not noticing the scratch earlier! Had you done then a lighted match was all you needed. A quickly applied flame to the affected area would probably have done the job, the scratch would probably have disappeared. But as this has happened, to make the repair invisable, all you need is some Seymo High Build. Thats the stuff that modern rod builders use to coat rod whippings or wraps. It finds its own level before it dries, great stuff. Support rod with blemish upwards. A sharpened match is all you need to drop a smidgeon of High Build onto the affected area. Just apply a tad, you can always go back for more. It really only need to flow to where the existing coating has been pulled back to. If you over do it & it dries 'high' then use a lady's nail-board to file it flush with the surrounding area. To cover that up it pays to wet & dry the blank with 1000 grade wet & dry, then get one of those spray cans of varnish from B&Q, they work well, & spray the whole blank. Shouldn't come to that though. Good luck, if all else fails I know of a good auction site! Nice to see that someone takes care of their tackle.

[Gaffer]

Peter Waller:

If it were mine, & it was a carbon rather than a cane rod, I would have kicked myself for not noticing the scratch earlier! Had you done then a lighted match was all you needed. A quickly applied flame to the affected area would probably have done the job, the scratch would probably have disappeared.

Oh suger, if only I had!!

 

Peter Waller:

.......all you need is some Seymo High Build.

Many thanks indeed Peter.

 

Where could I get some from?

 

Are there any basic rod building/repairing books out there which show things like how to do whippings including the removal and replacing of.

 

I've kinda got a bug for this now.

[phonebush]

Gaffer,

You didn't say where on the rod or what the rod material was?

Probably ready to the ummm - ?dust bin? - is that what you call trash barrel.

Phone

[Gaffer]

Hi Phonebush, what's happened is that when my rod was broken in two (not litterally broken! - still made up - threaded), clipped together (Bob Roberts clips) and put into my Rod Sleeve, the last but one ring has rubbed against the butt section somehow.

 

Where the ring has rubbed the varnish has been removed the damp has got under it a little bit.

If I showed the scratch to anyone they'd probably tell me not to worry about it, but I do/will, I want it to be purfik.

 

To put my rods in the dustbin you'd have to prize them out of my stiff fingers!

[Newt]

Gaffer - in addition to selling all sorts of things for rod & lure making, http://www.mudhole.com has a ton of how-to articles.

 

They are my main source for rod building/repair supplies.

[ayjay]

Personally I don't give a fig for scratches on rods.Most of mine have been sprayed matt black and then allowed to get roughed up a bit. They all then look like crap but when I go for a wander they are still on the rests when I get back(bait out obviously).

 

I would advise against putting any form of heat near to a carbon blank they have a very strong tendency to disintegrate rapidly.

[Peter Waller]

AJP. I was very wary the first time I tried using a lighted match, on a very experienced angler's advice. The coating melts enough to fill the scratch. But don't try it if you feel at all worried about it.

[phonebush]

Gaffer,

Another thought, if you have a marine shop close at hand have them take a look and maybe they can suggest something. I seriously doubt you are dealing with varnish. I wouldn't do anything until I knew what coating I was dealing with. It would not be hard to make matters worse.

Phone

[ayjay]

Peter my experiences of heat on carbon are these:

 

Walking along with another angler he knocked his cigar butt onto his cloth rod bag without noticing, and by the time we reached the fishery all three sections of the rod were totally knackered.That may be an extreme case but the bag was only gently smouldering for a few minutes

 

The other case was with a blank that I had broken and I was messing about with the solid carbon tip section,I used a small piece of wire wool to remove the varnish and with literally just a couple of passes up and down the section it just fell apart,(a bit like a splayed twig at both ends) having already ruined that piece,and not being sure what had happened,it was of no further use so I did it again just to see what would happen with exactly the same result.I can only conclude that the small amount of heat generated by the wire wool caused this effect.

 

A quick pass with a lighted match may well do the trick on varnish but I would advise anyone to be extremely careful with heat near carbon rods.