granger victory fly rod

Question
Rich,
I just came into possession of a Granger Victory bamboo rod that
is in need of restoration (finish cracked with some loose threads).I have restored aprox. 20 bamboo rods but nothing near the quality of a granger. My main concern is how to strip the rod
with out destroying the "Granger Victory" name ?

Also,can you recommend any books that go to this deepth ?


                             Thank you,

                                    John

Answer
John,
Books: The begriming of "Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook" by Michael Sinclair , probably in your library

The Fine Bamboo Fly Rod: A Master's Secrets of Restoration and Repair‎
by Stuart Kirkfield, difficult to find , expensive I looked through my copy and could see nothing about preserving labels or signatures. He is through on all other subjects in rod restoration you can think of .

my method of saving labels and writing:
 I use  - alcohol , stripper, one sided razor blades and cotton Q tips. I strip the rod as normal leaving about 1/8 to 1/4 inches of finish surrounding the label area. Then I get as close to the label / writing with q tips, applying a thin coat of stripper. I carefully scrape , stripper and finish only with the one sided blades.. If there is a box of discolored finish , I can carefully apply a very thin layer of stripper on the label and remove it immediately with alcohol, using the q tips and very light pressure. It can be done if you go slow and careful.

It has taken me the best part of an hour to write this up , please take a few seconds to provide feedback. Please remember I am a volunteer , the feedback is the only result I get from doing this.

Luck,
Mac

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