protecting rod and guide wrappings

Question
i have a shakespear wonderod -casting-6ft-3 piece- what can i use to coat/protect the rod/guide wrappings?    my dad would use clear nail polish.   is this still used or is there something better? thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Tom,

No nail polish!!!

The proper fix is a two-part rod finish epoxy.  You mix the two parts thoroughly and apply them to the thread wraps with a small disposable brush.  Its a very slow curing epoxy that will take about three hours to set and about 24 hours before it loses its tack completely.  It is a rock hard surface that will flex with the rod blank.

If you have a rod building shop or a fly tying shop in the area they will probably have this.  If not, it is available on line many places.  I use Flex-Coat, but there are a lot of different ones on the market.  For small quantities, Cabelas has it available in small one-rod packets.  Clip the ends and squeeze out the A&B packets and you have the perfect amount and mix ratio.  I just looked and the pack of 6 is 2.99.  You can keep it around for later fixes or it actually works well for a lot of home projects.  Its like small quantities of bar-top finish.

In a pinch, go to the hardware store and get a good quality (non yellowing)30 minute epoxy.  Its not as flexible but its 100x better than using nail polish.

In any case you will have to rotate the rod for about 3 hours so the finish doesn't sag to one side during curing.  Prop the rod horizontally, put the finish on, and watch a football game.  Turn the blank 90 degrees  every 3-5 minutes for the first 30 minutes, 5-10 minutes for the next 30 minutes, and 10-15 minutes for the next two hours.  For us in the business, we have 3-5 RPM motors that we use to do this.  You can make one if you have an old bar-b-que rotisserie motor.

Good luck and if you have any problems, write back.  No nail polish!

Marc