Repairing Garcia Conolon rods

Question
I have a Garcia Conolon B501-D.  Everything is tight on the road..wrappings, line guides...except the hook holder at the top of the handle.  The wrapping is tight but the epoxy is beginning to crack and potentially flake away.  Can this be repaired in some fashion?  Would I want to remove the old epoxy before applying new?  And what products would I use to remove and reapply.  Is there a technique for doing this other than great care and meticulous application.  If you can not help me, can you point me in the direction of someone who could?

Answer
Dick,
You might be able to take care of it yourself but I recommend you get guidance.
Your local fly shop will have someone who can do it or teach you in a class.
It is easy to scratch the rod finish when removing the epoxy so, yes great care and meticulous application is required. Usually I can get a piece of the old epoxy and peel it off in one piece. Sometimes a very sharp knife is needed to get it started. I have done similar repairs and I covered scratched finish with thread.
You need a jig and experience to rewrap the guide or hook keeper.
Then you use 12-24 hour epoxy to cover the thread.
Finally you spin the rod while the epoxy dries at low RPM like 1 RPM- there's another jig /tool needed for this. You can see these jigs at http://www.flexcoat.com/products/equipment/
The rod is turned continuously as the epoxy dries so that centrifugal force maintains the epoxy in a cylindrical shape.
Luck,
Mac

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