Rod varnish, epoxy?

Hi
How important is rod varnish or epoxy?
Down side to using it?
Recommend brands if you think its important.
Thanks


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I use varnish, a couple of coats and steel wool lightly and then redo the process, get a good buildup and add one last coat. It is very durable. My 2cts

I think rod flex is the one I used. I just did the joints because I didn’t want to add the weight, albeit just a little, to a lightweight buggy whip. Can always add it later if it shows wear or gets scuffed up.

Think rod finish adds stiffness?

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Flex coat was what I used and while I don’t feel it adds stiffness to a noticeable point, I think it does add weight. Don’t know if it can be thinned and make it a lighter coat or not but that’s a thought to consider. As you will find, heating with a heat gun while it rotates and cures helps to bring the small bubbles to the surface and helps funny looking spots flow a little better.

Depends on how much you build up Flex Coat its going to add a small amount of weight. This is how I put finish on a rod.
I have a epoxy warmer and warm both bottles (part A and part B) up then mix the warm epoxy together. This thins the epoxy out with out adding anything to the mix. I have seen old school guys add alcohol to the mix but would never myself.
The first coat I put on heavy take use my alcohol burner to help thin the epoxy out to soak into the threads faster. Give it a few min to soak and then go back and take as much as I can get back off. When it dries I can or almost can feel the threads.
I always warm the epoxy and add thin coats until I get what I'm looking for.
Every coat after the first is basicaly what you see is what you will get. The thread will already be soaked so nothing will soak any of the epoxy up to change the look you are seeing.

I personally think Flex Coat is the best option but tons of rods were made before it was a around. Almost every production rod is made with flex coat or something just like it.


You don't have to have a epoxy warmer on a side note, it just helps thin it out. I would put it on the same with or with out the warmer

Flex coat has been around a long time. I used it in the 90's

I use Threadmaster Lite.

I use Rod Dancer Varnish - it is strong, easy to work with, and light. I have done 4 fly rods, 3 spinning rods, and several guide replacement projects and it has not failed in any way. Good stuff.

I used Rust-Oleum 207008 Spar Varnish. So much better than those water-based varnishes. This stuff protects almost forever. We used to use this kind of spar varnish in the Navy to protect the woodwork exposed to salty air.

Since these last posts of mine, I’ve learned that flex coat comes in lite and hi build formulas. I think it would be best to visit their site and learn the differences and applications for the two who know lots more about it than I do.

You can mix and match them to get different thickness's as well. Most people use the light build on UL to bass or inshore rods and the high build on builds for heavy power fresh water - inshore to off shore rods. Now days I do one thin coat of light to cover the threads and take as much as I can off then on the second coat put a thin coat of high build. It makes it so I only have to do 2 coats normally, and it seems to even out a little better over longer wraps and decals. The high build is a little stiffer then the light build when it comes to how much flex it takes from the rods action.

Thanks, Mr Corley. Answers a lot of the questions I had. Doing mostly light rods I now need to get some lite and see how it works for me.