Monty Rapidan Questions

[TFHough]

I have acquired a 7 1/2', 2/1 Monty Rapidan with a D/L screw seat over a (cedar?) wood spacer, yellow wraps tipped with maroon. It sports the expected yet shockingly sparse 3 guides on the tip. It is my understanding that this particular model has a better reputation than most of this brand's offerings and my research shows that I'm probably missing a tip from the original package. I have lawn cast the rod and found that it handled a DT4 ok and punched a WF5 into a good breeze.
I want to clean this rod up yet preserve as much of the original as is practical. Obviously a rewrap with more guides is in order as is a refinish (the present finish is thick and drippy). The butt cap is loose but resetting the pin looks doable and I think that some careful sanding can save the cork.
My questions:
1- What is the recommended way of removing the heavy varnish from the cork without
damaging it? Solvents of some sort to speed things up or just careful sanding?
2- The ferrules are worn but join nicely and show no cracks. Is there any advice on sprucing
them up other than an alcohol swab?
3- Advice on resetting the pin on the butt cap? I know I can just glue it back on, but I would
rather try the pin first.
4- Finally, can anyone decipher the cryptic, faded "code" on the label? It looks almost like a line
rating of some kind, but I can't make heads nor tails of it.
Thanks in advance to the tried and true, hive-brain here on this site.

Though

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

The cryptic code is 2 PC FLY. If this is the light trout version, it will make a nice 4/5 wt rod. show us the female ferrule. Use DNA & 0000 steel wool to strip the varnish, scraping around the label with a flat edge razor rather than using DNA there. Montague made 7 1/2' 2-piece rods in only a few grades.

[TFHough]

Thanks!

[waltryan1]

The 2 piece Montagues (and the 2 piece H-I rods)are in my opinion better than the run of the mill rods from those companies. I have owned and fished both. The grip shouldn't be varnished. It may just be very dirty from hears of sweat and fish slime. If that is the case a mild dish soap and a soft rag will probably do the job.
The ferrules are probably pinned.
Be sure to protect (save) the decal.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Looks to me like some did varnish the grip. I've seen way too many rods with varnished grips.

[waltryan1]

If it is varnish I would try a mild paint stripper. I think trying to scrape it off would really damage the cork.

[Skimpole]

I stripped heavy varnish from the grip of an Old Faithful 8645. It was not an improvement, yielding a soft and crumbly and crummy feeling grip. You may want to take this fishing and see if you get used to it. I don't recall what I used to strip mine. I wound up putting a new grip on.

Good luck.

[tapermaker]

I stripped heavy varnish from the grip of an Old Faithful 8645. It was not an improvement, yielding a soft and crumbly and crummy feeling grip. You may want to take this fishing and see if you get used to it. I don't recall what I used to strip mine. I wound up putting a new grip on.

Good luck.

this is the case more often than not. I would do a cork replacement on this nice monty. I do it w/o removing seat or stripping the butt. i split the rings and slide them into place, staggering the cuts glue and binding w/ cotton thread as i go. once it dries i mask off above the signature wrap and clamp in my lathe for turning . I make a map of the diameter every 1/2 " so i can replicate the grips exactly.

[TFHough]

By the time I had removed the HEAVY varnish on the cork, it was clear that it just has to be replaced. It was a small, short grip and a replica was not likely to be found, so I'm going with a Fenwick style which I have used in the past when trimming the cork to size would be necessary. In a perfect world, I would glue some cork rings together and make my own grip, but alas, a 1 bedroom, 2nd-floor apartment doesn't make that possible.
I'm still going to keep the original wood seat. The hardware is in nice shape and the wood will be easy to refinish along with the rest of the rod. There is not much decal, but I always save whatever is left. The ferrules are in good working order; no cracks or clicks, and still pop but they have lost a bit of shine.
Any more advice is appreciated!

T

[OldCane]

Your Rapidan appears to have the better NS Montague ferrules as found on the 7 1/2' Fishkill. Not all of the short Rapidan rods were so lucky.

IMHO, the grip should be matched to the original, but you know about opinions......