Varnish Touch Up Question

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tonymccall
Sport
Posts: 42
Joined: 07/20/22 09:52

Varnish Touch Up Question

#1

Post by tonymccall »

I’m trying to cover all my bases with a new to me phillipson rod before taking it to the water and I have another question:

There are a few small scratches in the finish. I want to cover them and re-cover the thread wraps before going to the water. What is the best way to proceed with that? I’m thinking Helmsman Spar Urethane applied with a small brush, but I’m wondering if I should thin it any. If so, with what? At what ratio? Is there anything else I should do?

Another question: This rod has nylon thread so no color preserver is needed. However, the next one I’m prepping has silk threads. What should I use for a color preserver before applying the urethane to the silk threads?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice, I sincerely appreciate it!!!
Last edited by tonymccall on 09/28/22 23:07, edited 1 time in total.

tonymccall
Sport
Posts: 42
Joined: 07/20/22 09:52

Re: Varnish Touch Up Question

#2

Post by tonymccall »

Image

This is one of the areas I need to repair.

JoeBolt
Master Guide
Posts: 638
Joined: 10/27/21 18:37

Re: Varnish Touch Up Question

#3

Post by JoeBolt »

Searches may rabbit hole you. 86 hits for chipped varnish. Hook Nick is worse. Helmsman, 5:1 w/ mineral spirits. Daubed with the back end of a cardboard match. 3-6 tiny coats. Blend horizontally only slightly to seal. Wipe off at coat 3-4, depending on the depth of dig. 2hr. tween coats.
Slightly thinned Helmsman on a paper towel is quite fun. A Monty, NOT a Phillipson comment, but I'm Helmsman all the way for a small job. And I know nothing.

DonT
Master Guide
Posts: 553
Joined: 11/12/15 23:49

Re: Varnish Touch Up Question

#4

Post by DonT »

This is good advice. It’ll work fine. To coat the wraps you can just cover them with warmed varnish (a thin (!) coat or two) using a good quality small artists paintbrush and keeping the varnish line just at the edge or just over the edge of the wraps. This is best done on a rotating rod dryer if you have one but can easily be done on a rod wrapping stand too. For the silk wraps, you can either make them translucent with thinned Flexcoat followed by varnish, or make them opaque with one of the commercial latex color protectors or alternatively with shellac, which is my personal preference, then varnish them. I have also used lacquer which works quite well too. There are many, many threads here on doing all this. Good luck
Don Titterington
Desert Canyon Rods
West Linn, OR
Repairs/Renovations
Custom Builds

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Lee Koch
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Re: Varnish Touch Up Question

#5

Post by Lee Koch »

From experience: If you take an old rod that had color-preserved wraps, and you overcoat the wraps with varnish, you will find out for sure whether the original lacquer that sealed and color-preserved those wraps had developed any cracks over the years. :-)

DonT
Master Guide
Posts: 553
Joined: 11/12/15 23:49

Re: Varnish Touch Up Question

#6

Post by DonT »

Hah, Lee’s right. Using unthinned varnish on the wraps will minimize this but it isn’t foolproof. To be clear you might see some dark streaks in the wraps where the varnish has gotten under the CP.
Don Titterington
Desert Canyon Rods
West Linn, OR
Repairs/Renovations
Custom Builds

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