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Anglers Collectibles INFORMATION * Denotes New Pages Bishop
Rodmakers E-Mail
Darrell |
Rod Restoration
Finishes - Varnishes, Lacquer, Shellac Spar Varnish - Spar Varnish or Marine Spar Varnish is the traditional finish on the majority or bamboo fly rods. There are several brands available today and genuine Tung Oil Spar Varnish is about the most difficult to find and most expensive at about $36.00/quart. However, I've found that many of the spar varnishes that are commercially available work fine. I use either a gloss finish or a semi-gloss spar varnish for most of my repairs and restorations, depending on the existing varnish. The semi-gloss I prefer when doing a repair and the old varnish is dull. To thin and clean your brushes, use ordinary paint thinner or mineral spirits. If the varnish is thick, you should either warm it up to 100-140 degrees F and or thin it with thinner. Usually heat alone does the trick. Some classic rod makers did not use a color preserver and simply used varnish on the wraps. Depending on the thread, the lighter the thread color, the more translucent the thread will become and with white thread, it will usually become invisible and is routinely used as an invisible wrap to repair or reinforce a rod or weak/damaged rod section. Tung Oil - Haven't used it. I do know that some of the high end classic rods used this finish and that a true Tung Oil finish has a very low waterproof resistance. So what that means to me is that water, moisture and water vapor can easily enter into the cane and that will greatly effect the action and casting of the rod. So, I don't recommend it's use unless the original rod finish was Tung Oil. Polyureathane Varnish - Modern rod makers often use this finish on their rods today and I believe I've read that Garrison used this finish as well on some rods. I haven't used this finish so I cannot really comment on it. I believe many are water based and I've heard that you cannot polish any flaws out like you can with spar varnish. Clear Lacquer - This is primarily used as a color preserver on the rod wraps. Be careful to avoid getting the lacquer on the cane as over time the lacquer will make the cane look lighter the rest of the rod. I use a 70/30"% thinned down solution for the first coat and full strength on the second coat. Use as little as possible. For cleaning or thinning, use lacquer thinner. Caution, highly flammable. Shellac - Also used as a color preserver on the rod wraps. Some of the classic rods used shellac instead of lacquer and as far as results, I've found the results similar to the lacquer. Generally I use lacquer unless the original maker used shellac, then so do I. The shellac I use is pretty thin so I use full strength. For cleaning or thinning, use denautred alcohol. Other non-traditional color preservers - There are many other alternatives and I've heard that many provide good results but there is too many variables so I'm going to avoid discussing them. I will mention that there are products sold as color preservers, some water based, others use polyureathane varnish as a c.p. and I've even heard people using Elmers white glue thinned as a preserver. Spar varnish, lacquer and shellac are available in small quantities for the convenience of the bamboo rod restorer. If you are restoring 1-2 rods, it's quite economical to purchase the supplies you need here as opposed to getting them at the hardware store. A one ounce bottle of lacquer for color preserver will do several rods. A one ounce bottle of varnish should be enough to refinish 2-3 rods. written by Darrell Lee 2000 |
