Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Finish damage on fly rod

I've got a beautiful Winston rod, but there are spots on the rod where the finish has been striped away by bug spray and/or abrasion.

Is there some way to repair the finish damage?

And if there is a specific product you would recommend using please let me know.

Thanks!

I'd send it back to Winston. They may or may not charge you to fix it but even if they do it won't be too much and it'll be done right.

I'd like to hold off returning it to Winston for the time being. Maybe after a few more years of use. Just want to know if it's possible to touch it up myself.

As for not charging "too much" to refinish the rod, I'd be surprised if that wouldn't be a $200+ proposition! Do you have experience to the contrary?

I have experience with Orvis and Sage, and both were nice and neither charged me a dime. If you're going to charge someone five bills for a rod, expect to provide a bit of customer service. If you want to touch it up yourself, here's the stuff. Foil packets are nice, because you can open and mix and toss and not worry about contaminating the rest.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ndex&indexId=cat20368&hasJS=true

Not with a fly rod but a friend of mine had a Winchester Model 70 Super Grade that got something spilled on the stock and bubbled the finish. He sent it back to Winchester and they said that they chould not prove that it was not a factory problem so they stripped and refinished it for him for free. I did break my Sage once and they replaced the broken section for free. I'd give Winston a call and see what they say.

Back ...away ...from...the...rod...and send it to Winston.

Is the color coat completely worn away or just dulled? If the latter you could try toothpaste on a felt pad and polish it again. Rottenstone will also do the same on well oiled felt pad. Wet enough with light oil to make a slurry of the oil/rottenstone. Rub a bit and examine the result by wiping it clean frequently.

The damage is mostly in the form of tiny nicks except for one half-inch long spot back near the grip. There is where it looks like it came into contact with bug dope. The finish in that spot is stipped almost to the graphite. Minnesota mosquitos require the use of 100% DEET to even get their attention.

The nicks may very well polish out, I'll have to give that a try.

The exposed graphite may start to fuzz a bit...not at all good. The clear coating is to keep UV light from harming the poly used to fuse the carbon layers together, so at the very least, carefully apply just a scim coat of two part rod finish, (turned to keep from saging), IF Winston tells you the cost of a refinish is too unreasonable...Bill

I doubt Winston will charge much, if anything. In the past they repaired (for free) a few rods of mine that were purchased 20 years ago. Nicks in the finish will only get worse and, as Uncas advised, can cause some serious problems.

I'm not the original purchaser of the rod. Has anyone here ever returned a previously-owned rod to Winston for repair?

If so, what was your experience?

I have Winston Rods, they are of the best made, period. Don't mess around with it, send it back. There may be a slight charge, but it is worth it. If you don't want to send it back, let me know, I would be interested in it myself.

This just in from Winston:

"As far as repairing the finish on your rod we cannot do that. All we can offer you is to cover up the blemishes with a layer of coating material. That will seal the nicks however you will still see them."

TooTech:
The one near the grip may be resolved simply by wrapping the area with thread that matches the thread used on the rest of the rod and coating it with polymer rod finish.