I have built several dozen rods over the years but never stripped one down, especially glass, and rebuilt it from scratch. I love the action on a recent rod that I found stashed away in the crawl space, its nothing special but I figure it would be a great rod to practice on. It's a red blank, which I believe is not painted but the red dye was right in the fiberglass sheets/resin. After reading around on here I decided to wet sand it as opposed to citrus strip. I picked up 600, 1000, & 2000 grit paper and will gradually work down. Any other tips I should know above before I start diving into this? What would be a good varnish to re-seal with once its sanded down?

Thanks,

EoB

Sorry I left that bit out, I will be replacing grip, reel seat, along with all the guides. I am also going for translucent wraps.

This may also sound like a dumb question but when sanding a blank down should I be sanding lengthwise along the blank sections at a time or rotating/spinning it between the sandpaper?

Having done a couple of these I'll give you my two cents.

I would really recommend wet sanding if you aren't already. It will keep the paper from loading up with varnish to quickly. I like to sand along the length working in small sections at first and running the whole length with the finer grits.

I use spar varnish for finishing the blank, there are lots of different techniques for getting a good finish.

I have sanded the older graphite blanks down with no problems but I wouldn't try it with the newer thinwall blanks.I don't think glass will take sanding as well as graphite,and I sanded a glass rod down too much and ruined it.I was using coarser wet sandpaper than you are using.With 600 grit there shouldn't be many problems.Actually you shouldn't have to go any finer than 600 grit as that will leave a very smooth finish.

What I have done with old glass rods like yours is strip them with a paint remover like Safety Strip, the good stuff that takes ther finish right off and never had a problem. Citrus strip takes for ever. What you end up with at that point is a somewhat pores finish on the blank, the weave of the glass will be very apparent. Then wet sand it with 400 and 600 grit and finish with 4000 steel wool. Wipe it down with mineral spirits and finish it with multiple coats of Min Wax Wipe on Poly in the Gloss. Lightly steel wool between coats and after about 5 or 6 coats + or- you will have a nice smooth durable finish.

Curious as to why theres so much debate between safety strip vs citrus strip? Do people either love one or the other? The general consensus seem to be citrus strip

Since the discussion has drifted from how-to-sand, let me add the angle of why sand this blank at all? As I understand it, the color you want--or are stuck with--is in the blank, not on it, just as we would have with the brown of a typical "tobacco 'glass" blank. If you are dressing the blank to modify its action, that's one thing. Otherwise, it just doesn't sound like there is a finish on this blank that needs removing. Are you just wanting to correct superficial cosmetic damage or add a protective layer of finish? All that requires is thorough cleaning, and a very slight scuffing of the surface to ensure adhesion of the new finish, and one more clean-up, wipe off. A whisp with fine sandpaper with minimal pressure, or fine steel wool (very little pressure, followed by a pass with a magnet to remove particles), or a swipe with fine polishing compound--any of these will prep the blank just fine. Spar varnish or your preferred rod finish will make micro "sanding" marks disappear.

Once I get all the guides, grip, and reel seat removed I will post photos of the blank, the actual finish is in great shape in most of the spots on the rod but there are some where its flaking. I wanted to totally sand it off and the re-apply a new finish coat on it before building it out

For some older Montague, Mohawk, Horrocks & etc "tobacco" rods, I've just used normal stripper to quickly remove the old finish ( no harmful effects) and then lightly sanded with 400 then 600 grit to smooth it out. But these types of fiberglass can be a bit porous, and so the first coat of finish will often gain some small bubbles from within as the finish cures. So, I've needed to lightly sand again to knock those down, followed by the final coat before wrapping the guides.

These "Tobacco" rods are seriously pretty once the old finish is completely removed and the weave is made apparent with new finish. One in particular with red wraps with metallic gold tips really complements the tobacco color nicely.