In my experience, the blank finish will let you know how long to leave it on. Some rods I've done have seen substantial progress in 15-20 minutes, while others its hours or overnight.

It can be difficult to wipe off after letting it sit for awhile since it crusts over/dries, at least in my climate. I use a plastic putty knife and then hose it down and use a rag to dry/wipe off any remnants and then reapply if needed. If it's good to go I wipe it with DNA before doing anything else to it.

Don't assume the blank is stripped completely until you hold it under a good light to double check. I almost always miss small spots. The last rod I did I skipped that last step and when I was wrapping it noticed some spots I overlooked.

Any liquid stripper bears watching. Having refinished furniture and gun stocks, the time it needs to do its work depends as much or more on the composition of the finish being removed, and how old it is. I believe damage to the blank itself will be minimal because the resin used is heat set, but watch it anyway.

BB

I, too, doubt there is much risk of damage from citrus stripping products, but there is really no reason to find out. The butt section that will subsequently be covered by the reel seat could certainly be used as a potentially sacrificial test, but why bother. Instead, use a reasonable time period as suggested by the product instructions, shorter if unsure. Clean it up as recommended in the product instructions. If it hasn't removed the finish or softened it sufficiently, just do it over--and again if need be. Realize that someone could tell you--and completely reliably--that X minutes worked well on blank Y. Even so, different conditions of application could affect your result using the same time period. A different blank with a finish of different composition would be very likely to require a different time period--more, or less. So if in doubt, start with less and repeat as results require.

I usually use two applications of citrus strip. The first to get the majority of paint or whatever off. I watch but usually 12 hours. I wrap in aluminum foil. I use more care if the rod blank already has pockets where the original varnish has worn away because the citrus strip can become lodged in those pockets and you may get pink specks after a thorough rinse of water.

I apply a second coat and wait for a few more hours to remove the more stubborn bits of paint. Works well for me and have been please with the results.

Have fun.