Still wet behind the ears and haven't figured out the Search feature yet. My question has no doubt been covered in the past.

Do the binding resins used in old fiberglass rods have a life expectancy? I've begun fishing some of my 40+ year old glass rods. Are they in any danger of failure because of their age?

If it looks good it's probably OK. Moisture is not good for polyester resins and UV is bad for everything - damage will most likely be visible.

Okay, guess I'm worrying for nothing. Thanks for the replies.

I'd say lasts indefinitely with minimal care but may change slightly. Fiberglass products like boats, canoes, and fly rods will outlast their users in most cases. I'm still around, but too lazy for the portages on the Allagash now, so next year my 50-year-old 'glass Old Town will go down with my neighbor, his son and their group of fathers and sons. If a rod has no obvious damage, no reason not to use it just over concern that age alone has made it more likely to fail. Always a fun discussion; this one doesn't focus just on the resin, but is relevant: viewtopic.php?p=95927#p95927

The only rod i have seen that seemed it could fail was a quite pretty wonderod that looked cosmetically almost perfect but had developed some very tiny hair line cracks in the finish.I found out the balsa core had probably swelled at some point.This is a crap climate to store anything in an unheated storage area.I lost 2 full boxes of really nice old lures this way.I had no knowledge of balsa cores in some early wonderods and found it a home with a collector who said it was still fishable. He wanted it more for the color and model.I have a few brown glass spinning rods that are destroyed except for the blank.I am sure with new cork, hardware and seat they would be as good as new.

Thanks everyone.