Hi ! - newbie here . .

I'm about as far along as it feels safe to go in a project to replace wraps on a Wright & McGill "Green Hornet" 3 piece 8' (w/ Granger uplocking reel seat, but marked as Wright & McGill seat & w/ two patent dates - blank sez it is for IGH line weight).

I am unsure as to how to safely remove the residue remaining on the blank after cutting off the old wrap silk? It didn't just peel off. A razor blade seems problematic to scrape the hardened stuff off - I surely don't want to damage the blank. Thoughts as to possible products to apply? Acetone safe?

Thanks,

Terry

I wouldn't recommend acetone - it's a very powerful solvent and could attack the paint on the blank or the blank itself.

Carefully swipe the spots with the flame from an alcohol lamp. And I mean swipe -- stay off of the main blank. Then scrape.

good advice above. another good scrubbing tool is a scotch brite pad. and clean the blank as you go. start with dish detergent and if you have to, go up in strength from there, to a mild solvent like isopropyl alcohol, or even DNA. rinse with clean water.

Much depends on what you wish to do after the wraps and guides are off.

Do you want to wrap new guides over the same locations? If so, gently sand/file/abrade the old varnish residue off the rod. You will put new wraps and finish over the sanding marks, so you do not have to be perfect about getting everything off. Just clean up the bumps enough that you can wrap over them. Make sure you don't cut into the underlying fiberglass and you will be good.

Do you want to put the wraps in different locations? Sorry, the old wrap locations will still be obvious. You could over paint the blank or put decorative wraps over the old locations. Nah. It is easiest to simply wrap on the guides, finish them, and then go fish the guides off the rod. Once you have done a couple of rods then worry about making them pretty. In the meantime, enjoy fishing it and learning where you like to put the guides. Finish the wraps with varnish (it is easier to remove than epoxy) so you can redo the guides again later this year.


Solvents strong enough to remove the old, cured varnish are also strong enough to remove any other finish on the rod. For a listing of solvents that you can (and shouldn't) use, see this old post. If you do use acetone, use it carefully with a Q-tip. You can't undo anything you mess up with acetone...


Tom