To finish the rod we now need to apply varnish to the whippings and the blank. I suspect if you got ten rod builders/restorers in a room and asked them how to varnish a fishing rod, you would get ten different answers!
Some will tell you to thin the varnish before applying, some will say you should apply the varnish with a brush, others with your finger, some may even recommend dipping the rod in a varnish bath, or even spraying the varnish on to the blank.
Do you need to varnish the whippings before the rod, so the whippings get more coats? And if so, how many times? What varnish should you use, how many coats in total?
At the end of the day, the right way for you is what works for you. By a process of trial and error, I have found a method that allows me to finish a rod with varnish to a standard I’m happy with using relatively inexpensive varnish and without specialised tools or a drying room. You need to find a method that works for you, but I’ll describe here my method and that’s as good a way to start as any.
Firstly, I dont thin the varnish as many recommend – I use it straight from the tin. Maybe I dont get the depth of shine in the finish that others do, but then I’m not usually working with the most valuable rods. I have used several different varnishes with good results, but I find I get the best results with the ‘International’ brand of Yacht Varnish. It doesn’t alter the colour of the blank very much, and its easy to apply and doesn’t run if its not applied too thickly.
When I want a darker finish, I use ordinary Ronseal outdoor varnish. Its not so easy to apply as its thicker and you have to be more careful, but when I want a deep rich finish it does the job well. For a high shine I use clear gloss, but I have used the satin version when I wanted a non-reflective finish.
I apply the varnish with a small artists paintbrush – no more than 3mm thick so I have a lot of control. Maybe it takes longer than with a thicker brush, but it works for me and I’m pretty quick at it.
I apply two coats to the whippings alone before varnishing over the whole rod including the whippings with four more coats. Between coats I remove any minor imperfections by rubbing over the blank VERY gently with the finest grade of wire wool. Irrespective of what drying time is says on the tin, I always wait 24 hours between coats.
Varnishing the whippings is fairly easy as you’re working in a clearly defined area – just start at the edge and apply varnish by rotating the rod with the brush held against the whipping. Make sure the varnish is evenly distributed by going over it with the brush before moving to the next whipping.
After the whippings have had two coats and thoroughly dried, I start at one end of the rod and apply varnish to the whipping at that end. When I reach the end of the whipping, I apply varnish directly to the adjacent part of the blank, again by rotating the rod, but I then brush up and down the blank up to the next whipping while rotating the rod as I find it easier to get an even finish. Once I reach the next whipping I repeat the process until the whole rod section has been varnished.
Effectively I treat two adjacent whippings and the rod between them as separate sections. That way I am always working with a small area which I find makes it easier to apply the varnish evenly.
With some varnishes you may need to rotate the rod during drying to avoid runs or build up of varnish, but with ‘International’ Yacht Varnish I have found that as long as I do not apply too much varnish in each coat, I can just prop the rod against a wall and leave it to dry.
The pictures below show the Allcocks Gold Label Wizard I’ve been using for this project, both before and after the restoration. It now has a new top section made by slightly shortening a section from an old salmon fly rod, and a new ferrule between the top two joints. The taper of the replacement top section doesn’t exactly match the original – its thinner in the tip, but only slighly so the action will be similar, it might even be a little quicker on the strike when trotting for Dace. Everything else is original, so although its not quite the Wizard it was, I doubt many people would be able to tell, either by looking at it, or fishing with it.
Before and After
If you’ve been with me from the start of this project, I hope you’ve found it useful, and are confident enough to think about restoring a rod of your own. I’m not going to tell you that cane rods are superior to carbon, although many will, but there is something different about cane, and although I do use carbon rods and poles, I enjoy using cane rods, centrepin reels and quill floats some of the time, probably for much the same reason that some people like to drive vintage cars.
If I’ve whetted your appetite for owning a cane rod, but you are put off by the high price of a Hardy, B James, Allcocks or Aspindale, there is a way for you to own a good quality vintage cane rod without it costing the earth, and that will be the subject of my next project, starting in the next post.
If you’re looking for an online source of the materials you’ll need for restoring a split cane rod, Tacklebargains.co.uk stock a wide range of rod building supplies including whipping thread, chrome guides and cork handles.
Some eBay quick links:
Rods by Allcocks of Redditch
Rods by B James of London (MK IV Avon)
Rods by Hardy
Allcocks Lucky Strike
Allcocks Wizard
All split cane rods
All of the whippings are on the rod, so now its time to seal them in preparation for varnishing. With modern materials its much easier to seal the whippings on a rod and this is usually a two stage process involving sealing the whippings with a thin fast drying water based adhesive, folllowed by a single coat of two part epoxy resin.
Although I could use this same process to seal the whippings on a cane rod, and some restorers do, I much prefer to ‘do things the old way’ and apply several coats of varnish to both the whippings and the rod. I do use a water based sealer on the whippings first though, as this is necessary to prevent the varnish from discolouring the nylon thread, or even making it transparent.
Incidentally, high-priced fly rods deliberately have translucent whippings, so if you want this effect applying varnish directly to the whippings without sealer will let you achieve this, but I’ve found that different colours and threads from different manufacturers give varying results, so try it on a sample whipping first.
There are various products available for sealing whippings, usually sold as colour preserver. I’m not too fussy about which I use as they all give similar results, and in a pinch I’ve even used watered down pva glue.
From the picture below you’ll see that I have not trimmed the ends of the intermediate whippings. This is because they could easily unravel, and I prefer to trim the ends after applying the sealer.
Whippings ready to be sealed
Apply the whipping sealer generously with a small soft brush, and work it into the thread. Remove any excess carefully with a soft cloth, and leave to dry. The drying time varies, but mostly this should only take a few minutes. The instructions say that one coat is sufficient, but I prefer to apply two to make sure all of the whipping is properly sealed.
Once the whippings have been sealed and trimmed we’ll be ready to varnish. I’ll cover that in the next post.
If you’re looking for an online source of the materials you’ll need for restoring a split cane rod, Tacklebargains.co.uk stock a wide range of rod building supplies including whipping thread, chrome guides and cork handles.
Search ebay for colour preserver