This can come in various forms from just fading with daylight, to the top layers going brittle and starting to crack/split, then the weather and water gets to them and they can go 'white' in the winter, whippings as well as blanks.
Surface scratches and packing the rods away still damp, or leaving rods wet and damp in a damp holdall for long lengths of time all contribute to the degradation of the rods outer finish.
Re-glossing can bring an old rod back to life and make it look like new, as well as being a great base on which to rebuild a whole rod, or just re-whip and re-finish. Below are a couple of examples which show you the before and after shots of some recent rebuilds.
First example is a set of North Western Blanks Carbon Kevlar Multi Range.....
over 25 years old and at first, really looking it !
As you can see there is a marked difference !
Tip sections looking good and ready for some rings !
Butt sections part way through having some old school duplon abbreviated
replica handles fitted to complete the top to toe refurbishment.
Next example is a Silstar Traverse X 390 Match
A bit of a Silstar classic from back in the day !
This has also in for the full works, which includes rebuilding the handle and replacing the old fibreglass parallel handle insert silstar used to fit, with a tapered carbon fibre handle, new cork handle, Fuji KDPS cork reel seat,
Fuji Alconite single leg rings with 3 leg butt ring, top to bottom blank reglossing and an as - yet - to be - decided twin colour whipping combo ;)
This will truly be a one of a kind Traverse X so what better way to start the build than with a freshly reglossed blank to ensure the best start !
As you can see, the difference in old and 'new' can be like night and day.
Most, but not all blanks can be recoated, some factory coloured blanks can't always be reglossed, and depending on the condition, may or may not be advisable to attempt, so when in doubt, let me have either some really good quality photos or bring them to me in person to view.
