Fishing Victoria Forum

Going through my gear and I noticed that the epoxy around the guide feet has cracked. I thought i might have knocked it into something but every guide except the tip guide is cracked. I used the rod yesterday and felt no difference in performance but it's not a situation i want to continue with.

Rod is a 902 Catana Nano XG worth about $80 considering its age and life. How much is it going to cost me to get the epoxy replaced? Or is it a better idea to sell and upgrade?

I got a few rods repaired at hook up bait and tackle in FTG the other day, think getting new tips was about $20 in the end, but it might pay to give them a buzz. I get too attached to my rods and dont want to retire them when its just a cheap repair job hehe.

Hey mate, get a price off John Wheatley, (I'll text ya his number).
If you wanna sell it, gimme a shout..bit lacking in 9'ers atm..

Would the state of the epoxy make much difference? I was under the (possibly incorrect) impression that the thread wrapped around the guide feet was what gave the thing it's strength, and the epoxy was just to protect the thread and look good.

Likely nothing more than stress cracks in the unforgiving and hard epoxy.

Only real issue is there's now an avenue for possible water/salt ingress that can lead to rust and/or corrosion.

4liters wrote:Would the state of the epoxy make much difference? I was under the (possibly incorrect) impression that the thread wrapped around the guide feet was what gave the thing it's strength, and the epoxy was just to protect the thread and look good.

this is what i understood also but i'm more concerned about cobby's point re corrosion. I'll chase up Carl's contact and make a decision from there

From memory, the tackle shop I used to work for charged $5 per guide to re-epoxy. If you have about 8-9 guides, that would be about $40-$45. More economical to buy a brand new rod. The other option is to set yourself up so that you can do the repairs yourself. Once you've set yourself up with all the equipment, you will only need to spend money on the epoxy and brushes. The epoxy protects the thread from wear and tear, one nick in the thread and it could unwrap itself and loosen the guide.

Best do it yr self

From what John has told me in the past, the epoxy cracking is a result of the guides not being underbound. He always puts a layer of binding on first, then places the guide on top of the binding, then binds the guide to the rod, then epoxies..

Epoxy cracked most likely because quality or the poxy itself being brittle, good quality epoxy should be able to bend with the rod. Mixxing it with too much hardener will also crack it or it may be the factor of weather. Storing it in hot car or constantly leaving it out under hot sun. Maybe take a pic and show us how bad it is? Epoxy will most likely absorbed into thread to create a strong bond.