The strings on the guides on my fishing rod are coming loose, what is the best glue/epoxy to use?They are coming loose at the end away from the guide.I've been around guys that make rods and seen many made but just wanted to re-wrap and glue it but wanted to find a good quality glue.The rod is a custom made/hand made rod over 20 years old and l wanted to get another 20 years out of it, the strings look good and seem strong but need re-glueing and re-wrapping.

Thanks.

nail polish
good luck

For a simple repair such as that, I'd recommend either of the following 2 products:

1) U-40 Permagloss (my personal choice)
2) Gudebrod 1 part regular build rod finish

The U-40 is about $2 more for a small bottle &
& takes longer to dry, but the finish will outlast the rod itself. Brush on a thin coat, & if u do not have a rod wrapper, turn by hand for about 20 minutes
Remember -THIN is the key. You will need about 3 coats
to due the repair properly - Do not attempt to due this in one day, it takes abour 24 hours to cure. Coat, rotate, dry, repeat the next day. Use a small hobby brush to apply the finish, then throw the brush away.

Gudebrod - Pros: water clean up, dries completely in about an hour. Cheaper also. You can do the repair in a day - Coat, rotate, dry, repeat. You put it on with a small hobby brush, which u can then cleanse with water.
Cons: not as durable as U-40

Both products r available at either Cabelas.com
or JStockardflyfishing.com

Do not under any circumstances use high build, its the worst epoxy resin ever invented, it lets water in, chips & discolors. l suggest a simple two part epoxy, what u need to do is apply plenty of layers, it takes time but its worth it! some of my saltwater boat rods have up to 15 layers of ultra fine epoxy resin over the whippings. l am not under any way suggesting u need to apply this much, about 2-3 will work fine, its just my rod is the old epoxy resin, new rods l build use about 2 coats, TAKE you're TIME when applying it, to prevent bubbles etc. Kudos to PT.
http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20368&rid=&indexId=cat20368&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=3&parentType=index&parentId=cat20368&id=0017532

Dont forget youre glue is only as good as youre whippings, if u have any doubt about a whipping do it again as no matter what epoxy u use they will come loose if not correctly whipped.

l would not reuse the old thread, no matter how good it looks. A roll of rod-wrap thread is cheap enough. You only want to do this once, & if u do it right, once is enough.

While there r several special coatings made for rod wraps, they're not absolutely required. Instead u have two readily-available alternatives:

1. Clear nail polish. Keep in mind this is a lacquer, & it is possible to chip & craze it. So use several layers. Apply one thin one. Let it dry, & apply another.

2. Two-part epoxy. Just make sure u have equal parts of the adhesive & hardener. Mix them well together (they will initially look cloudy, but ignore that). Apply to the thread wraps. If u feel it necessary, a second coat can be applied. But u do not need more than that.

No matter what adhesive u choose, it is crucial that u slowly rotate the rod until the coating sets. Otherwise it is likely to slump in the direction of the ground. To assure the best results, do one guide at a time, rotate the rod until it sets, then let it sit overnight to fully harden. Then do the next one.

Since this is a custom rod that u wish to use for the foreseeable future, l imagine there is some sentimental/intrinsic value that goes beyond the rod is use as ''just a fishing tool.'' If so, I'd think this out very carefully.

First, if the bare threads r coming loose or fraying, they've been exposed to the elements under fishing conditions & the wraps r compromised; merely coating these wraps with new finish will result in a substandard job from an aesthetic point.

If u want a professional job & would not describe yourself as an experienced rod builder, I'd really suggest scouting for the right person to completely redo all the rod wraps with new thread & new finish. It wo not take an experienced person long to restore the rod to its original condition, so the fee should be quite reasonable (unless u want the guides replaced at the same time). If u do not know where to find such a person locally, check out the fishing forums or, preferably, locate someone through one of the rod building forums. Many of the casual, amateur, yet experienced, builders that post there do work at a quality level that u wo not see in any production rod today.

If getting a professional result is not critical to u or if finances r limited, u can rewrap the guides in question & refinish with ur choice of available rod finishes. I'd recommend going with a 1-part finish as opposed to the two-part ''epoxy'' finishes on the market. The 2-part finishes require experience to get right; they're finicky about getting the mix ratio EXACT & best results r obtained with adding small amounts of acetone to the mix. Failure to get it right results in a finish that stays sticky, never seems to harden, or gets cloudy. In the 25+ yrs I've built rods, products have improved, but it is still easy to screw up if u do not know what you're doing. And if u do not get the finish mixed or applied correctly & wish to remove & redo it, it is not much fun.