[craigen]

I've wrapped the butt section of all my rods with tuna cord and was wondering what kind of finish to put on it. I think it was a mistake to spray it with clear gloss spar urethane. It dosen't dry to a hard finish. So now I'm considering adding a coat of some Swifty Diamondite rod finish. Is this the way to go? Or should I just put some of that Rod Armor shrink tube material over the cord?

 

[SteveT]

I wrap a lot of rods with tuna cord, in fact I just finished a jig stick for a friend of mine and I use clear spray laquer not urethatne. It seals the cord and doesn't give it that thick shiny look but instead keeps the flat black look and you can touch it up later on when needed.

 

[Longfin]

The best thing that I have found is polyurethane (satin finish). Over butt cord I use 2 coats. The 1st coat is half paint thinner & half polyurethane. The 2nd coat is straight polyurethane. You have to turn the rod while it is drying so it doesn't drip.

Since you already have a coat of spar urethane on, I would sand it for adhesion and then put on 1 coat of polyurethane. It will dry hard.

 

[Fair Warning]

I dont put anything at all on butt cord, and the rods look fine after many years. Also putting on finish degrades all grip qualities of the material.

Putting X-Tube over butt cord also looks good!